Zyra Mid lane Guide

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I will enhance this guide eventually.

Pros

Heavy Burst and Solid sustain
Manageable Mana
Lots of AOE for Team Fights
E + W + W + Q + R Speaks for itself
Great early game duelist
Solid "escape artist"
Ult does huge damage + Knock up + Buff Plants inside the area.

Cons

AP reliant
Not the squishiest but low base HP
Gap closers and High mobility can be managed but pose big threats
MR takes the huge damage potential out, leaving her with CCs.

Flash and Ignite/ Exhaust

Flash is the best summoner spell period. Utilize it both offensively and defensively. Flashing onto an opponent from a bush or over a wall is always epic and gives you and your team a distinct advantage. Likewise flashing over a wall to run can save your life, no need to feed.

Ignite is solid. It adds to your overall damage output and scales throughout the game. Small AP and AD buff when its on CD when you spec into it. Usually a finisher to secure a kill.

Exhaust is viable. I wouldn't pick it over the other two but it works. The slow and debuffs are undeniably effective. Makes you hit harder x2 when you spec into it.

21/0/9
Typical caster setup. You will look at the utility tree and consider placing points elsewhere; I really wouldn't. Lessening cooldowns is always a plus.

Marks-
x9 Magic Pen.
You need the Magic Pen for obvious reasons; hit harder, some MR ignore.

Seals-
x9 Mana Regen
Takes care of your mana issues. Allows you to focus on raw AP.

Glyphs-
x9 Scaling AP
Can substitute with flat AP if you want to be more aggressive early on but I like the scale later in game.

Quints-
x3 AP
Just makes her so strong. Every move hurts, compliments the build very well.

Zyra's skills are as follows:
Passive: Rise of the Thorns
Deadly Bloom
Rampant Growth
Grasping Roots
Stranglethorns

Watch the spotlight video above to see what they do and how to use them.

Sequence:
Q- 1,4,7,9,12
W- 2,14,15,17,18
E- 3,5,8,10,13
R- 6,11,16

This order is to maximize your damage and CC as early as possible. At 6 you have tremendous early game burst and pushing your mid lane match out is easy. Q is your main damage and poker. E can be used to poke but usually an initiator for E + W + W + Q + R combo. Spawning Spitters with Q on your seeds will allow you to do more damage. Spawning Lashers with E on the seeds will slow anything they can reach but they lack range. Stranglethorns does damage in a target middle area and spreads outward. This can be dodged, place it wisely. Using the combo above in a target area will root enemies in place with E, put two seeds down with W and spawn Thorn Spitters with Q, then deal huge damage with R while also knocking up and buffing your plants. The damage is unbelievable and semi sustainable. Cooldowns are minimal. Your plants almost always target your target.

Passive:
Zyra's Passive is Rise of the Thorns. Upon dying Zyra turns into a plant after 2 seconds that can launch a straight line nuke in any direction for about the same range as your E. This hurts. Remember to use it. You have a limited time to use it.

Rampant Growth:
Your W can also be used as a semi-ward. Kind of like teemo's shrooms without the damage.

Starting with Boots and Health Potionx2 and a Mana Potion is what I have always done. Zyra does not have great mobility and this will help you poke and dodge early on. Wards are always a must mid lane.

I go for Blasting Wand first. It can be rushed into most of the AP items thus being very flexible. Typically I want to build Rabadon's Deathcap first.

The item builds above are all work fairly well. Get a feel for her and the items and see what works best for you.

Early Game-
When playing mid with Zyra you have an early game advantage. She is one of the best duelists IMO. Don't over extend and get ganked but play aggressively. Landing pokes with Q where you have seeds is crippling and can result in early kills. 9 times out of 10 I land first blood with a quick E + W + W + Q + Ignite combo. Keeping pressure while managing your mana will allow you to get on the turret early and gives you the ability to roam to a lane and help take pressure off your team. Make sure you ward side bushes.

Mid Game-
Obviously this entirely depends on the situation. She is a great farmer with her spitters. Putting distance between yourself and their mid will help your build and consequently your team immensely. You can keep pressure on the lane while farming the wraith camp over the wall with two spitters and a well placed root. Most mids do not have the ability or competence to do this, take advantage. Continue to roam when needed but play smart and be aware of the map. Utilize plants in bushes.

Late Game-
During team fights stay behind your tank line. Staying out of line of sight can result in a sloppy push and allow you to CC and Ult. You can ult to initiate or to finish. It also allows for a quick escape for you and your team if necessary. If you are being targeted hopefully you built Zhonya's. Clean up lanes and try to keep your CS up.

Further Ability Explanation with visuals Play Video
Pro Montage Play Video
High ELO Gameplay with commentary Play Video Old video but still good gameplay to learn from.


Zyra Vs. Twisted Fate Play Video
Zyra Vs. Annie Play Video
Zyra Vs. Ryze Play Video

In a nutshell you are a mage waiting to splurge your combo on the opponent. Mid ranged champs are easy for you, long ranged are tougher but still manageable, melee without gap-closers are fodder, gap-closers and high mobility are threats as well as high sustain. Manage your mana, keep your side bushes warded, apply pressure to other lanes when able, understand your opponents capabilities, stay ahead in CS, utilize wraith camp, get on the turret early and often, finish your build, get blue buffs when able, stay behind your tank line in team fights, use bushes for plants to escape or gank, and for the love of all things LoL... Learn to play. If you are looking at a guide you take this game more serious then some and are giving yourself the tools to be a better player, take the time to learn each champion and not just the ones you like to use. Inherently this will allow you to gain some instinct... ex. Foreseeing grabs, spears, ganks and learning to control the map are all things that come with time and playing the game. Mastering these things and being able to focus intently on your job and helping others do theirs are what make you a great player.