Syndra Gameplay Guide – Mastering Syndra Mid Lane Burst and Control in League of Legends

Syndra, the Dark Sovereign, is a high-damage mage in League of Legends, excelling in mid lane with her burst potential, crowd control, and zone control. She dominates lanes through poke, trades, and all-in combos, while providing powerful crowd control in skirmishes and teamfights. Mastering Syndra requires understanding her abilities, early laning strategies, mid-game roaming, late-game positioning, rune and item optimization, matchup knowledge, and team synergy.

Understanding Syndra’s Abilities

Passive: Transcendent

Syndra gains bonus effects on her abilities when they reach maximum rank. Understanding how to leverage her passive allows her to maximize damage and utility throughout the game. Effective use of Transcendent enhances trades, poke, and burst potential in both laning and teamfight phases.

Q: Dark Sphere

Syndra creates a sphere that deals damage to enemies. Q is her primary poke and wave-clear tool. Proper usage allows Syndra to harass enemies in lane, control waves, and set up combos with other abilities. Positioning spheres strategically is key to maximizing her damage output and zoning potential.

W: Force of Will

Syndra picks up and throws a sphere or minion, dealing damage and slowing enemies. W is essential for trading, picking off targets, and setting up stuns with E. Proper use of Force of Will enhances Syndra’s burst potential and control in skirmishes, enabling her to pressure opponents and secure kills effectively.

E: Scatter the Weak

Syndra knocks back enemies and stuns them if they collide with spheres. E provides crowd control, peel, and setup for all-in combos. Using Scatter the Weak effectively allows Syndra to interrupt enemy engages, create zone control, and enhance her burst by combining it with Q and W.

R: Unleashed Power

Syndra unleashes her full potential by throwing all spheres at a single target, dealing massive damage. R is her ultimate burst tool, capable of instantly eliminating priority targets. Proper timing of Unleashed Power allows Syndra to secure kills in mid-game skirmishes, pick off key enemies, and control the flow of late-game teamfights.

Early Game – Laning and Harassment

Syndra’s early game focuses on poke, wave control, and trading advantage. Use Q to apply poke and control minion waves, W to enhance trades, and E to set up stuns. Positioning is critical; staying behind minions while managing cooldowns ensures safe harassment and poke opportunities. Early game success involves maintaining lane dominance, securing vision, and pressuring opponents to deny farm and experience.

Proper use of the passive, Transcendent, enhances early trades. Chain Q-W-E combos to maximize burst and zoning potential. Awareness of enemy cooldowns and summoner spells allows Syndra to trade safely and punish overextensions effectively.

Mid Game – Roaming, Skirmishes, and Objective Control

During the mid game, Syndra transitions into a potent skirmisher and roamer. Utilize Q-W for poke, E for crowd control, and R to eliminate priority targets. Roaming to side lanes or assisting jungle skirmishes can secure kills, apply pressure, and influence objectives like Dragons or Rift Heralds. Syndra excels in picking off overextended enemies and turning mid-game skirmishes in her team’s favor.

Maximizing sphere placement and cooldown management ensures Syndra can contribute high burst damage in fights while staying safe from assassins or divers. Effective mid-game rotations involve coordinating with allies, applying crowd control, and utilizing ultimate timing to secure kills or objectives efficiently.

Late Game – Teamfight Positioning and Burst Execution

In the late game, Syndra serves as a high-priority burst mage capable of eliminating key targets. Positioning is critical: Q for poke and sphere setup → W to enhance damage → E to stun or peel → R to burst priority targets. Late-game success depends on maximizing sphere combos, timing her ultimate properly, and maintaining safe positioning while dealing damage.

Syndra’s ultimate allows her to instantly remove threats, turning fights and securing objectives. Awareness of enemy positioning, cooldowns, and threats ensures Syndra can execute her combos effectively and remain safe. Late-game focus should be on target selection, positioning for sphere control, and bursting enemies to swing teamfights in her favor.

Combos and Play Patterns

• Early Lane Trade: Q poke → W pick-up → E stun setup → auto-attacks → back off safely.
• Mid-Game Skirmish: Q-W poke → E stun → R for priority target burst → reposition with Q if necessary.
• Late-Game Teamfight: Position safely → Q-W sphere setup → E stun multiple enemies → R burst priority carries → reposition for additional poke or follow-up.
• Roaming Strategy: Q poke in side lanes → W setup for pick → E control → R eliminate priority targets → assist allies in skirmishes or objectives.
• Objective Control: Q poke → W position spheres → E zone or peel → R finish off key enemy threats → secure Dragon, Baron, or turret contests.

Runes and Itemization

Syndra benefits from runes that enhance burst damage, poke, and scaling. Primary runes often include Electrocute for burst trades, Sudden Impact for mobility synergy, Eyeball Collection for scaling, and Ultimate Hunter for reduced R cooldown. Secondary runes like Manaflow Band and Transcendence provide mana sustain and cooldown reduction. Proper rune selection ensures Syndra maintains lane dominance, skirmish effectiveness, and late-game scaling.

Core items include Luden’s Tempest or Liandry’s Anguish for burst and poke, Zhonya’s Hourglass for survivability, Shadowflame for anti-shield and damage amplification, and Banshee’s Veil for protection against CC. Situational items like Void Staff, Morellonomicon, or Rabadon’s Deathcap provide additional magic penetration, anti-heal, or maximum damage. Correct itemization ensures Syndra can dominate mid-game skirmishes and late-game teamfights while maintaining survivability.

Team Composition Synergies

Syndra thrives in compositions with follow-up damage, frontline protection, and crowd control synergy. She synergizes with champions who can peel or lock down targets, allowing her to maximize burst potential. Teams lacking initiation or peel reduce Syndra’s effectiveness, as she relies on positioning, sphere control, and ultimate timing to deal damage safely. Effective synergy ensures Syndra can influence skirmishes, control objectives, and dominate late-game teamfights.

Matchup Tips

Against poke-heavy champions, maintain distance, trade with Q-W combos, and use E for peel or disrupt enemy engages. Against assassins, position safely and save cooldowns for defensive maneuvers. Late-game positioning emphasizes sphere placement, ultimate timing, and avoiding overextension. Awareness of enemy cooldowns, positioning, and threats ensures Syndra consistently impacts fights and objectives.

Closing Thoughts

Syndra is a high-burst mage capable of dominating mid lane, skirmishes, and late-game teamfights through poke, crowd control, and ultimate execution. Mastering her passive, Q, W, E, and R, along with early laning, mid-game roaming, late-game positioning, rune optimization, itemization, matchup knowledge, and team synergy, ensures consistent performance throughout all stages of the game. Understanding combos, timing, and positioning allows Syndra players to control trades, secure objectives, and influence teamfights decisively. By leveraging burst damage, crowd control, and sphere management, Syndra consistently enables her team to capitalize on opportunities and secure victories from early lane pressure to late-game teamfight dominance.