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How to counter Sylas, League of Legends’ newest champion
League of Legends’ patch 9.2 is upon us, bringing with it new champion Sylas. We run down how you can counter him on the Rift.
League of Legends’ newest champion is here, alongside the cavalcade of changes that come with a new patch. Not only has Sylas the Unshackled caused the League community to swoon, the Demacian supervillain has an incredibly dynamic kit, with heavy crowd control at its centre, as well as the ability to hijack ultimates.
Sylas struts around the Summoner’s Rift topless with a chain firmly gripped in each hand – he broke out of prison, after all – and instead of going on the run, like any reasonable criminal, he’s decided to head straight into battle against some of the strongest men, women, and creatures in Runeterra. If that’s not intimidating enough for you, he packs a punch too.
He’s a champion that could single-handedly shake up the meta, and he’s far too cocky for our liking. In light of Sylas’ imminent threat to the Rift, we hopped onto the PBE and have broken down how you can counter him, so you can prepare yourself when facing off against the newest champ.
A collage of Sylas’ abilities
© Riot Games
Who is Sylas?
We know Sylas is handsome, and we know he’s a notorious Demacian criminal, but what role should the Rift’s newest champion play? According to a Riot AMA, Sylas is supposedly intended to be a mid laner, where his ultimate ability can be properly utilised. But whilst we think he’ll be a good addition to the mid lane, honestly, we predict he’ll do better in the top lane, or even the jungle.
Sylas plays just like a top lane bruiser, somewhat similar to Illaoi, but with a lot more crowd control. Substitute his chains for tentacles, and hey presto. His chains aren’t quite as elongated, slimy, green or sticky, but they are visibly attached to his body – and pack quite the punch.
But that being said, he’s a tricky champion to place, and it’s too early to say where the meta will eventually take him. For the time being, let’s just say Sylas looks like he has the capability to excel in every role. If you’re a top lane main, play him in the top, if you’re a jungler, play him in the jungle, and if you’re a mid laner, by all means, play him in the mid.
How he plays
He has a lot of gap closers, as well as consistent area-of-effect waveclear, providing him endless utility and flexibility. His passive ability Petricite Burst (below), that releases Area of Effect (AoE) damage to enemies around him, after he's cast a spell. And his Chain Lash (Q, above), that extends to quite a fair distance, and has a two-part damage system, means he looks like he’d fare well in the jungle.
But if you look closer at the rest of his kit, he appears even more suited to the top lane. His Kingslayer (W, below) allows him to lunge at his enemy laner with a powerful strike, both damaging them, and healing himself. Furthermore, if the health of his enemy is low, his damage is increased, and if he’s low, the heal is increased. This allows him to trade efficiently, chipping away at his enemy, and giving him the opportunity to take advantage of the lane.
His Abscond / Abduct (E, below), meanwhile, has two parts: It first allows him to dash towards his target location and shield himself from imminent damage. It can then be recast, and he’ll throw out his chains, stunning his first target hit, before pulling him towards them, and knocking them up in the air.
Finally, his ultimate, Hijack (R, below) is where he gets interesting. It allows him to hijack an enemy’s ultimate for his own use. He’s essentially a good for nothing plagiarist. It’s an extremely dynamic ability, however, it can be hit-or-miss. It depends completely on the champions around him.
If their ultimates don’t synergise with his overall kit, they could be a detriment, but equally, they lead to some interesting combinations. But this also means in the later stages of the game, Sylas has the ability to utilize all of his enemy team’s ultimates. He has the potential to make or break an important teamfight, if he has the right tools in his hands.
Countering the Demacian supervillain
Now that you know how Sylas works, let’s discuss how you can counter him. Although, on paper, he’s a strong champion, he’s not invincible. While his ultimate has the possibility of being incredibly strong, particularly in solo queue, it is situational. It’s only as good as his enemy champion’s ultimates.
Although it’s not really an option to go out of your way to counter Sylas by deliberately choosing champions with ineffective ultimates, it’s something to take into consideration. If you do have a particularly potent composition based around Crowd Control, you should be aware that he has the ability to single handedly sway a teamfight his way. You should consider him a high priority target, and actively try and focus on him, before he deals out the damage, if it’s an option.
Next, if you’re a jungler facing an enemy Sylas, and you’re ganking him in the top lane, you should always be aware of the two ultimates he could potentially steal. If you’re playing Gragas, for example, and Sylas is level 6 or above, you know he’ll have has access to your Explosive Cask, and if your top laner is Nasus, for example, you should always consider the possible consequences of your gank.
It’s probably best not to tower dive Sylas at this point, especially considering his Crowd Control heavy kit, and his shield. He could use your ultimate against you, and knock you under his tower, secure the double kill, and snowball out of control.
Sylas’ Lunar Wrath skin
© Riot Games
Champions with hard Crowd Control, poke-oriented, or range will be the strongest counters to Sylas; he’s particularly susceptible to long-range champions. Sylas generally has a short-range kit, and it suits him if you get up close and personal with him in lane. He can easily utilise his Abscond / Abduct, and trade effectively with you, and if you’re a champion that has to get up close to maintain your creep score, this is something you would want to avoid.
If you’re playing a champion, such as Zoe, or Jayce, he will barely be able to utilise your ultimate. But most importantly, you’ll be able to continuously abuse Sylas with your long-range poke. If he gets a well timed gank, and he has the opportunity to go all in on you, he has deadly potential, but if you play safe, and if you don’t push the lane up too far, you’ll easily be able to take advantage of him, without allowing him to get an even footing.
He’ll constantly be recalling back to the fountain, and even if you don’t secure a kill, you will amass a considerable creep score advantage, and quickly outgun him. He will eventually be able to ramp up in the late game, but in the meantime, he’ll be a nuisance to his team, and you will be able to exploit the situation.
Summing up Sylas
Sylas is another strong addition to the cast of League of Legends. We don’t know exactly what position he’ll play the best in, but he does have the capability of performing exceptionally well in each of the solo lanes. But again, don’t be surprised to see him roaming around the jungle.
He’s dynamic, and he’s unpredictable, and while he could be the X factor in your solo queue games, he can easily be abused in lane. Sylas, like any balanced champion, has his downsides. He will, from time-to-time, single handedly carry your solo queue game, crushing your team, and putting you in a bad mood, but equally, you’ll sometimes barely even notice his presence. He’s a hit or miss champion, that will no doubt require a lot of skill to perfect, as well as a dose of good RNG on his side. Best of luck, Summoner.
