Swain

Detailed Tips

1. 01

   Level 1 E Start - Try to cheese PTA proc or Conq with E1 > 3 auto's > disengage with E2.

2. 02

   Play For Level 2/3 Kill Angle - Once you chunk out Swain level 1, you're most likely able to kill him With Your W, Dash or Flash up. Look to shove the wave around your kill timer, so you're able to make Swain lose a lot more.

3. 03

   Respect Swain Q - Swain’s main poking tool within the lane is his Q ability, which he can use to strike enemies in a cone in front of him. Typically Swain Q costs a lot of mana early, so any chance he uses Q will expend a lot of his mana. Try to use short in and out clicks to bait his Q’s, allowing you to easily bait it out then punish right after with an E combo, as long as he also misses his E.

4. 04

   Avoid Swain E - Swain E essentially sets up his entire combo pattern as he can E > W > Q, allowing him to stun and burst his target down, on top of also gaining passive stacks for landing E and W. Swain E is typically easy to avoid, as you can also bait it out using short in and out clicks like I previously mentioned, to help you bait his E into you getting a free chance to combo him after he misses. Swain E is 12 seconds at rank 1, so typically wait until he uses it, which is either when you walk up to CS minions, walking towards him, or dashing towards him - Which you can side step or use E2, to avoid his E stun when dashing onto him.

5. 05

   Avoid Swain W - Swain W is generally a hard ability for him to hit, outside of being locked in his E root, or looking at the item shop without noticing his W. Overall make sure to avoid ever being hit by W, otherwise Swain obtains free HP stacks from hitting his ability, as well as marking you on the map for everyone to see your location.

6. 06

   Play Wave On Your Side - Playing the wave on your side essentially means playing wave states on your side of the map, via abusing wave manipulation tactics or freezing on your side of the map. Simply use this to help you combo on your laner, taking away any space from them being able to trade you back (This also helps prevent the enemy running you down with their extended or sustained movement speed abilities). You can also use this wave state to run down your opponent with your abilities up, helping you obtain kills a lot easier vs stalemate or ranged match ups. Look to do this when your opponents are below 50% HP, or potentially make a mistake to provide you an all in opportunity to run them down.

7. 07

   Quick Trades - E > Q > AA > W > AA > E Out / E > Q > W > E / E Q E - These combos allow for Renekton to get quick damage off in being able to keep health up and whittling his opponent down, use these to get your laner low and look for a low HP kill with flash.

8. 08

   Abuse Renekton's R Powerspike - Once you reach level 6 your ultimate will essentially help you consistently stat check and dominate any match ups you were winning or losing. Make sure to always wait for your R CD to help you make plays, otherwise it will lead you towards a major disadvantage in dueling your enemies.

9. 09

   Respect Swain R - Once Swain obtains R, he’s able to use this to consistently DPS and heal against his targets, while also being able to maintain his R for as long as he’s in combat. Another thing to note is that he can constantly apply his item effects, such as Rylai’s or Deathfire Torch. When Renekton has R, Swain can’t really overpower Renekton in the 1v1’s, so make sure to use your ultimate as soon as Swain does, then play around your empowered abilities and healing reduction to utilities of ignite or executioners to overpower him. Alternatively, you can always bait out Swain R and dash out right after, as this puts his CD onto a long CD and prevents him from being able to skirmish or teamfight effectively.

10. 10

    Build Executioner’s, Eclipse, Stridebreaker or BoTRK - Go Executioner’s to apply grievous wounds to lower Swain’s overall healing, make sure to get it if you’re not playing Ignite. / Go Eclipse for consistent power through mid game and damage mitigation with the shield. / Go Stridebreaker to cripple Swain's mobility and provide teammates with additional utility. / Go BoTRK to one shot and snowball with a damage focused build.

11. 11

    Mid Game + Teamfighting Tips - Swain’s main strengths are reaching his core items of which usually depend on his overall playstyle. Some Swain players prefer Rylai’s rush into Fimblewinter, to help them front line and tank for their team. While others prefer Deathfire Torch into Liandries, honing in on their ability to shred HP using their AoE damage R. Overall, Swain functions the same way, as typically you want to avoid any fights against Swain while trying to actively poke him out before he gets close, or bait his R into disengaging. Typically baiting out Swain R in solo queue is hard, but you can side lane within the mid game to help you force a trade against him, allowing you to bait out the R before any fights. But, if you’re going to do this, make sure to do it when his teammates aren’t nearby, otherwise they will easily be able to shut you down and regret that decision. When it comes to teamfights, try to shut down Swain’s carries first as Swain’s damage is only issue the longer the fights get, which typically happens if people try to focus on Swain first. Once Swain’s carries are dead, try to turn on swain and make sure to apply your healing reduction onto him to make him easily killable.