This is my first build/guide. I love Swain, he is definitely my best Champion and I use him for every game I play. I would just like to thank Puminor for his build on swain, I used his build for a while but found a better way that worked for me and since I started using my own build I have been able to lane anywhere with most champions and come out on top.

I hope this guide will help you improve your skill with Swain

Pro's

Great Harassment
Expert laning (once hit level 6)
Great survivability with Ulti
Combos cause great burst damage
Amazing in Team fights
Works well with AD champs
If used well can escape ganks
Has a pet


Cons

Squishy at low levels
Bad burst damage (until able to combo)
Terrible Escape ability without Ulitmate

The items I have chosen are good for Swain all game round. I start by getting Dorans Ring, and stay in lane until I reach 1200 Gold, Swain's passive makes him great at laning without running out of mana. Once you get Hextech revolver, return to lane and fight off the enemies, if you're mid before you recall make sure you have harassed your opponent as much as possible before returning back. Hextech revolver/gunblade is a brilliant item for swain as his ulti basically is a life steal ability, you get so much more health from it. Before the nerf of the hextechs, that was all you needed to stack.

Early game, You will have to last hit minions quite alot so you can stay in lane and get your build going alot faster and you will be stronger than the other champs on the game. When you're laning with an AD champ, you might have to lane solo while they return because some run out of mana/health and you don't when you last hit minions so it is a MUST that you make sure you last hit them. I prefer to lane with champs like:
Ashe
Gangplank
Olaf
Shen (taunt sets up snare)
Caitlyn
Vayne

With all these champions you're great support and your DoTs are a brilliant way of last hitting enemies for that gold. Once you have snare at level 2 you can actually get first blood quite easily, especially when laning with Gangplank or Ashe, because their slow helps you snare without them running past it and their burst AD is very high.

Mid Game, after the boots if you're from 3/4/5-0/1 KD then get the mejai's soulstealer. If you have equal Kills and Deaths but HIGH assists, you can still buy it because it will still stack. If you have not had a good start, skip the mejai's completely and move onto the blasting wand. Depending if your enemy champ has magic resist depends whether you get void staff or rabadons deathcap first. If none of the other teams champions have magic resist, skip void staff until one of them decide to get it.

Swain's abilities do cost alot of mana, especially in combo with his ulti, as his ulti drains 25 mana per second, blue buff around about level 9+ is quite essential. When I have laned against swain, 80% of the time they stack mana regen so the ulti is a perminant thing, DO NOT do this. If you do, you will die faster than if you stack Ability power as your healing will be around 150 per second while the ulti is active, plus the spell vamp from the gunblade will heal you when you use all your abilities.

Swain late game has got the be the best champion around, if you're good early/mid game, you're indestructible late game. You can take on up to 3 enemies at a time and come out on top. You can get ganked and still kill at least 2 enemies depending how well they have been doing. When I've been fed by the people I am laning against, i beat all other champs even if they have been fed themselves. Once you finish your build you will be so Over Powered people will just run from you. If your DECREPIFY is in range, use that then the Snare after that it is game over for that poor champion.

Swain is an absolute brilliant champion during team fights. If it's 5v5, engange first with the snare, then ultimate, then focus on the weakest champ, use DECREPIFY and TORMENT and basic attacks and they should drop, then move onto the champ your team are focusing and take them out, and you will either Kill most of them or get assists which is still great for points and good for a victory for your team.

The last few games I have played, I have done really well and helped my team to victory.

Thank you for taking the time and reading my guide, I know it's basic and brief. But I hope I have been able to help.

If there are any problems with this build/guide, or things that didn't work for you, comment below. I can take criticism and hope to improve this guide from your comments. I would really appreciate that you would not just Down vote it because it did not work for you, if you tell me what happened I might be able to tell you what you did wrong and help you. If I can’t help you maybe this guide just doesn’t suit your style of play

Thank You.

By Wheelazor (lvl 30 (EU West))

Remember. 'The Early Bird Guts The Worm'