Combos · Support

Swain combos

the Noxian Grand General

3 Swain combos explained key by key: in which order to cast the abilities, when to use them and what each step does. The main combo is W › Q › AA. Further down: every ability's cooldown, cost and range, and the skill max order measured over ranked games.

Swain combos

Written guide · based on the official ability texts

Harassment

Q AA AA

When: An enemy is within range.

Vision of Empire damages, slows and reveals the champions hit (a soul fragment as a bonus), Death's Hand deals increasing damage.

The capture

When: An enemy is isolated.

Nevermove fires a wave that returns and roots the enemies hit; recast it to pull every rooted champion toward you.

Demon form

When: A team fight begins.

Demonic Ascension transforms you and drains the health of nearby enemies; Demonic Eruption decimates and slows, and the form lasts as long as you drain enemy champions.

Common mistakes

Using Nevermove without knowing whom to pull in.
Casting the ultimate outside the fight: it drains nearby enemies.
Neglecting soul fragments: they increase your max health.

Cooldowns, costs and ranges

A combo only comes back once its abilities are off cooldown: these values (rank 1 to max rank, in seconds) tell how long to wait between two combos. Source: Data Dragon 16.19.1.

Ability	Cooldown (s)	Cost	Range
Q · Death's Hand	7/6/5/4/3	40/45/50/55/60 Mana	750
W · Vision of Empire	22/21/20/19/18	60/65/70/75/80 Mana	5500/6000/6500/7000/7500
E · Nevermove	12/11.5/11/10.5/10	50/55/60/65/70 Mana	850
R · Demonic Ascension	120	100 Mana	650

Official ability descriptions

PassiveRavenous Flock

Swain's ravens collect Soul Fragments that heal him and permanently increase his maximum health.

QDeath's Hand

Swain unleashes several bolts of eldritch power that pierce through enemies. Enemies hit take more damage for each bolt they are struck by.

WVision of Empire

Swain opens a demon eye that deals damage and slows enemies. Champions hit are revealed and also grant Swain a Soul Fragment.

ENevermove

Swain launches a wave of demonic power forward. It then returns to Swain and roots enemies it hits. Swain can then choose to pull all rooted champions closer. This ability has a shorter cooldown during Demonic Ascension.

RDemonic Ascension

Swain transforms into a demon and drains health from nearby enemy champions, minions, and neutral monsters. Swain can cast Demonflare to decimate and slow nearby enemies with a nova of soulfire. This form is indefinite as long as Swain drains enemy champions.

Skill order

Max order: Q > W > E52.6% · 19 games

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Q			●	●	●		●		●
W		●						●		●		●	●
E	●													●	●
R						●					●

The order shows which abilities reach rank 5 first; the grid shows the most-played level-up sequence with that order (measured over 44 games).

Riot's official tips for playing Swain

If you're having trouble rooting an enemy with Nevermove, try throwing it at opponents when they are near their minions so the explosion surprises them.
While laning, try to use Death's Hand's piercing damage to damage opponents from a safe distance.
Vision of Empire is quite difficult to land on its own, look for skirmishes around the map where enemies may be distracted or crowd controlled so you can land it more easily.
Demonic Ascension may make Swain very hard to kill but he's pretty easy to get away from. Try building items that can slow opponents to keep them in range if their mobility is overwhelming.

How to play around Swain's combos

Swain's passive is very potent if you are immobilized. Make sure to be extra careful around enemies who have immobilizing effects.
High mobility counters all of Swain's basic abilities: Death's Hand does more damage the closer he is, Vision of Empire has a very long delay and Nevermove must start returning back to him to be dangerous.
Buying an item with Grievous Wounds will make Swain much easier to kill during his Demonic Ascension.

Frequently asked questions

What is Swain's main combo?

Harassment: W › Q › AA. An enemy is within range. Vision of Empire damages, slows and reveals the champions hit (a soul fragment as a bonus), Death's Hand deals increasing damage.

Which ability should I max first on Swain?

The most-played max order is Q > W > E (19 games, 52.6% win rate).

What is the cooldown of Swain's ultimate?

Demonic Ascension has a 120 second cooldown depending on its rank.

Build, runes and counters: full Swain guide · every champion's combos · tier list