Welcome to my guide on how to play Sylas. Sylas is perhaps the most unique champion to come to League. He is a AP skirmisher who can deal tons of damage and has sustain to help him. The aspect that makes him stand out is his ability to steal champion ultimates. With that, Sylas can turn the tide of a teamfight in seconds. Wanna start a revolution? Wanna break Demacia? Well,
Sylas is for you.



Pros


Can steal Ultimates
Has insane AP ratios
Good duelist
Late Game Monster
Has good sustain
Has 2 gap closers
He started a revolution
Low cooldowns late game
Tons of build options
Trashed Garen

Cons

Squishy AF
Trash early game
Highly dependent of enemy team comp
Suffers against ranged champions
Grievous wounds
AD to AP ult ratios are not too great
Can be a little buggy
Got cucked by Galio and Lux

Conqueror is one of my recommended runes to use for Sylas. Sylas is a skirmisher, so he needs to stay in extended fights longer. The healing and adaptive from Conqueror will help you survive when trading.



Fleet Footwork is great for the early game sustain Sylas needs. This is good for ranged poke matchups. You will have an easier time in lane.


Electrocute is great if you want to go a more aggressive route. Does good damage on top of your abilities. Don't take it if the enemy team has a tanky comp.

I removed Hail of Blades, First Strike, and Arcane Comet because they are too niche. As much as you can have fun with Sylas, try and experiment on your own. :)

Flash is mandatory. Always take it.

Teleport is your best choice for your second summoner spell. You can be anywhere on the map with it, which is beneficial for helping your team. Also, it helps to get to lane faster and prevents your lane from getting shoved in.

If you like a more aggressive play style, go Ignite. It works good for early game duels and securing kills. My main issue with it however is that it does not have an impact later in the game as teleport does. Late game, you will be doing extended fights so ignite is pretty much useless at that point. Again, if you have an aggressive playstyle, feel free.

Mid Lane

Mid lane is the ideal place for Sylas. It is home to mages and assassins. Sylas fits here because his kit definitely fits the mid lane criteria. Most matchups you'll face are from easy to pretty difficult. Always remember you have one of the weakest early game phases, so you will most likely be outmatched until later. Also be sure to roam if you can. Getting you and your team carried can really change the outcome regardless of matchup.

Top Lane

Top lane is pretty problematic. If you want to play Sylas as a bruiser, top is great. My only issue are matchups. Top lane is notorious for bruisers, tanks, and divers. Sylas does not do well against certain champions of those classes (e.g. Renekton). Also, the potential to get carried is limited. Unlike mid lane, roaming is much harder. If you lose to a top laner, you'll lose the game, unless it's Pantheon.

Doran's ring is good for every AP midlaner. Gives you 15 AP and 70 HP. Pretty damn good stats. Be sure to buy a health pot with it as well.


Corrupting Pot is alright for the early game. I does not give you any stats, so that stinks, but you get burn damage every time you use it. So try and trade as much as possible.


Tear can really vary on how you want to play. If you want to spam abilities, you can take it. Use it to build Seraph's or Muramana, both of which can possibly work with Sylas.


You can get Dark Seal when you have about 700 gold to spend. Dark Seal helps heavily if you want to snowball. The issue with this however is that it's high-risk, high-reward. If you die and lose stacks, the item isn't as effective. If you are behind, don't buy it, because you'll be wasting gold.


A must have for Sylas. Lost Chapter gives you mana, ap, and ability haste. Plus when you level up, you restore mana. Very good item, plus it is one of the components for your mythics.


Alternator is pretty ok. It gives you a small burst of damage, and some ap. It does not give stats so it's kind of lackluster.


Seeker's is great for ad matchups. It gives you armor so it helps against burst assassins and ad skirmishers. If you buy, be sure to get Zhonya's eventually. It's a must have.

Mythic Items

Good for Sylas. Luden's gives you mana, ap, ability haste, and give passive magic pen. Has really great burst, especially late game. Very ideal for Sylas.


Good mythic for Sylas. Great for if you want to go a more bruiser like play style. The burn you get is great, especially dealing with tanks. Plus you passively get ability haste, which is awesome.


Everfrost is great because it gives you health and mana, and good active for catching prey. They nerfed it by 20 ap, and it feels a little underpowered to use, but they reduced the cost so it is still good to take.


Rocketbelt is debatable, but it can work. Gives you health, AP, AH, and magic pen. Plus the active gives you that extra boost you need. If you get this, make sure you have tear, because this item gives no mana :(


Riftmaker is an OK item. It gives you omnivamp and true damage so it is good for a bruiser build. Does not give mana, so pretty lackluster.


Night Harvester... From what I hear it's a bad item for Sylas. While the passive is good, it is more suited for AOE champions. Sylas lacks AOE damage for team fights and would need a good ultimate for it to work. Sylas is more for 1v1's so this item doesn't fit him.



Great Item to avoid burst. It is not too good on meele champions like Sylas, so it is highly situational.

Legendary Items

Great for all AP champs in general. It helps against ad comps and the active makes this a must have.


A must-have. Gives you ability haste, and an insane effect. It's pretty craked.


For the classic snowballer. Only buy if you are confident you will get fed, or already are fed.


Good item. Gives a good amount of magic penetration, so those tanks wont have a chance.


Situational. Buy if team has a lot of healing, which may be majority of games.


Great item for AP spikes. Usually suited for late game. Don't buy it every game because there are other good items that give better stats.

Passive: Petricite Burst

Play Video
Basically, its a free Lich Bane. After you cast abilities, your attacks will do bonus damage in an AOE. Plus, it gives 125% attack speed. It is really great for dueling and chunking your enemy's health down. Plus, you can do some nice combos with it, as I will show later.

Q: Chain Lash

Play Video
You throw your chains and it causes an explosion. The explosion does more damage than the initial cast, so make sure you position it right. Riot decided nobody maxes this ability first so they buffed the hell out of it. You can max this first, usually if you're against immobile poke champions like Corki or Syndra.

W: Kingslayer

Play Video
Now for some real cheese. This ability is good because of its simplicity. You hit an enemy doing damage and heal based on missing health. This is what makes people hate Sylas. You're about to kill him, then he hits you like a truck and heals for lord knows how much health. Fuel the hate. This is good to max first, especially against melee matchups. The only counter to this is grievous wounds. Once you see that, you'll have to rely on damage. I still reminisce the good ol' days when this was an execute.

E: Abscond/Abduct

Play Video
Sylas needs to get up close and personal, and this ability helps. The dash is good for gap closing and even escapes. The second part is even stronger. You launch your chains and they can attach to anyone and knock em' airborne. Really good for engaging. Plus, it has a 1.0 AP ratio, so late game, this will really chunk the enemy's health. MAX THIS LAST. This is a utility spell.

R: Hijack

Play Video
The bread and butter of Sylas. His ultimate, is to steal ultimates. ANY ultimate. Wanna engage in a team fight? Steal Pantheon, Sion, or Sejuani ult. Wanna do lots of damage? Steal Veigar, Neeko, or Ashe ult. The possibilities are endless. This is what makes Sylas such a fun champion. You practically have so many trick up your sleeve. For specific ults, see synergies above.

Here is a video I made going over combos: Play Video Practice these as much as possible before trying it in an actual game.

Early Game

Early game is all about survival. Try and farm as much as possible and avoid getting killed early. At around level 3, try and trade little but not too much. At around level 5 or so, try and roam. This is just a suggestion. The reason is because you want to scale for late game and helping your team snowball can help you snowball as well.

Mid game

Now that you've hit level 6, you can do 1v1's. This all really depends on what ultimate you steal. For example, if you steal say, Diana's ult, you will most likely win the fight. If you steal say, Kassadin's ultimate, it will not do much for you and you'll most likely lose the fight. Focus on helping out your team as much as possible and make sure your lane does not get shoved in.

Late game

Now that you have items and lower cooldowns, you will be able to shine. Focus on teamfights and steal ultimates that will benefit you and your team the most. Split pushing can help occasionally, but you really want to help your team. Remember, Sylas scales heavy for late game, so it is important you constantly fight.