Hi there, this is my first guide so any feedback is greatly appreciated at the same time this is MY way of playing Leona that works for me, I have seen some crazy things built on her and I wanted to put my two cents in. I have played a fair amount of games with Leona and find her to be one of my favorite champs right now.

Pros
-Fantastic team passive
-High resists
-Great initiator
-Amazing ultimate
-Fearsome lane presence.
-Fights in heels and still kicks ***
-Great classic skin, so no need to spend money
-Bff's with Pantheon

Cons
-Low damage (I play her full tank)
-Team dependent(again full tank so needs a team to back her up)
-Skins not to exciting(IMO)

Sunlight
Your passive that will make you and your lane partner feared, and gives you reason to stay in team fights as long as you can. Although you cant benefit from this it is a great passive.

Shield of Daybreak
One of your 2 Stun spells. Your one hit wonder stun. Use this to stop enemy Ultimate's like Death Lotus or to help your lane partner get kills. This is truly a wonderful spell coupled with Zenith Blade which virtually turns it into a long range stun. This is an amazing spell throughout the entire game. We do only take one point in it early, we dont need the reduced cooldown as much as we need the damage and survivability our other spells offer

Eclipse
Your tanky ability. This gives you an amazing boost to resistances and a great way to
-spread your passive onto everyone in a team fight
-clear minion waves late game.
-Use this when entering a team fight, also when exiting a team fight or when being chased, it may just save your life.

Zenith Blade
One of your 2 initiation spells. Use this to
-Close the gap and stun a fleeing enemy
-Get into a team fight
-To gank just remember that it will take you to the LAST enemy you hit with it. So aim carefully.
-If trying to escape can be used to juke in multiple ways.

Solar Flare
Your second stun and second initiation spell. This is a great spell! it can:
-Stop enemy ults
-Stop or slow fleeing targets
-start team fights
-save teammates
-maybe even pick up a kill (I have done it)
Placement is EVERYTHING with your ult, however even if you miss the sweet stun filled center there is a nice slow on the outside.

(Just a little something I think of when I cast this spell.)

Grab your Shield of Daybreak stun at level 1, so if you get into a fight in a level 1 fight you can stun. next it really does not matter you just want all three of your spell when you hit level 3. I normally go with Zenith Blade at level 2 unless i'm getting heavily harassed in which case take Eclipse. After level 3 start rotating between Blade and Eclipse and taking Solar Flare whenever you can. I normally take Blade over eclipse for a little bit more damage. Finish stun last.
Zenith Blade First
Eclipse First
A normal Leona initiation combo will be something like Zenith Blade> Shield of Daybreak > Eclipse With Solar Flare when needed possibly stun the target to land your Blade or to stop the target if they start to get away.

Runes!
Marks
Greater Mark of Magic Penetration
Makes sense all your moves are magic damage.

Seals
Greater seal of vitality
Go amazingly well with Eclipse plus we dont want a squishy tank late game.
Other:
Greater Seal of Evasion and Greater Seal of Armor are also good choices.

Glyphs
Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist
Great addition to MR and making us more tanky.
Other:
Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction would also work if you dont feel you need MR.

Quints
Quints are probably the thing I shuffle around with the most. But I have settled on Greater Quintessence of Health These give you a nice early game health boost to aid in anything the lane phase has to offer.

I have also used Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed to great effect as well again runes are all up to play style and what you find works for you.

Masteries!

0/21/9 is my set up. Pure tank just be an immovable wall and protector of your team. So maxing both resistances is important. I dont take any points in evasion because im a tank and i dont really need to be dodging attacks, Leona and take the hits. instead the increased health regen is nice as well as the attack speed boost. and of course the final point in tenacity is a must for tanks.

Full utility 0/9/21 can be good as well, if you would rather have your items do the tanking and go for the increased move speed, and cooldowns be my guest.

Summoner Spells!
These are the 3 I would use.

Helps you get in and out of fights, chase down foes, close the cap to cast your ult or throw your blade. A great spell.


Same as Ghost. Helps getting in and out of fights, saving teammates and all that jazz.


Getting around the map or back in your lane quicker is never a bad idea. Spec for this and take it if you are solo top. That is the only time I use it.

Others:

A great spell to have if no one else does. However normally someone else has this and Leona has enough CC to be dangerous already. But if you want a little more to add take this

Is a possibility, but I always get a Quicksilver Sash

Used on other tanks, but not so great on Leo. Take it if you like it and know when to use it.

Start out with Cloth Armor and 5 Health pots. Dont forget you have them though! (Happens to me all the time.) This will give you a great chuck of survivability in the lane and a decent amount of healing with the pots to put up with heavy harass. I recommend this start to ANY tank.

From here stay in the lane (if you can) long enough to get your Philosopher's Stone then head back into the lane. P stone gives you great regen to deal with harass and be able to harass more yourself. Next get tier one boots, then get a Heart of Gold. Hog gives you more Gold per 5 which we need since we are not (or should not) be last hitting, as well as a nice boost to life. Then turn your Boots into Mercury's Treads i have never had a game where i have gotten anything else but merc treds.

This is your core build. From here you start to make the other team hate you by countering them. I Noramlly take a Negatron Cloak and a Chain Vest to fill my last 2 open slots. then i will begin to itemize.
The fun part about being a tank(besides winning) is really being able to do whatever you freakin want with items! make the other team hate you and become impossible to kill.

This..is meant for Leona. The activate is amazing. The health, the cooldown, the armor, the everything. Plus you can build right into it from your Hog. I highly recommend getting this bad boy on Leona. Just dont forget about the activate!
Ah the auto attackers worst nightmare! I gotta say i love this item. It's insane amount of armor and returning damage plus the increased resists from Eclipse will shut up any auto attacker.
Great health and fun aoe damage. I feel my runes give enough health though and the Armor is rather small on this item. However if you are feeling squishy feel free to grab this.
This is another great item, if your looking for cooldown reduction and a great amount of armor, look no further! Great aura as well.
This item i ALWAYS get on Leona. Its so dirt cheap it should be illegal, it has a fair amount of Magic resist, but the kicker is its activate. Its almost OP I dont see why more people are not using this.
Crazy amounts of Magic resist! if they have a magic heavy team you would be a fool not to buy this! The move speed helps too.
More health, mana, magic resist, and a shield vs CC? look no further! Although I would take Quicksilver Sash over this, Banshee's is still a great choice.
GET THIS! Get this, get this, get this. I used to hate this item, then I started using it on tanks, the health is great, the regens are great, the cooldowns are wonderful for Leo, and the active can be used in so many ways it hurts to consider. Dont even think about it, get this item
This is a tricky item that I would almost consider Semi-core. I used to run this all the time on Leo but found it pretty lame late game, sure its a great support item and has a nice buff, but sometimes its just not worth the money. Its on the fence. if you want to be the buff guy(or gal) go for this.
I have seen this on other Leona's and yes its an insane amount of health but I find it to expensive for my taste.
Ah the famous argument of GA. Don't get it because then the enemy team is sure to not attack you! But get it in case they do attack you so then you have a second life! I get this if the games simply will not end! hour plus game? get this.

My build Following core
After Mercury's Treads I grab my Clock and vest and either build a Quicksilver or an Omen with a Reverie in the middle. Yes this is 3 activate items, kinda overwhelming, but chain the omen slow plus make your team faster plus your stuns is just amazing amounts of death on the enemy team. After i have these 4 items you build to counter whoever is doing the most damage on the enemy team, pay attention to death recaps and see what is causing you the most harm. I normally grab Force of Nature for more Magic resist and Thornmail or Frozen Heart for more armor.

Try to lane with some kind of good damage dealer who can fly into battle as fast as you, or is ranged. My buddy and I have been running a Leona, Wukong lane and destroying all in our path. Dont last hit, let your lane mate get farmed up save your mana for stunning and harassing the enemy champs and eventually going in for the kill. Get a few kills (maybe even first blood) for your lane mate and just dominate. Your passive helps with harassing and once you hit level 6 your double stun combo with Solar Flare and Shield of Daybreak will almost always be a kill.

Once Laning phase is over, fall into the standard tank role of starting fights and protecting your team. know when it is a good time to engage and when is not a good time. Try to have most of your team with you, this at time can seem like herding cats, but engaging with your full team will lead to a much better outcome.
You are the Tank, the protector, the thankless job. You throw your life away to save a carry if you have to, you engage under a tower if it means you die but your team gets 4 kills and that tower. Your K/D Ratio Probably wont be positive. You get your money from assists! I got into tanking because I was tired of not having one around. Somedays I honestly want to rip my hair out and flip a table. But other days when I know that i turned the tide of battle and lead a team to victory make it all worth it.

Coming soon!

Overall Leona is a fun tank champion who has a lot of CC and potential to change the tide of battle and help her team to victory. Although many people complain about her damage output I find it just fine, she is a tank she does not need that much damage. If you have a good team and can place your ults well and shut down the enemy in your lane early on Leona is amazing. Even if you having a hard time early game and a not so great team, Leona is still amazing.

Again this is MY way of playing Leona that I find works like a charm, and that I want to share and hopefully hlep anyone wanting to play one of my favorite champs. This is also my first guide so ANY and all constructive feedback is welcome. Thanks for reading!

8/26/2011 Guide Created.