[Important] The build at the top of this guide is updated, but the rest of the guide is still being worked on!

Hello people, welcome to my Leona guide. Leona is a support/tank champion who is naturally tanky (with her W) and provides a lot of CC. In my opinion, she is best played as a support in bottom lane. She could also jungle decently (slow but very strong ganks), but I will not include this in my guide. I think Leona is a very overlooked support right now and she should be played more. She is probably one of the strongest tanks in the game and can be very good at enabling kills early-game.

In my guide I will discuss everything you need to know about Leona: runes, items, masteries, abilities, summoner spells and more. I will also talk about general support strategy, such as warding and laning.

I hope you will like my guide and that it helps you. If you have any questions or suggestions, leave a comment, I will reply ASAP. Please leave a vote too if you can.

NOTE - READ BEFORE VOTING PLEASE

If you're going to vote, please comment and make sure you've read the relevant parts of the guide first. Please don't downvote just because you don't like X item, or X rune. I explain every choice in my guide and give many alternatives. If you don't like something, comment and I will reply and consider changing it.

22-12-13 The guide is now completely updated for season 4.

08-08-13 Updated items and masteries. Patch 3.10.

06-03-12 Completely redesigned the guide and updated the build.

14-12-12 This guide is now number 1 on MOBAFIRE! Big thanks to everyone who voted and commented. Keep up the suggestions so I can make this guide even better!

12-12-12 This guide is now updated for the preseason 3 patch.

26-10-12 Changed the guide layout to make it look more awesome.

06-08-12 Added the Gameplay and Matchups chapters. Edited the item build to include Warmog's Armor instead of Frozen Heart.

In this guide I will use some terms and abbreviations. It will be useful to explain them here. This list might grow.

AP

- Ability Power

AD

- Attack Damage

MR

- Magic Resist

AR

- Armor

MRP

- Magic Penetration

ARP

- Armor Penetration

HREG

- Health Regen

MREG

- Mana Regen

GP10

- Gold Per 10

MS

- Movement Speed

AoE

- Area of Effect

AA

- Auto Attack

DPS

- Damage Per Second (sustained damage)

3v3

- 3 versus 3 on The Twisted Treeline

Here's a list of pros and cons for Leona. They might help you decide whether or not you should buy her.

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Pros Very tanky. Tons of CC and utility (stuns, slows, a gap closer and a shield). Can burst an enemy down quickly with the help of her AD carry. She can carry games, even though she is a support.

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Cons Doesn't offer any form of sustain. Requires a decent enough AD carry to be effective. Depends on you hitting skillshots (mainly her ult). Has to get into melee range most of the time.

I will now explain my rune choices. The runes I take are pretty standard, but I think a justification is required. I will also show some different rune options you could take.

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8.19 AR

Really good option for Leona. Though armor is not a primary stat on marks, they still give you a good amount of armor. This will make trades more forgiving and make you much harder to kill in lane. Other options if you want higher burst. when you're up against a lot of magic damage.

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12.69 AR

Must-have for support-tanks. They will really help in lane to negate some of the damage from the enemy AD carry. This means you can play more aggressive with less risk involved. They also help you survive ganks (from an AD jungler). Other options if you're really confident about your early-game. if you just love the gold.

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12.06 MR

Usually the best tank glyphs. In lane, you will probable take mostly physical damage, but don't underestimate the magic damage many supports and some marksmen can deal. Other options if you think your lane will be easy or your opponents lack magic damage.

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78 HEALTH

Great tank support runes, especially on Leona. The amount of health they give is pretty huge. Since you get a lot of AR and MR from your shield, extra health becomes more effective. This will make you extremely tanky. Other options if you want to invest more into late-game. can be good to engage more easily. work well to sustain you in lane. if you're really worried about the enemy's physical damage. if you're really worried about the enemy's magic damage.

There are many different possible mastery setups for Leona. Personally I think the utility tree is currently really good for supports, so I generally take 0-9-21 masteries. I sacrifice some extra tankiness for other things like gold income here. Other possible mastery setups are 0-21-9, 9-21-0, 9-12-9 and basically any combination of the defensive tree and utility tree. Try different things and find out what works for you.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Defensive tree
In the defensive tree, I take Block and Unyielding almost always. These masteries reduce the damage you take from auto-attacks significantly, which is important since you're a melee champion. Because of Leona's huge AR and MR boost and scaling from her shield, Enchanted Armor is incredibly strong. After this, Veteran Scars is basically the only option. Your final point can be anything from the third row, but I prefer Juggernaut , since you will build a large amount of health.

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Utility tree
The utility tree is very straightforward for supports. Take everything gold-related, which is Greed , Scavenger , Wealth and Bandit . Besides this, Summoner's Insight is always good on pretty much anyone. Scout is pretty useful and only takes one point. Phasewalker can potentially safe you when recalling in risky spots and it simply saves you time. Wanderer is a key point, as you will roam a lot as a support when warding. The other points are basically up to you, but there are many alternatives to what I take.

I focus on building tankiness and support items to help the team. If the game goes on long enough and you get 5 full items, you'll have to decide if you can keep warding with Ruby Sightstone or if you need more wards. If you need more wards you should sell your Ruby Sightstone and leave a spot open for wards. Your role will always be jumping into the enemy team, so you'll need to be able to survive long enough to do everything you can. It doesn't matter too much if you die, just don't die too quickly. Other than tankiness, items with auras and actives will really help your team. As a support, you won't get that much gold (and you will spend a lot on wards), so you won't be able to buy a lot of items. Support gold has improved a lot with the preseason 3 patch though.

START

Start 1 Your first start option is going for Relic Shield and a combination of wards and potions. Take this if you want to go for face of the mountain. This is a good option if you want the extra tankiness. Relic Shield and its upgrades generally give you the most extra gold, but require you to attack minions sometimes, leaving you open to poke damage. You can also take one extra ward over potions for more lane control, but less sustain.

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Start 2 The second start option is Ancient Coin and wards and potions. Take this if you want extra sustain and reliable gold income. The main reason you would buy this is if you want the upgrade talisman of ascension, which gives great initiation power. You can also take one extra ward over potions for more lane control, but less sustain.

EARLY

face of the mountain

face of the mountain (gold item option 1) Gives very useful stats, gold income and the active. The health, health regen and CDR are obviously great on Leona. The active can be very helpful for your carries, especially against assassins. This item is very easy to build and pretty cheap for the stats it provides, so I often get it pretty early. It provides gold faster when upgraded, so it's a good investment.

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talisman of ascension

talisman of ascension (gold item option 2) A good source of gold income and sustain for the laning phase. This is a core item to get early for most supports. The sooner you get it, the sooner you will start gaining gold from it. I try to keep it for as long as I can, so I keep getting gold for it. You should upgrade it if your team needs a Shurelya's Battlesong, or if your inventory is full.

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Sightstone This item doesn't give tank stats, but the regen and CDR is really good. More importantly, it has a great active. This item allows for very strong and unexpected engages. It works really well on Leona and allows you to catch someone from huge range. It gives more gold income when upgraded, so it's good to get early.

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Boots Not much to explain here. The extra MS helps you chase and get away from ganks more easily. Pick up boots when you can, but there's no need to rush them. Other items are more important.

CORE

Mercury's Treads The best boots in the game and great for tanks. They will make you more tanky and lower the duration of CC. This will make it easier for you to CC enemies uninterrupted.

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Ruby Sightstone Upgrade for Sightstone. It's not a very useful upgrade anymore, since there's no ward limit on the Sightstone anymore. Upgrade this item late in the game. The extra health makes it more slot-efficient.

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Locket of the Iron Solari I consider this a core item for Leona because you basically can't go wrong with it. You can always put the stats to good use and it helps your team too. The active doesn't look that impressive, but it's always a nice thing to have.

OPTIONS

Doran's Shield An often overlooked item for supports, but it can really help you in lane. It gives important stats which will help you trade in lane. Early-game, the 8 damage blocked is very significant. This item doesn't cost much gold so it's a good pickup. I'd consider buying it if you're either behind and need stats now, or if you're ahead and have some extra gold to spend.

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Randuin's Omen This will counter the enemy AD even more. This item is similar to both Shurelya's Battlesong and Frozen Heart. The active will slow nearby enemies, serving the same purpose at Shurelya's Battlesong's active. The aura and active both slow enemy AS, serving the same purpose as Frozen Heart. It also has high stats (armor and health), to help you survive even more.

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Warmog's Armor A full tank item which is really good on Leona. Since you already get a ton of AR and MR from your shield, a large amount of health to scale with that makes you a true tank. It's quite epensive, so it will take a while to build, but it's worth it.

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Frozen Heart A great support item. It basically reduces the enemy's physical damage by 20% (abilities not included). It also gives a ton of armor, making you a turret-diving monster. On top of that, 20% more CDR will give you the ability to CC more people in a fight. The mana will erase any mana problems you might have. Buy this item if noone else on your team is going to.

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Banshee's Veil Great if you want MR. It works very well against poke teams. The spell shields can be used to block important, high-damage spells and makes you hard to stop when you engage.

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Spirit Visage Another option for MR. It works best in combination with Warmog's Armor, and potential health regen masteries. It will give you huge health regen.

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zeke's herald

zeke's herald A great item in many situations. You should obviously buy it if your team has a lot of AD champions. For example an AD carry, Jax top and Vi jungle. It also greatly helps your AD carry snowball if he is decently farmed/fed. The CDR is also good.

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Mikael's Blessing The active is amazing, but you don't really need the stats. If enemies are constantly jumping your carries, this might save them and win you fights. It's a great support item in general.

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Thornmail Best against teams with mostly physical damage for obvious reasons. It makes you difficult to focus for the enemy marksman, because he will take damage with auto-attacks.

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Abyssal Mask An interesting item, but really situational. You could buy this if both teams have a lot of magic damage, or if you're really far ahead and just want damage.

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Twin Shadows A great item for initiating teamfights or chasing. It helps you catch people and force fights. It gives you good vision and is a great scouting tool. It also gives some AP, which is kinda nice and MR.

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Banner of Command Insanely strong against splitpush comps. If the enemy team just keeps pushing down turrets before you can react, this will counter that. You can also use it to get Baron by promoting a minion in botlane.

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Sunfire Aegis Great item for a large amount of extra health and armor. It's not a support item but still a good buy. The passive damage is also very good because you will be in the middle of the enemy team a lot of the time in teamfights. It's best bought early in the game, so the burn damage will be more noticeable.

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Mobility Boots In case you think you need even more initiation power, the extra MS will make your engages and chases more difficult to get away from. It's also nice to have extra MS when roaming.

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Other tank/support items There are more items you can build on Leona, but it will be a bit too much work to describe them all. Just think about what's best for your team and feel free to try things out.

ENCHANTMENTS

Enchantment: Homeguard A must-buy if the enemy team is pushing past your inner turrets. They are still good in any other situation, but they're most useful for defending your base. You can make plays with them and catch people off-guard to try and make a comeback.

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Enchantment: Captain A good choice for Leona when teamfighting. It allows your teammates to follow up quickly when you initiate, since they will all be running towards you. Also, if you need to save teammates, they can escape more easily with the extra speed. The bonus movement speed to minions helps when pushing.

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Enchantment: Alacrity They work well on anyone. The little bit of extra MS helps when chasing or fleeing. It's not that significant, but it's reliable.

Leona's abilities are very strong and can decide fights when used correctly. If you don't know how to use them, they won't be very helpful though. Her kit requires you to land your skillshot E and R and high value targets like the AD and AP carries. Once you master her abilities, you can lead your team to victory.

ABILITY EXPLANATIONS

Sunlight Leona's passive. It is what gives her incredible burst. There is not really a way to adapt your playstyle to this passive. Just try to have your AD carry hit your target once every time you hit it with an ability. If you time this really well, you can trigger the passive 3 times in one combo (4 times after level 6). This will increase your burst damage and enables you to kill enemies in a few seconds with the right AD carry.

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Shield of Daybreak A pretty simple ability. Once activated, your next basic attack will deal additional magic damage and stun the target for 1.25 seconds. Using this ability resets your attack timer, allowing you to attack 2 times very quickly. This can be useful for taking out wards instantly when placed (2 hits from you, 1 hit from your AD carry). This ability is easy to use, just make sure you use it on the right target (you can use Zenith Blade to jump to them).

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Eclipse A really good shield. After 3 seconds, it explodes, damaging nearby enemies. If the explosion hits an enemy, you will keep the shield for 3 more seconds. This ability scales really well and should be leveled first. The damage of the explosion, together with Leona's passive, can chunk a lot of enemies pretty hard.

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Zenith Blade This is what makes Leona so deadly. It's a line skillshot. If it hits an enemy champion, Leona jumps to that champion. If multiple enemy champions are hit, Leona jumps to the last champion hit. The champion she jumps to is snared for 0.5 seconds. Use this to jump to targets and stun them with your Q.

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Solar Flare Leona's ultimate. An amazing ability if you use it well. It can stun or slow enemies from a distance and deals decent damage. The best thing is, it has a low cooldown (only 60 base cooldown at rank 3). It can really turn the tides of a fight. Don't use it too soon. Just be patient and wait for a good opportunity to use it. Try to hit as many people as possible. You can also use it to save allies or initiate if there's a good opportunity.

ABILITY SEQUENCE

There really is only one way to level your abilities. The CC on your abilities doesn't go up with ranks. The only thing you have to look at is the damage, cooldown and shield power. Eclipse scales best with ranks so I max it first. Next is Zenith Blade, it's damage is AoE and goes up more with ranks. You could consider maxing Shield of Daybreak second if you need to peel a lot. Of course, I rank Solar Flare every time it is available, at level 6, 11 and 16. At level 1, I usually take a point in Shield of Daybreak to stun enemies in possible invades. You can also take Zenith Blade to jump and immobilize enemies in level 1 fights.

COMBOS

You should always use your abilities in the order that's best for the situation, but there is one combo that works well in lane: W-E-Q. Activate your shield, jump to the enemy AD carry and stun him. If your AD carry reacts well, this can get you a kill (or an assist as I should say) or force the enemy out of lane. Use Exhaust and your ult when necessary.

MY CHOICES

Flash The best summoner spell period. Use it to engage, chase, escape, steal baron, dodge, reposition... Anything. It works well in combination with Zenith Blade to instanly cover a huge distance towards someone. You can also just use it to get in range for your ult if enemies are suddenly grouped up.

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Exhaust Pretty much the best support spell for Leona. This adds even more CC to your combo and will prevent anyone from escaping. It also reduces damage from enemies. Use it on the AD carry in a teamfight to reduce their damage significantly.

OTHER OPTIONS

Clairvoyance In my opinion still a great support spell, just not used much lately. It helps secure objectives and generally provides safety. If you use it well it can set up invades or skirmishes.

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Ignite Seems like a troll spell to take on a support, because it's usually meant to take kills. I've seen it quite a lot in pro level games and it can be good. It's just some extra damage and the healing reduction works well against healing supports.

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Heal Since the preseason 3 patch, this has become more of a support spell. It heals nearby allies for the same amount it heals yourself. This means it doesn't matter who on your team takes it, but it fits the support well.

Now that you know how Leona works, you need to know how to play her. I've already talked about this a little in other sections, but not enough. What are your goals? Where should you be? What should you do? I've split this chapter in three sections: early-game, mid-game and late-game. These are the three general phases of a game. Each requires you to do different things for your team.

EARLY-GAME

Also known as the laning phase. This phase usually ends when one or more outer turrets get destroyed and people start roaming a little. Your main goal here is to protect your AD carry. Do everything you can to help him get ahead of the other AD carry. Ward your lane (see Warding chapter) to prevent ganks from the enemy jungler (or midlaner), so you can push safely if you want to. Also keep dragon warded. You should generally stay near your lane, unless you think you can help somewhere else without hurting your AD carry. For example, you can help securing Dragon by warding and attacking it, you can help out your team if there's a fight somewhere near you in the jungle or you can just roam the jungle a bit and ward other places. In lane, Leona is a very aggressive support. At level 3, when you have all of your basic abilities, you can jump the enemy with your W-E-Q combo. Hide in the brush until you see an opportunity and then jump in. If your AD carry reacts, this can mean a quick kill for him. Try to zone your enemies by moving around and camping the brushes. This will deny farm and help your AD carry farm safely. If you're behind and you don't think you can win 2v2, just play defensive. Use all your CC to prevent fights. Get rid of enemy wards so your jungler can gank, this can help you regain the advantage. At level 6, you become even more deadly and you can get most AD carries down in one combo (with the help of a teammate ofcourse). How to play depends on the matchup, I will discuss this in the Matchups chapter.

MID-GAME

A few turrets may have gone down by now and people start to roam. If there's still no turret down in your lane, just keep laning. If the enemy botlane starts roaming, you can take their turret or go after them to help your team. You can leave your AD carry behind to farm if you think it's safe. Your main goals now are warding, securing objectives (mainly Dragon or enemy buffs) and fighting in skirmishes. Go where you think you are needed. If some of your allies are invading, go with them and ward a little. If the enemy is 4-man pushing a turret, help your team protect it. When you are grouped up, you take on the role of a tank. Try to initiate a teamfight with your E or ult. Whatever you do, try to ward as much as possible. Take Vision Wards or Oracle's Elixir for more map control.

LATE-GAME

By now, more turrets may have gone down and the map is a bit more open. Your goals are essentially the same as in mid-game, but you should play differently. Most of the time, you'll want to be grouped up with all 5 members of your team, so noone can get outnumbered or ganked. Roam with your team, ward, take turrets, Baron, Dragon... Apart from the fact that you have to keep warding, your playstyle isn't that different from others. In teamfights, you're still a tank and you have to be as annoying as possible. Protect your team while they deal damage. If you're outnumbered (because someone is dead or splitpushing), play defensive and stay near a turret. Don't engage unless you're absolutely sure you can win 4v5 (which is not very often). Win teamfights with your team and take down Baron. Keep this up and push to victory.

Warding is a very important part of the game. Not only as a support, but in any other role. The map above covers the most common and important ward spots. You can obviously place wards wherever you need them, depending on the situation. Wards offer many advantages to your team and should never be forgotten.

So what can wards do for you?

• Protect you from ganks. Wards are important in every lane. There's nothing worse than throwing away an advantage by getting killed in a gank. Don't rely on your allies to call missing. Take action yourself and ward around your lane.
• Provide tactical knowledge. If you know where members of the enemy team are, you can take advantage of this. See the enemy jungler on the other side of the map? Play aggressive in lane. See 2 members of the enemy team near bot at 30 minutes? Take Baron or push another lane.
• Win fights. Yes, wards can be used even in fights. If a low enemy runs into a bush, quickly ward the bush so you can still see and attack him. If you're getting chased, place wards behind you so you can see which path your enemies are taking.
• Reveal stealthed champions. If you're fighting, but don't see the enemy Twitch anywhere, place a Vision Ward in the middle of the teamfight so you can potentially catch him.
• Enable counter jungling or protect your jungler. Wards placed near buffs can allow you to set up invades with the knowledge you need. Time the buffs and ward before they spawn. If the enemy has a strong invading jungler, ward your own jungle to defend against invades.
• Much more.

TRINKETS

Besides wards, Trinkets also play a very important role in vision control. These are all the Trinkets you can get.


Usually best for laners. Helps protect you against ganks.


Good on ganking junglers or support. Allows you to clear wards and set up ganks or get lane control.


Good on invading or farming junglers, and potentially on supports.

Trinkets can and should be bought for free from the start of the game. They can be sold and rebought at the store but will go on a longer cooldown when you do this. At level 9, each Trinket will automatically upgrade to a greater Trinket. These Trinkets can then be upgraded to their final form for 475 gold.

When choosing your trinket, look at what the rest of your team has. In general, I think this is a good setup:

• Early-game: 3-5 and 1-2 .
• Mid-game: 2-3 , 2-3 and 0-1 .
• Late-game: 1-2 , 0-1 , 2-4 and 0-1 .

In this chapter I will talk about Leona's chances against enemy supports or AD carries and her synergy with allied AD carries. I will give each matchup a rating based on difficulty or strength. Just because a matchup is rated as difficult or easy, doesn't mean it's actually difficult or easy. It just means you will generally be at a disadvantage.

ENEMY SUPPORT

Soraka - 1/5 Burst naturally counters sustain. Leona is the support with the most burst and Soraka is the support with the highest sustain. Just keep jumping in. Soraka can only try to silence you and throw some bananas. Her heal cooldown is too high to keep up with the damage you deal.

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Sona - 1/5 She is just food for Leona. She is as tanky as a minion early on. Normally you would want to jump the enemy AD carry, but jumping Sona is fine too. You can one-shot her at level 3. She can't do much in 2v2 fights until she is level 6. Just play agressive and she won't be able to heal enough. Also keep the brush warded so she can't poke you from there. At level 6 you have to play a little bit more careful and keep her ult in mind.

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Nami - 2/5 Pretty easy to play against. She does have CC, but it's very unreliable. Her heal and poke potential isn't that high, because her damage isn't that high. At level 6 her ult can be a problem but you will still beat her in a straight up fight. Just try not to get poked a lot and burst someone down in one combo so she can't keep healing.

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Karma - 3/5 Very similar to Nami. Karma has strong poke. Her shield is really strong though, and will take away a large portion of your burst. It also gives a speed buff which will make it easier to dodge or run away.

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Nunu & Willump - 3/5 Nunu can't do much to protect his AD carry from you. He can only slow you, which doesn't help a lot. You also have two stuns to interrupt his ult. Keep the lane brushes warded so he can't throw snowballs on you easily. Don't focus him in a 2v2 fight, he will just use Consume to get health back, but he doesn't offer sustain to his lane partner. His bloodboil can be very annoying because it gives his AD carry MS and AS, allowing them to dodge your abilities and poke more easily.

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Blitzcrank - 3/5 This is pretty much an even matchup. It depends on who can land their skillshots and position better. Leona has more burst damage but she has to jump in, while Blitz can pull your AD carry towards him. Always stay between Blitzcrank and your AD carry. If he pulls you, you can easily jump his AD carry. Just try not to get pulled into the turret and be careful.

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Thresh - 3/5 Really similar to Blitz, but a bit more difficult. He has a lot of CC and a shield to peel and protect his carry. His ranged auto-attacks provide very strong harass. When it comes to a 2v2 fight, Leona will probably win (depends on the AD carries ofcourse) because she has more damage. His ult is really strong so be careful after level 6. Don't play overly aggressive or you will be an easy target for ganks which Thresh can assist really well with his lantern and CC.

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Lulu - 4/5 She has incredibly annoying poke. You have no sustain or shields so she can pretty much poke all the time as long as she stays at a safe distance. Her ult and shield are really strong against your burst and they will protect her teammates really well. Try to not get poked or baited. Ward the brushes and keep moving around. At level 6, be aware of her ult. As long as she has it, it's really hard to get a kill.

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Fiddlesticks - 4/5 Although not played much, Fiddlesticks is a really strong support. He has a lot of poke and disengage tools. If you jump the enemy AD carry, he can either fear you or your AD carry, which pretty much means the fight will be a 1v2 (fear lasts tooo looong). Then he can silence you both, which prevents a lot of burst. I can't say I've played much against him, but I think he works well against Leona.

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Taric - 4/5 A difficult matchup for Leona. Taric provides a lot of tankiness for his AD carry, countering your burst. His stun can also be used to disengage fights. He can partially heal back your damage too, so exchanges will usually be in his favor. Try to either play passively and let your AD carry farm, or play really aggressively so he can't heal back enough.

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Alistar - 5/5 One of the strongest picks against Leona. He can knock you around to protect his AD carry so you can't get close. It's also really dangerous to jump in when he is near. He could potentially knock you up and then into their turret. He basically makes it impossible for you to jump in. He also has sustain you don't have.

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Janna - 5/5 Her abilities really counter your burst. If she reacts quick, she can tornado you when you jump her, stopping you instantly. Her shield can protect her teammates and her ultimate is a really strong disengage tool which can put you in a bad spot.

ENEMY MARKSMAN

Kog'Maw - 1/5 The easiest AD carry to play against. He has nothing to get away from you and is really squishy. He also has no real poke before level 6. You can shut him down pretty hard if you play aggressive. Not much else to say here.

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Varus - 1/5 He's got some pretty good poke, but if you can get on him it's over. He has no escapes or extra tankiness. In most cases he will take a lot of damage (or use Flash/ Cleanse) when you jump him. Landing your skillshots will be easy if he gets too close, because he has no way to dodge them. Try not to get poked down. Play aggressive as soon as you hit level 3. At level 6, you can just ult him, which will get him killed or make him use his Flash if you aim well (and your AD carry responds).

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Draven - 2/5 He also lacks an escape mechanism but he is crazy strong early-game and has a movement speed boost. This makes him harder to fight.

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Ashe - 2/5 Again, no built-in escapes. Once she gets jumped, it's difficult for her to get away. She does have good poke and the ability to kite. She can peel for herself too with her ult if she needs to, which can save her. Try to stay behind minions against her.

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Miss Fortune - 3/5 She has good poke and some extra mobility. She can wear you down before you can play aggressive. At level 6, you have to watch out for her high ult damage. She has no dashes or blinks though, so you can jump her fairly easy. Try not to get poked before you are at least level 3. Tell your AD carry to play careful too. At level 3, you can win fights if you jump her.

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Jinx - 3/5 Jinx has no reliable mobility (her passive only helps situationally), but has very strong disengage tools. Her traps and slow can stop an engage on her. Try to avoid longer fights. Just go in and get out before you take too much poke. The best time to engage is when her traps are on cooldown.

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Tristana - 3/5 She is a little weak early-game, but her jump is really annoying for Leona. She can escape pretty much anything with it. Her ult is also a really strong disengage tool. Try to be aggressive as much as possible early. Her jump has a long cooldown, so try to engage when she doesn't have it.

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Graves - 3/5 His extra tankiness with his passive is very good against burst. He can also use his dash to stay safe and has some poke. You will have to time your abilities well if you want to catch him. Watch out for his burst. Depending on his support, he can deal some scary damage really quickly.

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Corki - 4/5 He has a really strong escape and good poke. He can get to safety easily and zone you. His main weaknesses are his mana-costs and long cooldown. If he uses his abilities too much, he will go oom in no-time. Try to be aggressive when he can't use his abilities. Once his jump is on cooldown, he has no escapes.

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Lucian - 4/5 Lucian can be a pain in the laning phase, especially for Leona. He has a dash and an MS boost. On top of that, he has very strong poke. If you're losing trades, consider just playing it safe. Late-game Lucian will be extremely weak compared to most AD carries anyway.

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Ezreal - 4/5 Also very strong poke and an instant escape. He can kite really well and just be annoying throughout the game. He is very hard to lock down. He also has good burst to counter your's. Just try to stay healthy by dodging skill-shots and staying behind minions. Once he uses Arcane Shift, try to jump him before he get it back.

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Caitlyn - 5/5 Insane poke and disengage tools. Her long range allows her to farm from a safe distance. She can put down traps to zone you and protect herself. Overall, she can force you to play defensive really easily, which is absolutely not what you want as Leona. The key to doing well in this matchup is trying really hard to avoid taking damage. If she gets you low, there's nothing you can do. With a good AD carry, you can burst her down.

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Kennen - 5/5 I know he's not played as an AD carry very often, but he is very strong against Leona. His poke is very strong and he can defend himself really well with Lightning Rush and stuns for disengage. He can force you to be careful with Thundering Shuriken. At level 6, his ult can stun-lock you and your AD carry to counter your engage. His weakness is his dueling. When you do catch him, he will lose the trade.

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Vayne - 5/5 She has huge mobility and disengage tools. Her Tumble has a very low cooldown and she can defend herself really well with Condemn. Silver Bolts can really hurt you too. She is a very strong kiter and duelist. Her damage is pretty low early-game though, which can leave her vulnerable in 2v2 fights.

LANE PARTNERS

Graves - 5/5 He probably has the best synergy with Leona. The burst this lane can pull off is insane. You dash in and CC-lock someone, then Graves dashes in and procs your passive with Q (and R maybe) and one or two auto-attacks. It's very important to know the combo and use it! Play aggressive and look for kills, otherwise you will be at a disadvantage. Don't be afraid to go in. Since you will play aggressive, you must always remember to ward or you will die.

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Ezreal - 5/5 And I don't mean blue build Ezreal! Blue build Ezreal is terribble with Leona! His follow-up burst is very strong. If you stun someone, He is guaranteed to hit his Q (maybe 2) and W, unless the enemy uses Cleanse/ Flash. He can use E to jump in and for some extra damage to proc your passive. Once you both get to level 6, you get a huge power spike and you can pretty much one-shot anyone if all your abilities hit.

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Jayce - 5/5 No he's not really an AD carry, but I have to mention him here. Among all possible AD carries, he has by far the highest burst damage (at least before level 6). He can follow up without a problem and put out huge damage while he is pretty safe with his mobility and disengage tools if things go wrong. With this combo you can one-shot someone as soon as when you reach level 3. He might not seem like the best AD carry, but this lane absolutely works. I've played it a lot myself (as Leona and Jayce).

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Vayne - 5/5 The synergy here is based on chain-CC, burst and all-in potential. Zenith Blade, Shield of Daybreak and Condemn can lock someone in place for a full 3.25 seconds! This requires good coordination, but once you pull it off, you will be almost guaranteed a kill or some summoner spells. After level 6, you can just straight up fight 2v2. Vayne will out-damage almost anyone at this point, especially if you lock them down.

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Corki - 4/5 He has great burst. With both your combos, you can one-shot enemies, but when you don't get a kill or a big advantage, Corki will lose mana pretty quickly. Also, his Valkyrie has a huge cooldown, meaning he can't always use it to follow up safely. Apart from these things, he's a really good lane partner.

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Ashe - 4/5 This lane's power lies almost completely in its level 6 strength. An enemy that doesn't bring Cleanse against this lane is a dead enemy. If you both hit all your abilities, you can lock someone down for around 5.5 seconds! Plently of time to kill them. Before level 6, it's usually best to play save, but when you see a good opportunity, you can jump in. Ashe has some pretty good burst with her Volley, but can't always follow up easily.

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Miss Fortune - 4/5 Miss Fortune is a very strong AD carry in lane. She has both burst and poke, and can play aggressive against pretty much anyone. When you jump in, she can proc your passives easily from range with Double Up and Make it Rain. Once you get to level 6, her burst is insane and will force enemies to play defensive.

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Tristana - 4/5 Her burst damage isn't extremely high, but she can definitely deal some serious damage. Her strength is that she can jump in, get a kill and then jump out, which makes her a bit less vulnerable to counter-ganks. With Tristana you have the option to go for kills, but you can also play safe and let Leona be a body-guard.

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Jinx - 4/5 Jinx is a great lane partner. Your combined CC is insane. She also has great burst damage and just overall presence in the lane. If you time and aim your abilities well together, you will probably be able to kill anyone.

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Twitch - 3/5 Twitch is very strong at lower levels. You can exploit this by playing very aggressively from level 2 or 3. His poison and expunge will deal huge amounts of damage combined with Leona's burst. His slow makes it easier for you to engage. This lane can lead to kills very quickly, but if you get behind it will be very difficult.

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Sivir - 3/5 With Leona, she can be very scary. She has long range poke/burst, which allows her to proc your passive from a safe distance, while dealing a good amount of damage. On top of that, she has her Spell Shield to protect her from damage or CC.

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Quinn - 3/5 She has good burst, especially after level 6 with her ult. With her blind she prevents counter-damage from your enemies. Her problem is her short range. When you engage, it doesn't always mean she is in range for her abilities or auto-attacks.

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Caitlyn - 3/5 If played properly, she can work well with Leona. Her Piltover Peacemaker combined with a well-placed Yordle Snap Trap can provide great burst damage and CC. Her problem is that she can't fight for a long time or she will probably get outdamaged. Caitlyn players usually play to push and poke, which makes it impossible for you to do much. However, in this case your presence will still matter as it will deter enemies from fighting.

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Lucian - 3/5 Lucian's strong early-game works well with Leona. He can follow up easily with his dash and burst combo. You should play very aggressive and try to get a large early lead. Make sure you look at Lucian's mana bar before you go in, he can run out pretty quickly.

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Draven - 3/5 His brutal early-game power makes him strong in lane with pretty much any support. With Leona, you can accentuate this power by being another threat enemies don't want to get close to. When you catch someone, Draven can follow with continuous damage and more burst after level 6. A key point in this lane is level 2. Try to get exp from golems or wolves to be level 2 sooner. If you fight at level 2 against level 1 enemies, you will absolutely crush them.

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Varus - 3/5 His burst damage isn't the best, but he definately has some. At level 6, you have a ton off CC which can easily set up a kill. Just let him poke and go in when you see an opportunity. Fight when you have the advantage, for example when your enemies are low because of Varus' poke.

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Kog'Maw - 1/5 Pretty much the only AD carry that has (almost) no synergy with Leona. With Kog'Maw, you want to play safe in lane and farm. He has no burst damage or follow-up abilities. Kog'Maw is usually paired with a support that can heal, buff and/or protect him well. Anything that helps him get through the laning-phase. Leona can protect him, but without fighting potential, she is forced to play passive.

I think Leona should be played more often and I hope this guide inspired you to play her. She is really underrated in my opinion but very fun to play and really strong. She is pretty easy to play but to use her to her full potential, you need a lot of practice. She can carry pretty well for a support/tank.

Thanks everyone for reading my guide. I hope you liked it! Please leave a comment/rating. I will reply to anything worthy of a reply and I will take the feedback seriously.