Hi I'm Nguyenning and this is my first guide! I'm currently a Gold III player climbing up the ladder with Syndra as my most played champion. This guide is made for Syndra currently one of my mains and I enjoy playing her very much. Her high skillcap and strength throughout the entire game make her one of my favorite champions to play. I began playing her towards the end of Season 3 and quickly found that she was particularly good in winning lower elo lanes because her mechanics are difficult to understand and the fact that her popularity was much lower at the time.

Syndra is in my opinion, one of the strongest mid-lane casters currently in the game right now. Her kit offers a high-damage nuke without sacrificing any utility. Her purpose in the team is to sit at the back of the fight and nuke one the enemy champs with Unleashed Power. That's not all Syndra is good for however, the utility in her kit allows Syndra to actively peel for herself and other members of the team. Syndra works well with a strong front line, while Syndra may have the utility to peel for members of the team, she really shines when a front line is able to protect her while she nukes down the enemy team her Unleashed Power and Dark Spheres

Any Feedback Would Be Appreciated.

Thanks For Looking Through My Guide!

Pros +High AOE Damage +Fast Waveclear +Great Range +High Single Target Nuke +Difficult to Counter

Cons -No Dashes -Very Squishy -One of The Highest Skill Caps -Difficult Positioning -Vulnerable to High Mobility

Marks

Pretty Standard Choice Among AP Casters. Penetrates Magic Resist Throughout the Entire Game.

Seals

Gives Armor So You Can Survive Any Incoming Ganks or Block Out Damage From Any AD Mid Laner.

Glyphs

Scaling AP Gives More Ability Power In The Long Run, Useful for Scaling Into Late Game.

Quintessences

Flat AP Quints Give You More Laning Power. Extra AP Will Increase Early Game Kill Potential.

I've noticed that many people look at Chalice of Harmony as their go to item to keep up with Syndra's mana costs. In my experience I've found that trading out this early mana sustain for more AP leads to more kills. While I do believe Chalice of Harmony is a good item to keep your mana up, I feel you trade out so much kill potential that it isn't worth it. If you're running out of mana then you aren't using your resources right during the laning phase. Instead of going for a Chalice of Harmony first I prefer to move into a Deathfire Grasp rush to maximize my damage output. In order to keep your mana high you basically just have to poke with Q and farm with auto-attacks. If I find myself living dangerously and making close calls or dying a few times I might go for a Seeker's Armguard and rushing Zhonya's Hourglass as my first complete item. My conclusion is that I find Chalice/Athene's an unnecessary item.

Full Offensive Build
As for my reasoning behind other items Deathfire Grasp, Zhonya's Hourglass, Rabadon's Deathcap, are all core items needed by every AP Caster. Void Staff is picked up in the later game when enemies start build Magic Resist and Sorcerer's Shoes are the common pick for magic penetration and move speed. As for the Lich Bane I find it to work on Syndra ( any AP caster) quite late into the game. Now from my experience, I'm honestly not that good, but I see even in higher elo games that there comes to a point when one team that's behind always turtles out the tower to their inhibitor, or a scenario similar to that. Lich Bane is a really good pick for this type of scenario because you can just take down towers like they are nothing. I find it's more of a game-ender type item when inhibitor turrets and nexus turrets are the goal, that the Lich Bane is an essential item.

Edit 3/22/2014: Lich Bane had a pretty bad nerf and I feel like it doesn't have a place in Syndra's build anymore. Instead Rylai's Crystal Scepter will give the same amount of AP that Lich Bane gave along with HP and a useful passive that slows, useful for catching someone out late game or making it easier to land your abilities.

Defensive Build
As for this defensive build I am still against the Athenes/Chalice, but that isn't the point. The point of this build is to keep your AP level pretty high while increasing your chances of surviving. I've swapped out the Deathfire Grasp for Rylai's Crystal Scepter because of the extra HP the Rylai's gives you. Leaving some kill potential behind for some survivability is completely fine if you're behind. As for the core items I kept Rabadon's Deathcap, Zhonya's Hourglass, and Void Staff. I also threw in a Guardian Angel for a second life and kept the Sorcerer's Shoes. In conclusion I feel like this tankier build will still be able to utilize Syndra's high damage but not all of it. Although since you are tankier, you will live longer and Syndra can also be used for her utility so that's just another trade off you may have to make.

Standard 21/0/9 Favoring the Offense Tree

Offense

- Capitalizes on CDR, Magic Pentration, Any Little Bit of Damage You Can Grab From Masteries. Points Thrown into Butcher and Feast to Improve Farming and 1 Point on Arcane Blade to Harass Early Game with Auto Attacks.

Utility

- Emphasis on Sustaining the Laning Phase; Hence Points in Meditation, Alchemist, and Strength of Spirit. Fleet of Foot Picked Up To Help Syndra's Poor Mobility and Runic Affinity to Extend Blue Buffs.

Must Have Summoner Spell Surviving Ganks & Securing Kills This Spell Does It All. Works Well vs. High Burst AP Casters, Great for Baiting and Surviving Through Ignites Useful for Securing Kills and Reducing Healing of Champs such as Volibear, Aatrox, etc. Good For Surprise Ganks Top/Bot, Useful if Ignite/Barrier Aren't Needed.

Syndra's kit is one of the most versatile and unique skillsets in the game. Everyone of Syndra's abilities aside from her Ultimate Unleashed Power can be cast while Syndra is moving. This is pretty significant in the laning phase as it will allow you to harass or farm while dodging your enemy's skills.

Syndra's passive skill is called Transcendent and this passive really shines in the mid-game. This passive gives everyone one of Syndra's ability a little perk when they hit max rank. This shines in the mid-game because it gives Syndra's main harass tool a really big bonus.

Syndra's Q is called Dark Sphere and it is your basic harass and farming tool in the mid-lane. Every one of Syndra's skills are based off of it. Earlier I was talking about Transcendent's affect on Dark Sphere, well at level 9 when Dark Sphere is maxed out it deals an extra 15% damage whenever it hits an enemy champion.

Syndra's W is Force of Will and it is basically a skill to help you position Syndra correctly. Force of Will can be used to grab minions (excluding Dragon and Baron Nashor) and throw them dealing damage and slowing any enemy hit within the circle in which it lands. Any object you hit in the Fog of War will be revealed for a brief duration. Force of Will can also be used to grab Dark Spheres. This is really important because you can re-position your spheres to a suitable location. Transcendent's effect on Force of Will is to increase the slowing duration of enemies hit by minions or Dark Spheres.

Syndra's E is called Scatter the Weak and it is her main source of Crowd Control. Scatter the Weak hits everything in a cone in front of Syndra dealing damage and knocking enemies back. If a Dark Sphere is hit by the cone it will launch in a line stunning anything in it's way. Scatter the Weak's cone width is increased when it is maxed out and effected by Transcendent.

Syndra's R or her Ultimate Skill is Unleashed Power. It is basically a point-and-click nuke that deals more damage depending on the number of Dark Spheres on the ground. If no Dark Spheres are on the ground it will hit with only 3 Dark Spheres. The Dark Spheres will remain on the ground for a short amount of time in which you are free to manipulate them with either Force of Will or Scatter the Weak. Transcendent's effect on Unleashed Power is to increase it's cast range by 75.

Syndra has quite a bit of power early game that shouldn't be underestimated. While laning your objective should be to farm with your auto attacks while keeping constant pressure on your opponent by spamming Dark Spheres. Watch your mana consumption carefully as too many dark spheres will completely run you dry. A good position for Syndra to be in is kind of in between the creeps and the enemy mid laner, so you can keep up a good rhythm with your Q harass, while getting farm with auto-attacks. If you find the enemy mid laner to be an aggressive laner with a lot of poke just sit back and farm with auto-attacks. Chances are that they will eventually screw up and miss an important skill shot. That's your cue to close the gap with Syndra's all-in combo. If you can't find an opportunity to assassinate the other mid-laner, then sit back and wait on your Jungler.

Syndra's All-In Combo: Dark Sphere and Scatter the Weak are the skills that initiate this combo. The ranges of Dark Sphere and Scatter the Weak synergize well with each other. If you throw a Dark Sphere at max range and walk up a little, the top of Scatter the Weak's cone with be able to push the Dark Sphere into the enemy champion pretty much doubling the distance that the Dark Sphere has traveled. After the stun has been landed, grab a minion or the Dark Sphere using Force of Will and give it a quick double tap on top of the enemy mid-laner than throw down your Unleashed Power, if you have Ignite throw it when you can, but otherwise the enemy mid-laner should have been deleted.
Note - DFG - If it is possible then you should throw your Deathfire Grasp first but I have found that to be hard since the range of DFG is only 750 compared to the 800 of your Dark Sphere. So instead what I've begun doing is hitting my DFG after my stun so it amplifies Unleashed Power by 20%. This won't bring out the full potential of Deathfire Grasp but Syndra should be powerful enough to be able to kill a normal enemy without even using DFG

Pre-Level 6 Combo: If you are able to poke them low enough with Dark Sphere then you should be able to land a stun using Scatter the Weak and follow the same combo as the all-in combo minus the Unleashed Power to execute the enemy champion. As you find you can't execute them, just chase them down with more Dark Spheres and Ignite, but be careful not to get caught!

3/16/2014: Added Content to Items
3/22/2014: Edited Opinion on Lich Bane due to nerf in 4.4