Carrion Renewal
(Innate): Whenever Swain kills an enemy unit, he restores 9 + (1 × level) mana.
Tips :
Swain's blue aura shows his mana regeneration.To harass in the lane phase.
Mana problem? Never heard of it!
This passive is extremely interesting during the lane phase because it can return a huge amount of mana to Swain in the first levels so that he can harass his opponents. You can recover a bit more than 100 mana with 10 last-hits, to give you an idea of the regeneration.
This increases with every level. In effet, you recover 9 mana + 1 per level for each enemy killed (champion or sbire or tower). It should also be noted that the passive will be activated by an auto-attack last hit via an ability, a summoner's spell or an active item (like the DFG).
For example, your passive will return your mana if you kill sbires with your zone root (W) or your raven form (ultimate).
Decrepify (Q)
(Active): Swain sends his raven to cripple an enemy, creating a tether between the enemy and the raven, which stays in the position Swain was upon cast. Over the next 3 seconds, the target takes damage each second and is slowed. If enemies walk out of the tether, the effect ends immediately.
Tips :
Swain send his raven to attack.To harass in the lane phase.
Generally Decrepify will be used in the lane phase to be able to place your Nevermove (W) more easily. Decrepify doesn't have a casting time or an animation time, which lets Swain use this spell instantly to surprise his opponents. It's why Decrepify (Q) is an excellent spell toi slow your enemies for you jungler's gank or to root them with Nevermove (W).Decrepify also deals huge damage once it has been maxed, and levelling up this ability will also improve your slow. Note, however, that even if the spell has no animation or incantation time that the raven will stay immobile, which could greatly reduce the damage of the spell against an enemy who can move away from the raven. Try to cast it when you are in melee so that your opponent can't move away, or can only do so with difficulty.
Finally, to escape, Decrepify (Q) allows you to use it without having to turn back or stop, which can save you in a difficult situation.
The first damage tick of the spell is instant so it can be used to last hit a minion if he is ever very very low on HP!
Cost: 60 / 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 mana
Magic Damage Per Second: 25 / 40 / 55 / 70 / 85 (+0.3 per ability power)
Maximum Magic Damage: 75 / 120 / 165 / 210 / 255 (+0.9 per ability power)
Slow: 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 %
Maximum Magic Damage Against Rank 5 Torment Debuffed Target: 90 / 144 / 198 / 252 / 306 (+1.08 per ability power)
Nevermove (W)
(Active): Swain marks a target area. After a short delay, mighty talons grab hold of enemy units, dealing damage and rooting them for 2 seconds.
Tips :
Swain creates a mark on the ground which traps opponents in the zone.To harass in the lane phase.
This is Swain's more useful side. Thanks to this root, Swain can create engages against the enemy team by catching one or several badly positioned opponents. In this situation the engage will certainly be in your favour because the champions who are unable to move will make the easiest targets to reach.This spell is also very useful for farming the waves of sbires thanks to the base damage as well as its AP ratio. At levels 4 and 5, you can mostly one-shot the waves of sbires at distance and greatly reduce the HP of melee sbires. It's for this reason that some people level up this spell in 2nd place, so that they can push against opponents who are too careful.
Finally the Nevermove (W) can also be used to zone opponents when you do a drake, thanks to the psychological pressure the spell creates. If your enemies know that you have your Nevermove (W) available, they will be less inclined to approach you and risk being rooted then engaged.
The mark on the ground is visible to both teams. However if Swain touches an opponent with the spell without having vision, the sound won't signal that Swain has touched his opponent.
Swain traps his target.
Cost: 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 / 120 mana
Cooldown: 18 / 16 / 14 / 12 / 10 seconds
Magic Damage: 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 / 240 (+0.7 per ability power)
Magic Damage Against Rank 5 Torment Debuffed Target: 96 / 144 / 192 / 240 / 288 (+0.84 per ability power)
Torment (E)
(Active): Swain afflicts his target with debilitating pain dealing damage to them over 4 seconds, and causing any further damage dealt by Swain during this period to be increased by a percentage. This includes summoner spells and items used by Swain.
Tips :
Swain throws poison at his target.Your main spell.
Thanks to Torment (E), Swain can increase all the damage he deals and kill his target faster. This means Swain can increase the damage of his auto attacks, the damage of all his spells, the damage of his Ignite and finally the damage of items like the Deathfire Grasp.
Also, when Torment (E) reaches your target it will increase the damage taken by your ultimate, which indirectly increases the heal of your ultimate (corresponding to 75% of the damage you deal a champion).
This spell also lets Swain increase the ratio of his spells as well as the base damage. In sum, Swain must absolutely use his Torment before his burst so that he can deal his maximum damage! The debuff is applied on impact!
The spell also increases the damage itself!
The spell has an incantation time, Swain must stop to cast this spell which could make him lose distance between him and his enemy. At maximum range it can be good to use Q immediately before E because they have the same range! This would not increase the first damage tick of Q but it would limit the chances of your target escaping.
Cost: 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 / 85 mana
Total Magic Damage: 75 / 115 / 155 / 195 / 235 (+0.8 per ability power)
Extra Damage Taken: 8 / 11 / 14 / 17 / 20 %
Total Magic Damage including Extra Damage: 81 / 128 / 177 / 228 / 282 (+0.864 / +0.888 / +0.912 / +0.936 / +0.96 per ability power)
Ravenous Flock (R)
(Toggle): Swain transforms into the form of a raven, during this time up to 3 lesser ravens strike out at nearby enemies each second, one raven per enemy and prioritizing champions. Swain is healed for 75% of the damage dealt to champions and by 25% of the damage dealt to minions and monsters. The cost to sustain Ravenous Flock increases every second.
Tips :
Swain transforms into a raven!The ultimate ultimate!
COME AT ME BRO!
During his ultimate, Swain sends flocks of ravens in waves of three at his closest enemies. In the middle of a pack of sbires, the ultimate changes focus to prioritise champions so that you can heal the most by dealing damage at priority targets.
This ultimate makes you very strong in a dual and in the lane phase because it has a pretty short cooldown. Make sure however that you have upped it when you try to aggress or you could be risking a retaliation. Few champions will be able to out-trade you in raven form.
Important: The ultimate will start to get pretty expensive if you don't stop it, but it does nevertheless have a pretty short CD. It is up to you to judge whether to leave it active to survive or whether to cancel it to keep a bit of mana.
Important: Swain's ultimate continues to function during Zhonya. This detail is important because the Zhonya will make Swain invincible to all spells while his ultimate continues to deal damage and heal him. If you use Zhonya at the right moment, you can avoid your opponent's spells and slow time to regain 20-50% of your HP.
The transformation does not have an incantation time.
Upkeep Cost: 5 / 6 / 7 additional mana each second
Cumulative 5(10) Second Cost: 175(475) / 195(565) / 215(655) mana
Magic Damage per Target: 50 / 70 / 90 (+0.2 per ability power)
Magic Damage Against Rank 5 Torment Debuffed Target: 60 / 85 / 108 (+0.24 per ability power)
Pros
Swain has a lot of survival thanks to hit Ravenous Flock
His AP ratios are very good and his spells have short CDs
His AoE root can often be used to engage
He can push quickly thanks to his zone spells
Cons
Swain has a weak range on his spells, forcing you to position him in bad places
Heal debuffs can greatly reduce his survival
He needs a blue buff and mana items (very manavorous)
