Swain’s recent rework saw him full embrace the identity of a drain tank, able to infinitely extend the duration of his ultimate and leaning all the way into the champion’s fantasy. It’s a playstyle that forces you to get up close and personal to the action to get the most out of the Noxian Grand General’s kit.
Pro play also saw Swain emerge as a viable mid lane and support option, thanks to his scaling and immense amounts of crowd control and vision utility.
Like many old school mid laners of his ilk, he can be played in his original home in the center of the Rift, or in the support role. For those that want to make the most of his kit, here is the best build for Swain mid in League.
Best runes for Swain in League
Precision
Conqueror: When you think Swain, you think sustain—and not just because it rhymes. Swain can be played as a support or a mid laner partially because he’s a drain tank that can also do upsetting amounts of damage and be very difficult to kill. Phase Rush in the Sorcery tree is also a viable option, but especially if you are running Flash and Ghost as is most common (can change depending on matchup/comfort), it will likely not be as necessary.
Presence of Mind: Whether it’s Manaflow Band or Presence of Mind, some sort of rune to help mana sustain until the late game is useful. Archangel’s Staff/Seraph’s Embrace is not a core item for Swain, and his passive, fueled by taking effective trades in lane, setting up for your jungler with Nevermove and Vision of Empire, using your abilities intentionally and effectively early will reward you in the late game.
Legend: Tenacity: Playing around your ult and sticking onto targets is what makes Swain the teamfight menace that he is. Tenacity aids with that. Additionally, depending on the opponents’ team composition, it might even be a good idea to forgo Mercury’s Treads if you take this rune, or vice versa, and replace them with Sorcerer’s Shoes.
Last Stand: As a drain tank, Swain takes lots of hits. Getting below the 60 and even 30 percent health thresholds won’t be difficult. It’s where he’ll be spending the majority of his time in teamfights, and the damage combined with passives from items like Liandry’s Anguish and Rylai’s Crystal Scepter will make easy pickings for allies.
Resolve
Conditioning: You can’t spell “drain tank” without “tank.” In all seriousness, the extra resistances will help in the late game. That being said, that’s part of the beauty of Swain in the mid lane: he’s a versatile champion and can be more of a tank or a damage dealer depending on what the situation requires.
Overgrowth: Essentially working like a double-up to Swain’s passive, Overgrowth will reward you with permanent max health just by CS’ing–and you don’t even have to do it well.
Bonuses: +10% Attack Speed, +9 Adaptive Force, +8 Magic Resist
Best items for Swain in League
Starting Items: Doran’s Ring + Health Potions
The passive on Doran’s Ring (along with the attack speed in your runes) will make farming a little easier and more reliable. Keep it around in your inventory until the mid game.
Core items: Liandry’s Anguish, Sorcerer’s Shoes, Rylai’s Crystal Scepter
Swain is indeed a versatile champion, but the divergence in his build paths comes later in the game. These three items, even if you’re playing him in the support role, are almost always your bread and butter (maybe Imperial Mandate. maybe.) Sustained damage is the name of the game, therefore Liandry’s is your go-to Mythic item.
As far as boots, if you didn’t take Legend: Tenacity or run into a particularly tough magic damage lane matchup, Mercury’s Treads can be a good call. If your opposing mid laner is a magic damage dealer as well as their jungler, strongly consider it.
Late game options
Like any late-game build in League, your options will be dictated by your circumstances. Liandry’s
Anguish plus Demonic Embrace will start doing unholy amounts of damage as the game rolls on, and with added defenses (and healing) from a Spirit Visage, not to mention the most powerful active item in the game in a Zhonya’s Hourglass, a late game Swain can turn into a straight-up raid boss and tilt the balance of a game as well as your opponents’ mental.
Rabadon’s Deathcap is a “win-harder” Swain item and is more if you just want to see how high the numbers can go, while Morellonomicon is your anti-heal item.
