Hi guys!

My in-game name is snu***z and I've been playing league since season 2. I'm currently in Platinum Elo on the NA server, but I will be in Diamond very soon ;)

Zyra is by far my most played champion (support and bot), I've watched many challenger level solo que games, and read all the good Zyra guides here on Mobafire and decided I should make a guide of my own and share the insights I've picked up from playing and what I've learned from others.

I play mostly AP casters and love it! (Zyra and Vel'Koz are my favorites!)

The reason I love Zyra support is that she does insane amounts of poke in lane, and can 100-0 their squishy champions if she is ahead after lvl 6+.

My mission with this guide is to cover the most important bits of information that will help you succeed when playing Zyra support. The early, mid, and late game sections will tell you exactly what you should be doing at all points during the game in order to win.

Let's get on with the rest of the guide!

"Born in an ancient, sorcerous catastrophe, Zyra is the wrath of nature given form—an alluring hybrid of plant and human, kindling new life with every step. She views the many mortals of Valoran as little more than prey for her seeded progeny, and thinks nothing of slaying them with flurries of deadly spines. Though her true purpose has not been revealed, Zyra wanders the world, indulging her most primal urges to colonize, and strangle all other life from it."

--

"Zyra’s memory is long, and runs as deep as the roots of the earth. Her kind was young when the Rune Wars raged, when mortal armies fought one another for the very keys of creation."

"Hidden in the jungles south of ***ungu, somewhere between the great rivers that divide eastern Shurima, lay the fabled Gardens of Zyr. Elemental magics had turned the soil there in strange and unpredictable ways, giving rise to fierce, carnivorous plants that preyed upon any creature that strayed within reach. They infested and they devoured, caring nothing for the squabbles of mortals, content merely to coil their vines through the forests and swamplands. In their own way, they were all Zyra… and nourishment was plentiful, even in the midst of war."

"A small company of soldiers, their allegiance long since lost to time, advanced through those lands in search of some now-forgotten prize. They were led by an ambitious sorceress—but they were far from home, bound to succumb to the noxious fumes and spores of that accursed place."

"The denizens of the Gardens set upon them, spined tendrils lashing through armor and flesh with sadistic ease. Though they fought valiantly, the warriors knew they could not hold out long, and turned to their sorceress to save them. Gathering her powers, she wrought a mighty blast. The air burned with runic symbols, casting their eerie light even as the thorny overgrowth closed in."

"In that very instant, a rogue spark ignited the gases of the swamp, and the resulting magical explosion obliterated every living thing for miles around. Of the scattered survivors of the Rune Wars, none would ever know what fate had befallen the Gardens of Zyr."

"Centuries passed. The land where the battle had been fought lay empty and lifeless above ground… but in the depths, something stirred. Long had the energies that were unleashed there settled, and curdled, nourished by the fallout. A seedpod bulged, pulsing with unnatural life, until a creature clawed its way free, gasping and confused."

"It beheld a broken and changed world, brimming with new vitality and new ideas. Its mind was a puzzle of conflicting memories, drawn from the loamy earth and forced into its fledgling consciousness. It could recall the warmth of the sun, the taste of rain, words of power, and the agony of a hundred mortal deaths."

"It—she—called herself Zyra, without quite understanding why."

"As she ventured out into the wildlands beyond her birthplace, Zyra knew she was different from other creatures she encountered. Mortals were fearful and unpleasant things, while more ethereal entities tended to be capricious, or arrogant. None of them seemed to respect the realms they inhabited, despoiling everything with their mere presence, and that filled Zyra with rage and contempt. Almost unbidden, new life sprang up in her footsteps—voracious plant forms that changed and evolved beneath her gaze, hurling poisonous barbs or sprouting fresh tendrils at an alarming rate."

"Unrooted and free to wander, Zyra and her deadly progeny feed, and grow, strangling all other life from the world. She has blighted farmland, overrun entire settlements, and crushed those warriors brave or foolish enough to confront her, always leaving a menagerie of botanical horrors in her wake."

"As the rivers of Shurima begin to run anew, strange flora has been sighted on their banks, spreading slowly westward with each passing season. Whether pulled from the earth or purged by fire, the growth does not seem to be slowing…"

https://lol.gamepedia.com/Zyra

Pros

+ Great poke damage with Q and plants (especially with Liandry's Anguish!) + Super annoying to play against! + Can proc Electrocute or Arcane Comet easily + Great CC, if you land skill shots + Great at setting up kills for your ADC & team + Ult can deter enemy team from engaging + Plants and ult can be a massive help with tanking and getting dragons and baron + Can use plants & seeds like wards (super useful to check bushes, and drags/barons if you have no wards left) + Can zone off the enemy with plants (useful in getting objectives, and in team fights)

Cons

- SUPER squishy - No heals - Snare can be hard to land - Can burn through mana quickly (before getting Frostfang) - Bad against assassins and high damage champs with gap closers - Low mobility

* Electrocute is probably my favorite rune on Zyra support. It does a ton of burst damage to the target it hits, but most importantly, it rewards you for landing your snare (which is typically how your lane is going to set up kills & get ahead).

* Cheap Shot gives you a little extra true damage when you land your snare, or if your slow plants land 2 auto attacks.

* Ghost Poro gives you extra AP & a free ward that lasts for a minute once your original ward dies, this is a really nice rune for a support as it will help you and your bot lane not get ganked & provide extra vision for your team throughout the game. As of patch 9.9 Ghost Poro also grants you 2 AP each time your Ghost Poro spots an enemy.

* Relentless Hunter is easily the best rune here, the extra movement speed will help you get in range to land your damage & your snare.

* Absolute Focus will give you extra damage early game which is really important because often the early game will determine the rest of the game. Manaflow Band can be nice since Zyra support uses quite a bit of mana. Transcendence is nice for the extra CDR but it's often too late by the time you reach level 10 to make much of a difference in the game.

* Gathering Storm is a good choice here because it will give you a ton of extra damage in the mid and late gate. Scorch is also a good choice here as it will make your early game more oppressive for the enemy & it's easy for Zyra to proc with her plant attacks. Scorch will weaken your ability to carry in the mid & late game though.




* Arcane Comet is a great rune on Zyra as it's very easy for her to proc with her plant attacks. Try to proc it with your slowing snare plants when you can to ensure the comet lands.

* Manaflow Band is nice as Zyra needs quite a bit of mana to keep spamming her abilities.

* Absolute Focus will give you extra damage early game which is really important because often the early game will determine the rest of the game. Transcendence is the better rune choice for mid & late game.

* Scorch is usually the better choice when you're looking to maximize your poke damage. Gathering Storm is still a great rune for a bunch of extra damage in the mid & late game.

* Ghost Poro is a great rune for a support because it gives you extra vision to avoid ganks and gives you extra damage as the game progresses.

* Relentless Hunter is a great rune because it will increase your movement speed so that you can get in range to land your skill shots, and also allows you to more quickly roam around the map, get vision, and help other lanes.

PASSIVE ABILITY

GARDEN OF THORNS (Passive): "Seeds spawn around Zyra periodically (usually 1 at a time but sometimes 2), lasting for 30 seconds. If an enemy champion steps on a seed, it dies. If Zyra is hiding in brush, seeds will not spawn until she reveals herself.Casting Deadly Spines or Grasping Roots near seeds causes them to grow into Plants with 8 Health that deal 20-100 (at levels 1-18) (+15% of ability power) magic damage on hit and last 8 seconds. Plants of the same type deal 50% less damage against the same target." Zyra's passive is a bit random because you can't control where the seeds spawn but it can still be very helpful. Sometimes seeds will spawn near the enemy when you cast your Q or E and do extra damage for you. Sometimes seeds will randomly spawn in bushes and give you vision. Probably the best thing about her passive is that you can help give your jungler an amazing leash since the plants you spawn from your seeds will tank the red/blue buff and do a lot of damage as well. The way to do this is to first watch for the enemy to invade, and then run into the red/blue buff area (get there by 1 minute on the clock) and spawn 2-3 seeds. Then just use Q/E to spawn plants and your jungler can clear their red/blue buff without taking any damage (be careful not steal their buff though!).

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Q

DEADLY SPINES (Q): "Thick vines spread through the ground and explode into spines, dealing 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200 (+60% of ability power) magic damage to enemies within the area. If Deadly Spines is cast near a seed, a Thorn Spitter grows, dealing 20-100 (at levels 1-18) (+15% of ability power) magic damage. A Thorn Spitter has 750 range and lasts for 5-7.5 seconds depending on Zyra's level." Deadly Spines is Zyra's main poking and damage ability (it has a much lower cooldown than her E) and you'll want to use it quite often in order to be a harassing menace to the enemy laners. When you include at least 1 seed when you use this ability, the plant will continue to attack whoever you hit with this ability as long as they stay within the plant's range. Also, if you happen to miss your Q but still use a seed, if the enemy champion is closest to the seed/plant you spawn it will start attacking them, effectively increasing Zyra's harass range by a lot! Using seeds/plants in this way is a great way to proc Arcane Comet if you use that rune.

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W

RAMPANT GROWTH (W): "Zyra plants a seed, lasting 60 seconds. If an enemy Champion steps on a seed, it dies. Seeds spawned by Rampant Growth grant vision in a small area, and if stepped on they grant vision of the enemy champion for 2 seconds. Other spells cast on seeds will turn them into plants who fight for Zyra. Zyra stores a seed every 20 / 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 seconds (Max: 8 seeds planted). When Zyra kills an enemy, Rampant Growth's recharge time is reduced by 20%, or 100% for champion takedowns, large minion kills, and large monster kills." Rampant Growth is Zyra's ability to consciously dictate where her seeds will spawn. You'll almost always want to spawn at least one seed when using your Q & E in order to maximize your damage. One great perk of your W is that you can safely check bushes from a long way away just by spawning a seed in the bush. You can also spawn a seed in a bush and then use Q/E and the plant will give you even more vision (even if there's a control ward) and attack anyone that comes within range. This makes killing enemy control wards in Tri-Bush really easy because you can use plants to give you vision and protect you while you take out their wards. The last great thing about using this ability is that if you're out of wards you can check dragon/baron pit by spawning a plant there. This ability is super key when it comes to controlling objectives and is just one of the many reasons why Zyra is such a great support champion.

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E

GRASPING ROOTS (E): "Zyra sends forth vines through the ground to ensnare her target, dealing 60 / 95 / 130 / 165 / 200 (+50% of ability power) magic damage and rooting enemies they come across for 1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2 seconds. If cast on a seed, Grasping Roots grows a Vine Lasher, whose short range attacks reduce enemy Movement Speed." Grasping Roots is what allows Zyra to lock down multiple enemies at a time with CC. Her grasping roots will root anyone it hits for 1-2 seconds (depending on level). It also summons plants from her seeds that will attack and slow the movement speed of enemies it hits (very useful when getting ganked to slow down the enemy jungler, even if you miss the root). Because this ability will lock an enemy, or enemies, down for a few seconds it's very helpful to your team in getting picks and catching people out, so always be looking to catch people with this ability. This ability also makes it much easier to set up kills in lane with your ADC, especially if they have their own form of CC (Jhin/Jinx/Etc).

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R

STRANGLETHORNS (R): "Zyra summons a twisted thicket at a target location, dealing 180 / 265 / 350 (+75% of ability power) magic damage to enemies as it expands and knocking them airborne as it contracts. Plants in the area are enraged, dealing 50% bonus damage and gaining 50% current and max health." Stranglethorns is Zyra's highest damage ability & debatably her best form of CC. You'll want to use this ability right after you land a root (if you think there's a decent chance you'll get the kill). The full Zyra combo is E->W+W->R->Q. Typically, even if someone flashes after the root wares off, the ult will still knock them up so that you & your team can secure the kill. This ability is also a great form of disengage. If it looks like a few of your teammates are going to get caught/picked off you can drop your ult to scare off the enemy, lest they caught out themselves by your knockup. Another great thing about this ult is that it makes taking dragons/baron much quicker/safer as you can spawn a bunch of plants & then use your ultimate to make them do 50% increased damage and gain 50% health so that they can tank even more dragon/baron attacks.

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Spellthief's Edge is the best support item for Zyra support because it gives her AP, mana regeneration, and gold every time she lands an ability. Even if you miss your ability if Zyra's plants hit enemies those attacks will give her gold (1 stack of gold per seed placed).

Sorcerer's Shoes is my current favorite pick for Zyra support. Sorcerer's Shoes gives Zyra the magic penetration that she needs to maximize her damage/burst. Mobility Boots can also be a good option because the movement speed will you get you within to land your snare, but I find that Sorcerers shoes are too important for doing damage, and Relentless Hunter is already going to be giving us a nice amount of movement speed.

Luden's Tempest is not absolutely necessary for Zyra support because her support item will give her a decent amount of mana regeneration and CDR, but I really like taking Luden's for the extra CDR and mana pool that it gives you. I find that Zyra runs out of mana too quickly with only the support item and the extra 20% CDR is massive for being able to spam your abilities. I'll usually finish Lost Chapter and then start working on Liandry's Anguish and not finish Luden's until after finishing Liandry's. The reason for this is because we want to maximize our DPS as soon as possible, and Liandry's is the best DPS item for Zyra so that her plant attacks constantly deal percentage maximum health damage to the enemy/enemies.

Liandry's Anguish is probably the best item for Zyra in terms of dealing damage because her plants will do massive amounts of damage to the enemy, even if this is the only item she has. Many people rush this item first after Frostfang but I like to get Lost Chapter first so that Zyra has a bigger mana pool, and the reduced CDR means having your snare up more often to make more kill opportunities for you and your ADC.

Rylai's Crystal Scepter is an amazing item on Zyra support because it will offer tremendous utility to your team by slowing down the enemies movement speed (which makes landing your, and your teammates, skill shots easier) and because of its synergy with Liandry's Torment. The slow from Ryali's means that your Liandry's damage over time passive will be almost twice as effective, which means your plants auto attacks will do even more damage to the enemy team, and often result in you doing the most damage to the enemy team by the end of the game.

Morellonomicon can be a great item for Zyra support if the enemy team isn't building too much magic resistance, or if the enemy has high heal/sustain champions like Soraka/Vladimir/Etc. Building Oblivion Orb, and waiting to finish Morello's, is also a great option because it gives you extra AP, HP, and magic penetration for only 1600 gold. If you suspect the enemy will be stacking MR, or is going to have 2+ tanky champions, then consider skipping Morello's and getting Void Staff instead.

Void Staff is a great item if the enemy has tanky champions or if you think the enemy is going to stack magic resistance (like if your team has 3+ AP champions, or if you or your mid laner is getting insanely fed). Void Staff will negate 40% of the enemy's magic resistance, and then any additional magic penetration items will be calculated after that.

Zhonya's Hourglass is a great item that will save you in a pinch. This item is not always mandatory, but it is required when you play against high AD burst damage champions like Zed/Rengar. This item is also nice versus high AP burst champions (LeBlanc/Evelyn), or champions with long duration CC where you'd likely get killed before being able to move (Morgana/Lux).

Banshee's Veil is not mandatory on Zyra, but it is necessary when playing against high AP burst damage champions like LeBlanc/Fizz/Malphite/Etc.

Rabadon's Deathcap is rarely built on Zyra support, but if you're super far ahead and the enemy doesn't have many ways to kill you, then go ahead and get a Rabadon's Deathcap to do tons of damage.

Your job during lane is to poke out the enemy's ADC and/or support, I recommend focusing whichever is easier to kill, or whichever of the two keeps getting within range of your Deadly Spines (Q) & Grasping Roots (E), and is making it easy for you to land your skill shots.

If you are using Arcane Comet try to proc it whenever it comes up, use plants to ensure it gets proc'd every time. Be a constant menace to the enemy team and make it hard for them to CS. When you see an allied minion low on HP be ready to drop a Q and/or an E on the enemy ADC as they go for the last hit. This is triply important if they are about to go for a siege minion as you can be about 95% sure they will try to last hit the siege minion. I would almost always recommend you throw down your snare as they go for the last hit on a cannon minion. If the snare lands you're guaranteed to hit your Q have your plants get a few hits off, plus your ADC should help you drop damage as well, which often means they will either get very low or die.

If you're using Electrocute be sure to either use 2 seeds when you use your Q/E, or use 1 seed when you use Q/E and try to land an auto attack to proc Electrocute. In my opinion the best way to consistently & safely land Electrocute is to use your snare & one seed when the enemy ADC goes for a last hit and auto attack them at least once while they can't move due to the snare. Otherwise, I'll try to save up 2 seeds and try to land a Q once the enemy ADC goes for a last hit. You/your ADC should end up getting quite a few kills in lane if you get good at landing your snares when the enemy ADC goes for last hits.

Make sure you always have vision of tri-bush if you're blue side (blue side is the team that spawns on the bottom side of the map), or vision of the river bush if you're red side (red side is the team that spawns on the top side of the map).
Ping your ADC to ward it if you are out of wards, and always get at least 1 control ward on your first back and every time you back after that.

Zyra has pretty weak kill potential until level 3 & 4. Poke them low with Q at lower levels, but once you get level 3 & 4 you should be looking to land snares when they go for last hits, and set you and your ADC up to get an easy kill on a snared enemy. Once you hit level 6 your kill potential in lane is massive. If you land a snare and ult you will 99% of time be burning their flash or getting a kill.

So in summary, early game for Zyra support is about poking the enemy laners low with Q and plants (you don't always have to land your Q, often times just using your plants to get auto attacks off is enough to keep the enemy low and missing CS), keeping good vision to avoid ganks, and then looking for snares that lead into kills at around level 3/4.

Keep spamming Q and plants and doing tons of damage from a distance to the enemy team. It's very important that you stay as far back as possible as you are very squishy and have little ability to escape, but if you're able to stay alive you have the ability to out damage all of the other players in the game, as a support.

Get your team good vision with your Frostfang, and clearing out the enemy's wards (I highly recommend you always use your seeds and plants to clear bushes before you ward or face check the bush). You should always have a Control Ward up somewhere on the map. Also, Zyra is incredibly good at getting solo kills if she can full combo an unsuspecting target. One tactic you can do to set up kills is use your Oracle's Lens to clear a bush, place a ward over a wall, and wait for an enemy champion to come along and fall into your trap. You can watch my Zyra montage video for examples of this. You can even place a control ward out in the open which will often bait the enemy into clearing it which gives you a great opportunity to land your full combo on them as they auto attack it.

Siege towers with your team and poke out the enemy as they try to defend their towers. Don't be afraid to ult the enemy to force them to back off and give up the turret or to get them low, not getting the kill is fine as long as your team is able to get the turret/objective. In the mid-game your ult's cooldown will be around 1 minute & 20 seconds so use it liberally. Also, don't be afraid to use your ult on dragon to secure the dragon kill, or on the enemy to scare them away from your team as they are getting the dragon. You can & should also use your plants to zone the enemy off as your team takes objectives.

Now onto the late game.

Zyra's mid-game and late game objectives are very similar, but your main concern is not getting deleted by assassins, or getting caught out, as a death here means your team could lose a dragon/baron/inhibitor/the game. You do tons of damage, but if you're dead you won't be. Always use your seeds & plants to check bushes before warding or walking into them.

If your team is taking Baron don't be afraid to ult baron with plants up as this will help your team secure the baron much quicker, and your plants will help tank damage for your team.

Keep helping your team get turrets and inhibitors by using your abilities and plants to poke & zone off the enemy team, and being a general nuisance.

Don't be afraid to try to make a play by using Oracle's Lens to clear a bush and waiting for an unsuspecting enemy squishy to walk into your trap and deleting them with your combo. Be sure to be very careful when doing this, it's almost always a good idea to ping a teammate or two for help if you plan on waiting in a bush and trying to get a pick.

In summary, stay safe but don't be too afraid to go for a pick if your team will need a pick in order to win, do tons of poke damage as your team sieges & you zone off the enemy with your plants, take the objectives (barons/dragons/towers/inhibs), and win the game.

If you'd like to see exactly how to play Zyra support then you can check out this link to a video of an 11/1/10 Zyra support game that I had recently. I give commentary/voice my thoughts on exactly how to play Zyra support so I think it will be useful to you if you're looking to improve.

Play Video

That's it! Thanks for reading guys!

Don't forget to hit that like button at the top of the page if you learned some useful information here :)

Try out Zyra support for yourselves, she is a truly great support champion if you like AP caster supports, and has nearly unparalleled poke & burst in lane.

If you have any additional questions, or want to see me play live, come join us on the stream.

That's it guys, peace!