Swain Pro Builds - How to Play Swain in Season 14
Swain – the Noxian Grand General – is a great Mage that is usually played on position Mid. Swain can also be played in other roles, but we focus on position Mid in this LoL Swain guide as it fits the current meta in S14 very well.
Swain has a win rate of 59% and pick rate of 0.1%. There is a ban rate of 1%. Although a great champion, winning with Swain is not a given. You need to have the right Swain build in order to unleash the full potential on patch 14.23. There are many Swain probuilds out there. We help you to find the right probuild, Swain players need to win.
Latest Swain probuilds
Here a quick view on the latest Swain probuilds on position Mid.
How to play Swain
We will show you what you need to do, to increase your chances of winning your lane. Swain is strong, but if you ran into 
Aurelion Sol or 
Viktor you might get in trouble. In order to win your lane and against your counter, you need the right spells, items and runes. The following Swain Mid pro build will help you with that.
Follow our build, pentakills will follow and you will learn how to play Swain. Since Riot Games regularly releases a new patch, Swain builds may change from time to time. It is important to keep up to date.
Items for Swain
Items obviously play a big role in League of Legends. Buying the right item can make the difference between winning and losing as Swain. The order of items is also very important. Especially in early game, it is imperative to make the right decision on what to buy. You need to know the right starter item and starter trinket. But you also need to know what your final items will be. Your opponent like 
Malzahar or 
Lux can also influence your buying decisions.
Since Swain is a powerful Mage you should start with 
Doran's Ring, 
Health Potion, and Health Potion. Your starter trinket should be 
Stealth Ward. You will find those in the shop under: Tools > Vision & Trinkets. Your optimal final boots are 
Plated Steelcaps. So make sure to buy accordingly. A good buy order for your items is:
Blackfire Torch
Cosmic Drive
Zhonya's Hourglass
Swain abilities and summoner spells
Pro Gamers in LoL also gain advantage by their choice of spells and the order they use their abilities on Swain. You also shouldn’t leave this to chance.
During champion select you have the possibility to choose two spells for Swain. The choice of summoner spells can’t be underestimated. They can play a big role in team-fights. Countless team-fights have been decided by a well-used flash. Statistics have proven that the best choice is 
Flash and 
Teleport.
You can also gain an advantage in early game by using Swain abilities in a certain order. Each phase of the game differs. Some abilities might be good in late game, but less in early game. Start the game with 
Death's Hand. Then you should continue with 
Nevermove, followed by 
Vision of Empire. An order for abilities of Swain up to level 10:
| Level | Key | Champion Spell |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | R | Death's Hand |
| 2 | R | Nevermove |
| 3 | R | Vision of Empire |
| 4 | R | Death's Hand |
| 5 | R | Death's Hand |
| 6 | R |  Demonic Ascension |
| 7 | R | Death's Hand |
| 8 | R | Nevermove |
| 9 | R | Death's Hand |
| 10 | R | Nevermove |
Most effective Swain runes selection
For an effective Swain build, you also need to select the appropriate runes. Ideally, you make an extra rune page for Swain. You have to choose a primary and a secondary path from five rune paths for the Noxian Grand General: Precision, Domination, Sorcery, Resolve and Inspiration.
In the primary path you can choose a keystone rune and three lesser runes. The secondary path only consists of two lesser runes. There are also the three so-called shard slots. The best rune paths for Swain are for primary 
Precision and for secondary 
Sorcery. As the keystone rune on Swain most pros pick 
Conqueror.
For your primary path – Precision – choose these runes on Swain:
- Conqueror
Presence of Mind
Legend: Haste
Last Stand
For your secondary path – Sorcery – choose these runes on Swain:
Manaflow Band
Scorch
Champions that counter Swain
As mentioned before, it is always necessary to react to opponents of Swain. There are champions that counter Swain. These champions have advantages that can be dangerous for you. Aurelion Sol for instance is strong against Swain and has a win rate of 60%. Another dangerous counter is Viktor.
When your opponent counter picks Swain in champion select, you need to be aware. In this case, adjust your items and game to the situation.
Prestige Chosen of the Wolf Swain is one of the 10 available skins for Swain.
Conclusion
Many people are looking for Swain pro builds, that players often used to win. By following our probuilds, you can turn Swain into a beast. Especially if you also follow our Swain guide. When you have your runes placed like we told you, Swain will reach its full potential. Buying the items we listed will also increase your chances. Start with the abilities in the correct order to gain an advantage in early game.
When you build Swain in League of Legends correctly, you will have a very capable champion. But as always you need to practice, especially when and how to use Demonic Ascension. League of Legends is a dynamic game that changes with every patch. Keep following the patch notes and keep adjusting your LoL Swain build.
Also, keep reacting to the game itself. Do you play mid, top or bot? Who is support or jungle? Overall, a good game is the sum of the right decisions. Over time, you your skills with Swain will grow. Once you mastered Swain – the Noxian Grand General – you will rule the rift.
