Hi, I am A7W Vingança, a Season 4 Gold Tier from Brazil server. This guide is of my favorite champion, that helped me to get out of Silver tier this season. This is my first guide, and English is not my primary language so feel free to warn me if there is any kind of mistake.

This guide will show how to explore Zyra, a good AP mid champion that has a good AoE damage and CC, and can help the team to carry the game. Some rules have to be remember always when playing with her:

1. Always choose not to die instead get a kill. Safe gameplay is the main rule.
2. Spare mana. Use less or don't use your abilities to farm. See further the Farming chapter for more tips.
3. Don't waste your Grasping Roots (E) unless you feel safe in lane. (Ward is essential) If you do, go back a little in the lane.

Pros

+ Good damage + Abilities and CC in area + Even behind can help the team + Good engage\desengage + Plants helps a lot + Fun to play with + She's not popular

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Cons

- Hard to master - Squishy without good items - No mobility - Slow abilities

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With this guild you will be able to do a good damage (sometimes the best damage against champions in the team) and high Crowd Control (slow with Rylai's Crystal Scepter, root and knock up).

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Offensive runes

Defensive runes

A good start with Magic Penetration will help with your abilities and the damage done by the plants, so, I choose 9x Greater Mark of Magic Penetration. As a little AP is good to her start, I choose 3x Greater Quintessence of Ability Power. I can also choose Greater Quintessence of Scaling Ability Power to increase her power beyond level 7.

I never give up the defensive role, so I choose 9x Greater Glyph of Magic Resist and 9x Greater Seal of Armor. You also may select Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist and Greater Seal of Scaling Armor.

This guide focus on an aggressive and a defensive Zyra, but it's necessary to compensate the lack of item-mana choosing a some points in Utility Tree.

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Offense (21)

Utility (9)

Sorcery: Grants a little CDR, good with the passive of her Rampant Growth. Butcher : Helps AA farming. Mental Force and Arcane Mastery : AP. Necessary. Executioner and Dangerous Game : Damage and recover after a kill may save your life. Archmage : AP ratio bonus. Necessary. Arcane Blade : Helps AA farming. Devastating Strikes : Penetration is necessary. Havoc : More damage input.

Fleet of Foot : Helps to avoid pokes. Meditation and Strength of Spirit : Good regeneration. Alchemist : Little sustain. Runic Affinity : Blue lasts longer.

Great spells, normally the main selection:

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Provides aggressive strategy and also defensive, good escape. I don't recommend take this off.

Damage input to finish, reduce sustains, and also helps to get a first blood.

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Situational:

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Defensive for a hard lane. Choose also when get close to ignite is too dangerous, like Orianna.

Its a good spell, but works better when rolling as support.

Mandatory just when the other team has a lot good CC champ. Is viable when facing a good CC champion in the lane.

Let's talk about skill sequence a little bit. This is what a I recommend:

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> > DEADLY BLOOM >

Why max E before Q? Because E provides scales the time root and provides more slow to melee plant (Vine Lasher) on hit. Too good. Also, focusing E before Q reduces its cooldown, which is just awesome to Zyra.

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This next is not bad, some guides recommend:

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> = DEADLY BLOOM >

Basically is upping E and Q together; for a long time I did that, but now I cannot say that's the way, because both abilities loose damage when upping together and you get too much from CD reduction on Grasping Roots

Initial strategy (Before level 3)

Try to use no ability, only with your AA. This will freeze your lane. If the opponent wastes his mana, good, soon he will miss to be more careful.

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Seed zoning (After level 2)

When you have two seeds and you a safe in the lane, put one Rampant Growth (W) between you and the enemy. When he try to step on it, hard poke on him.

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Soft poking strategy - zoning (After level 3)

Behind the enemy lane, next to the enemy champion, hit him with DEADLY BLOOM (Q) and faster put one Rampant Growth (W).

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Hard poking strategy (After level 3)

Try to hit your Grasping Roots (E). At the same time, put on the champion one Rampant Growth (W). If you successfully root the opponent, put fast another Rampant Growth (W) behind the champion (on the way back to his turret) and user your DEADLY BLOOM (Q). Go back and watch the plants doing the rest of the work. If you are safe, you may AA the champion either.

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Core Items

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This double provides % of life damage, good slow, life and 150 AP. It's expensive though, and don't provide much AP as other items, but it's perfect for your abilities. After Haunting Guise, usually I buy Giant's Belt before Liandry's Torment.

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I usually, when doing a great job, do this item after the double, so I choose it as core because it's priority over other offensive item.

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Boots

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Magic penetration is always welcome. Main mage boots.

If you are facing a hard CC mid lane.

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Offensive Items

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Awesome item to increase your AP. Zyra can do fine without too much AP, but increase her AP will do a good damage. A good item to burst a target. Buy if you want to take someone down faster. I don't use to buy this item often, but I buy when I'm too much ahead and want to neutralize the most ahead opponent. An excellent item. It's both offensive and defensive. Rush it even before the core when facing a heavy AD mid lane and getting in trouble. 1 Not a popular item neither I use often. But it's a good item for Zyra when you want to push lane faster and also do a great damage from your plants. You should not rush it; can be the 5th or 6th. A good item when facing high sustain champion on the other team (think not just against your lane), like Dr. Mundo or Fiddlesticks. 1 1 Defensive Items 1 Good when facing high damage burst like LeBlanc or Fizz. Excellent item to pick as last item in this guide. You'll have a good life, good CC, good damage and now a little bit of tankness (you never be tank, so don't try to tank, but you can handle a good amount of damage from the team fights). Buy this before if you are being focused. A good item when facing a heavy AD team. With Zhonya's Hourglass, you'll gain 130 armor bonus,and with the core, a bonus os 1.2k of health, leaving you about 200 of armor and 2.5k of life. Still not tank, but a good chance to survive.

Zyra and Amumu have a great synergy, once both have area ult with a good CC. Her Grasping Roots and Amumu's Bandage Toss also combo and make easier for eachother to shot. Amumu tankness increase team potencial. Be aware to not select only magic damage champions.

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Yasuo gets a lot of benefits from Stranglethorns knock up, once his ult can be activated on all enemy team. His crits (physical damage) is also a good call for the team.

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Malphite's ult is a good call for the team, and also his tankness. Both have good CC - slows, knock ups and her root: a good potential to damage enemy team.

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Nunu & Willump's ult is a good call for the team, and also his tankness and his sustain. Both have good CC - slows and her root and knock up: a good potential to inflict a higher damage to enemy team.

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Aatrox have a good AoE damage on his ult, and his knock up turns harder to enemy team scape Stranglethorns. Also, the physical damage from Aatrox will give a good composition to the team.

This guide is good to be published now, but It's not over. I'll update him with videos, new strategies as long this new season is coming and how Zyra behaves.