Syndra Build Guide by Ethereal16

Introduction

Hello, this is guide of Syndra, the dark sovereign. Since Syndra has been revealed, she has never been popular champion. I bought Syndra right after she has been released, but I immediately disappointed her weakness at first. After I play Syndra repeatedly, I think Syndra is not that bad, obviously she's not OP, though.

I write this guide to discuss about Syndra with other people. This guide is exactly how I play Syndra recently. I'm not a pro and I didn't play Syndra like hundreds of times, so my guidance might be wrong in some sections. I just want that there's gonna be more discussions about Syndra in here.

Pros / Cons

Pros
- Burst damage
- Easy farming (pushing)
- Easy to avoid gank
- Wide Range


Cons
- Squishy
- Mana dependent
- Hard to control

Spells

Ignite & Flash

Alternatives

Teleport : vs. roamer ( Evelynn, Twisted Fate etc)
Barrier : vs. burst damage ( LeBlanc, Talon etc)
Exhaust : not recommended

Skill Sequence

This is general skill sequence of syndra. Maxing Dark Sphere first, and Force of Will, then maxing Scatter the Weak at last. As Orianna, maxing 'w' makes better damage than maxing 'q', but in terms of mana and level of difficulty, maxing 'q' first makes you attack opponent easily and frequently.

The reason why choose Scatter the Weak at level 2 is to avoid early gank of enemy jungler. When enemy jungler gank you in early game, use Dark Sphere and Scatter the Weak to stun either jungler or mid.

Masteries

General

vs. AD ( Pantheon, Kha'Zix, Talon etc)
Since AD casters come to mid lane as well as AP champions, you always need to two masteries and runes. For both cases, 21 points to attack mastery is common. Syndra has no problem to farm when she is against most of AP carrys without any of defensive mastery, while she does when AD comes to mid lane.

When you use 21/0/9 mastery, using Meditation and Expanded Mind instead of Wanderer and Mastermind is fine.

Runes

General

You can choose whatever you want between those two glyphs and quintessences.


vs. AD
You can choose whatever you want between those two quintessences. If your opponent is AD, you need armor instead of scaling health, and you don't need any MR.


You also can use Greater Seal of Mana Regeneration, Greater Glyph of Magic Penetration, or any other runes. These examples are just my preferences.

Items

Start Items

General

Since Crystalline Flask's been nerfed, and Athene's Unholy Grail is one of core items for Syndra, Faerie Charm is good start. And, because Faerie Charm costs only 180 golds, you can buy many potions and wards.

sight ward You can buy 4 potions and 2 wards, or 6 potions and 1 ward. You can choose the number of Health Potion and Mana Potion as you want.

vs. AD

If you start with Faerie Charm, game will be tough if your opponent is AD caster such as Talon. Cloth Armor can counter those AD champions.

sight ward You can buy 5 potions or 2 potions and 1 ward. You can choose the number of Health Potion and Mana Potion as you want.

Early game
In early game, Chalice of Harmony is only core item for Syndra because she is dependent on mana. After buying Chalice of Harmony, there are 3 choices. 1) Upgrade to Athene's Unholy Grail 2) Buy Needlessly Large Rod 3) Buy Chain Vest. You should choose 3) only when your opponent is AD champion. In S2, 1) is the best item build in early game, but since Athene's Unholy Grail is nerfed in S3, you can buy whatever you want.


Late game

Syndra is highly dependent on mana. With Athene's Unholy Grail, Syndra can attack her enemies constantly without blue buff.
This is core item of all AP carrys.
Since Syndra is squishy, she needs some of defensive items. It gives high AP, some armor, and great active to survive.
This is another core item of all AP carrys. If your enemies don't buy any of MR items, Seraph's Embrace is better choice.
In late game, Zhonya's Hourglass is not enough to keep Syndra alive. Then Guardian Angel gives her the second life.


Alternatives
It is useful for Syndra because she needs a lot of mana. Besides, Tear of the Goddess makes Syndra to farm easily with extra mana. If your opponent is weak at beginning like Karthus, you can buy Seraph's Embrace instead of Athene's Unholy Grail.
Extra health and mana are quite useful for Syndra because she is squishy, though I prefer Athene's Unholy Grail to Rod of Ages. If you want to buy it, then Rod of Ages should be your first item.
Good for defence against burst AP like LeBlanc, but it's unique aura is not useful for Syndra.
If your enemies have many CCs, Banshee's Veil will help you to survive. In that case, it is even better than Guardian Angel.
In S3, items which increase health are efficient than others. It is okay to buy Warmog's Armor instead of Guardian Angel, but I don't recommend.
If your enemies are all AD, these two items will help. But Syndra should position at the back of our tankers, so these items' passive or active aren't that useful.

Early game

Syndra is strong at lane if you can use Dark Sphere accuately. Constantly harass opponent with Dark Sphere when opponent trys to farm. Dark Sphere is hard to avoid, has low mana cost and low CD. Even though your opponent is stronger than Syndra before 6 such as Pantheon, Cassiopeia, Swain, you can farm with Dark Sphere.

After 6, if you harass your opponent well before 6, you can get a chance to kill with Unleashed Power. Obviously you should check enemie jungler's location before use ult.

Mid game

Middle of game is the best time for Syndra. Because her ult is only for one opponent, she is not that good in late game.

Syndra is strong at 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 fight rather than 5 on 5 teamfight, so you should roam frequently after pushing your lane with Dark Sphere and Force of Will and gank other lanes or jungle. If your opponent is better roamer than you are (e.g. Twisted Fate), you have 2 choices. 1) pick Teleport and follow him. 2) push mid lane and destroy turret as fast as you can.

Late game

Syndra has a useful skill for teamfight, Scatter the Weak. While how to use ult is the most important thing in middle of game, how to use Scatter the Weak is the most important skill in late game.

You should position near your AD carry, and knockback or stun with Scatter the Weak bruiser or tankers who come to AD carry or you.

In late game, because your enemies have high MR, Syndra can't kill one champion at once. On the other hands, you can deal constantly with Dark Sphere, which has low CD.

Hard matchup

These are matchups which I suffered while playing Syndra, and my strategy to deal with them.

If your opponent picks him, you better not to pick Syndra. If it's blind pick, then I recommand to swap your lane with bottom. Syndra can stand 2 on 1 better than Pantheon. If you should match him, play as safe as you can, and destroy turret as fast as you can when Pantheon ganks other lane with ult. Starts with Cloth Armor and buy chian vest, and upgrade to Zhonya's Hourglass.
She is tough opponent, but luckily, Syndra's core item is Chalice of Harmony. LeBlanc can't push the lane, so after buying Chalice of Harmony and Negatron Cloak, you should keep pushing the lane not to make LeBlanc gank other lane freely.
Don't try to harass her. 'q' skills of both champions are strong at lane, but Cassiopeia have q-e combo which is extremely harsh. Avoid Noxious Blast if it's possible, and ask jungler to help you because Cassiopeia has only Flash to avoid it.
Syndra have longer range with Dark Spherethan Jayce. If you can avoid e-q combo of Jayce, then he will suffer mana trouble. After he buys Tear of the Goddess, push your lane as fast as possible and follow him if he trys to gank.


These champions are easy at the beginning, but grwoing harder.

He is easy at first. Just keep distant from him so he can't hit you with Siphon of Destruction. You can keep harassing him with Dark Sphere. But, after he buys Hextech Revolver, your harassment is no longer effective. If you couldn't deny him at the beginning, then ask your jungler to help.
Most of melee champions except Pantheon are easy for Syndra at the beginning. But after 6, they can kill Syndra with burst damage, and they can gank other lane more effective than Syndra. Play safely after 6, and try to 1) follow and counter their gank, 2) push the land and destroy the turret.