Anivia vs Swain
You are stronger early. Look to snowball before your opponent scales.
Build vs Swain
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Anivia: Tear of the Goddess, Rod of Ages, Seraph's Embrace, Boots of Swiftness, Oblivion Orb, Liandry's Torment, Malignance, Zhonya's Hourglass.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Anti CC
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Swain's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Swain's ravens collect Soul Fragments that heal him and permanently increase his maximum health.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 7s | 20s | 12s | – |
| 6 | 5s | 20s | 12s | 2m |
| 9 | 3s | 19s | 12s | 2m |
| 11 | 3s | 18s | 12s | 2m |
| 16 | 3s | 16s | 11s | 2m |
| 18 | 3s | 16s | 10s | 2m |
Playing as Anivia
Tips to maximize your impact
- Detonate your ice on the target
Recast Flash Frost (Q) when the orb reaches your target: it explodes at once and stuns, without waiting for the end of its range.
- Frostbite a chilled target
Cast Frostbite (E) right after Flash Frost (Q), or inside a fully formed Glacial Storm (R): against a chilled target, its damage doubles.
- Cut off the escape with your wall
Place Crystallize (W) behind a fleeing enemy: the ice wall blocks the path before it melts.
- Play aggressively while your egg is up
Play more aggressively when Rebirth (passive) is available: instead of dying, you turn into an egg, and if it isn't destroyed, you come back at full health.
Playing against Swain
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Dodge Nevermove on its return
Get out of the Nevermove (E) path as it comes back: it only roots on its return to Swain, then he can pull each rooted champion to him.
- Leave the area of his eye
Leave the area as soon as Vision of Empire (W) appears: it strikes and slows 1.5 seconds later, and each champion hit gives him a Soul Fragment.
- Keep your distance during his ult
During Demonic Ascension (R), back off and hit from range if you can: he only drains nearby enemies, and his form ends when he stops draining.
- Cut his healing during his ult
If you have Grievous Wounds, apply it during Demonic Ascension (R): the drain heals him every second, and that healing keeps him alive.
Other Anivia matchups
Patch 16.21.1