Swain

The Noxian Grand General

Mage / Support · Mana · Ranged

About

Swain, the Noxian Grand General, is a mage and support champion who uses Mana as a resource and attacks at range. Their kit focuses on magic damage.

On the official scale, difficulty is 8 out of 10: a champion hard and needs practice to perform well.

Compared with other champions, Swain starts with average HP (595), below average armor (23) and average move speed (330). Attack range is 525 units.

Swain has 10 skins besides the default look.

Difficulty

Attack2

Defense6

Magic9

Difficulty8

Abilities

Passive · Ravenous Flock
Swain's ravens collect Soul Fragments that heal him and permanently increase his maximum health.
Q · Death's Hand
Swain unleashes several bolts of eldritch power that pierce through enemies. Enemies hit take more damage for each bolt they are struck by.
Cooldown: 7/6/5/4/3s · Cost: 40/45/50/55/60
W · Vision of Empire
Swain opens a demon eye that deals damage and slows enemies. Champions hit are revealed and also grant Swain a Soul Fragment.
Cooldown: 20/19/18/17/16s · Cost: 60/65/70/75/80
E · Nevermove
Swain launches a wave of demonic power forward. It then returns to Swain and roots enemies it hits. Swain can then choose to pull all rooted champions closer. This ability has a shorter cooldown during Demonic Ascension.
Cooldown: 12/11.5/11/10.5/10s · Cost: 50/55/60/65/70
R (Ultimate) · Demonic Ascension
Swain transforms into a demon and drains health from nearby enemy champions, minions, and neutral monsters. Swain can cast Demonflare to decimate and slow nearby enemies with a nova of soulfire. This form is indefinite as long as Swain drains enemy champions.
Cooldown: 120s · Cost: 100

Tips for playing Swain

If you're having trouble rooting an enemy with Nevermove, try throwing it at opponents when they are near their minions so the explosion surprises them.
While laning, try to use Death's Hand's piercing damage to damage opponents from a safe distance.
Vision of Empire is quite difficult to land on its own, look for skirmishes around the map where enemies may be distracted or crowd controlled so you can land it more easily.
Demonic Ascension may make Swain very hard to kill but he's pretty easy to get away from. Try building items that can slow opponents to keep them in range if their mobility is overwhelming.

Tips for playing against Swain

Swain's passive is very potent if you are immobilized. Make sure to be extra careful around enemies who have immobilizing effects.
High mobility counters all of Swain's basic abilities: Death's Hand does more damage the closer he is, Vision of Empire has a very long delay and Nevermove must start returning back to him to be dangerous.
Buying an item with Grievous Wounds will make Swain much easier to kill during his Demonic Ascension.

Base stats

HP: 595 (+99 per level)
Mana: 400 (+29 per level)
Armor: 23 (+4.7 per level)
Magic resist: 34 (+1.55 per level)
Attack damage: 58
Attack speed: 0.625 (+2.11 per level)
Move speed: 330
Range: 525

Lore

Jericho Swain is the visionary ruler of Noxus, an expansionist nation that reveres only strength. Though he was cast down and crippled in the Ionian wars, his left arm severed, he seized control of the empire with ruthless determination… and a new, demonic hand. Now, Swain commands from the front lines, marching against a coming darkness that only he can see—in glimpses gathered by shadowy ravens from the corpses all around him. In a swirl of sacrifice and secrets, the greatest secret of all is that the true enemy lies within.