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Zyra - Every Rose has its Thorn

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Introduction

Hello everyone! Welcome to my Zyra guide -- also my first guide, so bare with me! Zyra is a wonderful, new champion that has many strengths, but also many weakness. Hopefully I will making more guidess hereafter.

I hope you learn a thing or two (well, more than that).

Pros / Cons

Pros / Cons

Pros

+Wonderful farmer
+A lane pusher
+Good CC
+Amazing duelist
+Free attacking wards

Cons
-No escape skills
-Must land E
-Hard(ish) to play
-Crucial skill order
-Very easy target

Items

Survivability

Item Sequence

Pure Damage -Accredited to Morpheus (with weird symbols in his name :P)

Item Sequence

Masteries

My masteries are a general 21/9 for tank AP champions.

Runes

When I play AP, I like to go pure magic penetration and pure ability power. I read a lot of guides, and I see that the summoners go mana regen per level, ability power, some armor and possibly some magic resistance. The reason I don't is because with the items I build, I find that those runes are not as useful as full AP damage/magic penetration.

Runes

Precision

Fleet Footwork

Phase Rush

Summoner Spells

This is the best summoner spell for Zyra; amazing escape, and goes well with your E for chasing and ganking.

Finisher. This finishes the job, especially if you miss your passive or can't chase.

Ability Explanation and Order

deadly bloom

Rise of the Thorns (Passive):
Upon dying, Zyra transforms into a vengeful plant that fires one last shot before expiring.

I love this passive. If you plan on becoming a ritualistic Zyra, remember this passive. It will make you or break you. -- Say you're laning against a Lux. You both get your holds down, you get your two roots, your Q, and your ultimate down. She gets her E and ult on you while you're held. You both ignite and you fall; she has about 1/5 of her life left. Hold your mouse in her direction. It'll take two seconds, so keep your cursor on her. Fire it, and boom. Done. GG WP Lux surrender@20. This passive makes you a nuisance in team fights. People don't notice it because it looks like another one of her vines and they don't except the true damage it shoots out. Because it lasts for eight seconds, you can wait for the team fight to keep going and find the most useful shot you can make to give your team the advantage or just finish off those pesky champs that tend to get away. I love it. This passive determines if you are a defensive or offensive Zyra.

Deadly Bloom
Deadly Bloom(Q):
Zyra grows a bud at target location. After a brief delay it explodes, launching damaging thorns at all nearby enemies. If cast on a seed, Deadly Bloom grows a Thorn Spitter plant, which fires at enemies from afar.

I use this mainly for farming. I try to use it like Lux's E to harass the champion while still keeping up with CS. Nothing much to say about Zyra's Q.

Rampant Growth (W):
Zyra plants a seed, granting vision of an area for up to 30 seconds. Other spells cast on seeds will turn them into plants who fight for Zyra.

This skill is your ward, your CDRer(?), and your combo starter. If I suspect a gank, especially early game, I quickly put the seed into the bush to the left or right of me. I don't Q or E if I don't see anybody; that is just a waste of mana. If I do though, I quickly E, W, Q. If you can kill them, use your ult as well. But, for warding sake, just W. If someone is spotted, E and Q as well.

Grasping Roots (E):
Zyra sends forth vines through the ground to ensnare her target, dealing damage and rooting enemies they come across. If cast on a seed, Grasping Roots grows a Vine Lasher, whose short range attacks reduce enemy Movement Speed.

This skill is your baby. Use it for ganking, chasing, initiating, running, farming, or harassing. The description is pretty self-explanatory.

Stranglethorns (R]:
Zyra summons a twisted thicket at her target location, dealing damage to enemies as it expands and knocking them airborne as it contracts. Plants in the area are enraged, increasing their Attack Speed.

When she first came out and when I watched the champion spotlight, I was not impressed with this ultimate. I thought it was just a ginormous, delayed pulverize. Until I actually found my own comfortable combo set, I thought it was dumb. It finishes kills, stops runners, immobilizes carries, and saves you and your teammates.

Leveling Order
Deadly BloomDeadly BloomDeadly BloomDeadly BloomDeadly Bloom

Team Fights

Team fights can get tricky. Knowing when to use your ult, where to plant your seeds and where to use your Q and E takes a lot of quick observations. In a team fight, stay towards the back. Make sure you have both of your seeds ready, because one seed isn't enough. You could be doing 3/3s of your total damage rather than 2/3s. Make sure to plant your two seeds in the the enemy team or on top of the carries. You don't have to hit W first though. The time it takes for your E to get to the target, you can hit E and then plant your seed. It will hold them while your seed turns into an attacking vine. On top of them as well, Q and then another seed. Once your two vines comes up, ult. This will do 300+ magic damage, and then throw them up two seconds afterwards. I advise you to make sure you plant the ult a little behind them so they can't just run back and get out of it. Make sure to ultimate when your vines are still up and have your ultimate within the range of your vines. I've seen other Zyra's not do that, and consequently it has costed them the kill. Your ult gives your vines a 50% attack speed increase, causing even more damage while they're up in the air.

Make sure to target carries. In a late game team fight, that's around 200-300 magic damage per vine per hit. Your vines will attack what you are auto-attacking. They do not attack randomly unless you are not attacking. Auto-attack the carries and the vines will do the same.

Suggestions? Upcoming Edits

I will be editing this guide with a "How to Counter: xxxx" section explaining how to counter each champion, what items would help, and the strategy/combos used.

I really am open to comments and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. I will read and possibly reply all comments posted. I worked pretty hard on it, so hopefully it is a decent guide.

I will be updating the summoner spells shortly.

Thank you everyone for reading.

Sincerely,

Joey.