Swain in League of Legends is a battlemage who thrives in close-range fights. He drains health, controls space, and punishes opponents who misstep. This guide explains how his abilities work, how to play around his power spikes, and how to counter him.

Who Swain Is as a Champion

Swain is a mid-range mage who grows stronger the longer he stays in fights. His kit rewards smart positioning and steady pressure. He builds health and ability power, allowing him to survive inside skirmishes while dealing steady damage.

He shines in extended fights where he can drain multiple champions at once. His crowd control and healing make him difficult to remove unless teams invest in tools that cut his sustain.

How Swain’s Passive Works

Ravenous Flock

Swain’s passive fuels his durability. When enemy champions die, they leave Soul Fragments that last for a short time. Swain or his ravens can collect these fragments. He also gains fragments when he hits a champion with certain abilities.

Each fragment gives bonus health. When collected, he heals for a percentage of his maximum health. This healing grows with level.

Ravenous Flock also lets Swain pull immobilized champions toward him. This can trigger off his own root or any allied crowd control. This makes his passive a threat across teamfights, as a single stun or root can lead to a pull into danger.

Swain’s Core Abilities

Death’s Hand

Death’s Hand is his main damage spell. Swain fires five bolts in a cone. Hitting one target with multiple bolts increases total damage. This makes close-range combat important for maximizing output.

The spell has a short cast time. It continues to fire even if Swain dies during the cast. It is strong for waveclear and poke. Each bolt can be blocked by spell shields.

Vision of Empire

Vision of Empire reveals a large area and then explodes after a delay. It deals magic damage, slows targets, and marks enemy champions. If it hits a champion, Swain collects a Soul Fragment from that target unless a spell shield blocks the fragment.

The spell reaches far across the map. Swain can use it to check objectives, punish recalls, track the jungler, or follow up on allied crowd control. Its range increases with rank.

Nevermove

Nevermove is Swain’s root and pull tool. He sends a wave that deals damage to targets it passes through. At max range, the wave returns and triggers a detonation. This detonated form roots enemies and reveals them.

Swain can recast the ability to pull rooted champions toward him. He gains a Soul Fragment from each enemy champion caught in the pull. The pull interrupts channels at the start, though it does not hold the target in place during the movement.

The spell has unusual missile speeds, which accelerate at different points. Spell shields block either the pass-through or the detonation, but not both.

Landing Nevermove at max range creates near-guaranteed setup. Opponents have no time to sidestep the returning missile.

Demonic Ascension

Demonic Ascension is Swain’s major power spike. Swain releases the demon inside him and becomes ghosted. He drains nearby enemies every half second. Each tick deals magic damage and heals Swain. The healing is heavily reduced against minions and monsters, so it is mainly a threat in champion combat.

He gains Demonic Energy while draining champions. This resource keeps the ult active. Takedowns refill it. Draining at least one champion slows the decay of his Demonic Energy. Nevermove also gains reduced cooldown during the ult.

Swain does not need direct vision of targets to drain them. This makes brushes and fog strong zones for him.

Demonflare

After being in Demonic Ascension for two seconds, Swain can cast Demonflare. If he does not cast it manually, it triggers when the ult ends.

Demonflare deals a burst of magic damage around him and applies a slow that decays. The damage scales with ult rank.

The key decision with Demonflare is when to release it. Holding it extends Swain’s sustained drain. Releasing it finishes low-health targets or slows enemies trying to escape.

Runes for Swain

Swain uses several rune options depending on matchup and lane. One bullet-point section is allowed, so it appears here:

• Phase Rush: Helps Swain reposition after casting multiple spells. It works well when he needs to exit risky trades or stick to targets during fights.
• Kleptomancy (Historical Context): Works when paired with his frequent spell usage. It gives extra gold and consumables.
• Summon Aery: Adds consistent poke during lane, helping cover early cooldown gaps.
• Manaflow Band: Supports his mana needs in longer games.
• Celerity: Improves movement and pairs well with slows or allied buffs.
• Gathering Storm: Adds scaling damage for late-game fights.
• Bone Plating or Second Wind: Useful against champions who try to trade early.
• Approach Velocity: Activates on his slows and roots, helping Swain chase.

Items for Swain

Swain benefits from items that provide health, ability power, and cooldown reduction. These items strengthen his drain and keep him alive during long fights.

Rod of Ages gives health and mana. Rylai’s Crystal Scepter pairs well with his area damage, making it easier to hold opponents in range. Liandry’s Torment increases damage during drawn-out fights, which fits his kit.

Zhonya’s Hourglass adds defense and a stasis effect. This lets Swain stay alive while his team follows up. Abyssal Mask and Spirit Visage both support his drain-focused playstyle by increasing durability or healing. Void Staff helps break through magic resistance.

How to Play Swain

Laning

Swain looks for steady trades. Landing Nevermove at max range gives reliable roots. Death’s Hand pushes waves and chips opponents. Vision of Empire pressures recalls and checks river movement.

His main weakness in lane appears when facing ranged poke or heavy early burst. Proper warding reduces the risk of jungle pressure since Swain lacks mobility.

Teamfighting

Swain’s impact grows the longer he stays alive. Demonic Ascension lets him drain multiple champions and heal through damage. Using Vision of Empire before fights reveals targets and collects fragments. Nevermove sets up pulls that can break enemy positioning.

He thrives when allies add crowd control, creating consistent opportunities for pulls. Holding Demonflare extends his uptime, while releasing it finishes escaping targets.

How to Counter Swain

Swain deals mostly magic damage, so magic resistance reduces his pressure. Champions who keep distance and avoid close skirmishes do well.

Spell shields block key parts of his kit. Quicksilver Sash can remove Nevermove’s root. Applying Grievous Wounds cuts his healing from Soul Fragments and Demonic Ascension.

Facing Swain in melee range is dangerous. Death’s Hand does more damage when fired up close. Good spacing reduces this threat.

Keeping track of his item choices matters. If he builds Rylai’s Crystal Scepter, escaping his slows becomes harder. Teams should watch for this spike.

A Final Note on Swain’s Playstyle

Swain rewards League of Legends players who stay calm and look for steady advantages. His kit grows stronger when fights last longer, and he becomes difficult to remove once he has enough Soul Fragments. Clear spacing, strong vision, and good timing decide how effective he becomes in any match.

Welcome to Juked, your premier destination for all things gaming and esports. Stay up to date with Match Schedules, News, and Guides.