Skarner vs Zyra
You are stronger late game. Farm safe and avoid early trades.
Build vs Zyra
The champion's reference build, for lack of enough games in this matchup
Recommended items for Skarner: Heartsteel, Unending Despair, Spirit Visage, Mercury's Treads, Jak'Sho, The Protean, Thornmail, Randuin's Omen, Overlord's Bloodmail.
Starting items
Core build
Standard
Summoner spells
Other options
Power Spikes
Strength by game phase
Zyra's abilities
Passive, spells and ultimate
Seeds spawn around Zyra periodically, becoming faster with level. Zyra can cast Deadly Spines or Grasping Roots near seeds to grow plants, who fight for Zyra.
Cooldowns
Cooldowns by spell rank
| Level | Q | W | E | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 7s | 0s | 11s | – |
| 6 | 6s | 0s | 11s | 1m50 |
| 9 | 5s | 0s | 11s | 1m50 |
| 11 | 5s | 0s | 11s | 1m40 |
| 16 | 5s | 0s | 11s | 1m30 |
| 18 | 5s | 0s | 11s | 1m30 |
Playing as Skarner
Tips to maximize your impact
- Rip out your boulder before the fight
Cast Shattered Earth (Q) before the fight: your next 3 autos gain attack speed, and the last one slows and deals bonus damage based on the target's max health.
- Gank through walls
Gank with Ixtal's Impact (E) through walls: you drag the first champion you hit to the end of the charge, and if they hit a wall, they're stunned.
- Seismic Bastion in melee range
Cast Seismic Bastion (W) as you get into melee range: you gain a shield, and the earthquake damages and slows nearby enemies.
- Drag their carry into your team
Cast Impale (R) on their carry and drag them toward your team: you suppress up to 3 champions hit and drag them with you.
Playing against Zyra
How to counter and exploit weaknesses
- Dodge her roots
Get out of the line of Grasping Roots (E): the roots pass through minions and root every enemy hit, then her plants hit the trapped target.
- Step on her seeds
Step on her seeds to destroy them before she grows them: Rampant Growth (W) seeds reveal you for a moment, but leave her no plant.
- Kill her plants
Take down the plants born from Garden of Thorns (passive), or back off until they die: they take fixed damage, like a ward, and don't live long.
- Get out of her thorns
Get out of the Stranglethorns (R) zone as soon as it appears: the vines knock you into the air 2 seconds later, and her plants are empowered inside.
- Engage when her plants are far
If you can engage, go for Zyra when her plants are far from her: the Thorn Spitter from Deadly Spines (Q) only fires at 575 range.
Other Skarner matchups
Patch 16.21.1