Featured Image: [Image of a swarm of locusts attacking a field]
In the vast and ever-evolving landscape of League of Legends, swarm builds have emerged as a formidable force, capable of overwhelming opponents with sheer numbers and relentless pressure. These builds center around champions that can summon or control swarms of units, such as minions, voidlings, or shadow isles spirits. By coordinating their actions, these swarms can quickly overwhelm enemy defenses and secure objectives. Swarm builds are particularly effective in early to mid-game scenarios, where they can quickly snowball their advantage and push their opponents into a desperate position.
One of the most popular swarm builds revolves around Hecarim, the Shadow of War. Hecarim’s ultimate ability, Devastating Charge, allows him to summon a massive army of spectral riders that charge forward, dealing significant damage and knocking up enemies in their path. This ability can be devastating in team fights, as it can quickly disrupt enemy formations and allow Hecarim’s allies to follow up with their own attacks. Additionally, Hecarim’s W ability, Spirit of Dread, creates a swarm of spectral riders that deal damage over time and slow enemies. This ability can be used to harass opponents in lane, clear jungle camps, or provide vision control.
Another effective swarm build centers around Malzahar, the Void Prophet. Malzahar’s ultimate ability, Void Swarm, summons a swarm of voidlings that attack enemy champions and structures. These voidlings are relatively weak individually, but their sheer numbers can quickly overwhelm opponents and deal significant damage. Malzahar’s E ability, Call of the Void, also allows him to create a swarm of voidlings that explode upon contact with an enemy, dealing damage and silencing them. This ability can be used to interrupt enemy spell casts, peel for allies, or simply deal additional damage to opponents.
Swarm Tactics for League of Legends
Number 1: Utilizing Yordle Synergy
Yordles are a unique class of champions in League of Legends that excels in swarming strategies. Their innate ability to gain bonus attack speed and movement speed when near other Yordles makes them formidable in early-game skirmishes. This synergy is particularly potent when combined with champions like Poppy, who can group enemies together, and Kennen, who can deal AoE (area of effect) damage. Additionally, Yordles like Veigar can stack their ultimate ability, Event Horizon, to devastate enemy teams with massive burst damage. By combining multiple Yordles in a team composition, players can create a swarm that is unstoppable in the early game, snowballing their lead throughout the match.
Number 2: Mastering the Swarm Queen
The Swarm Queen, or any champion with strong pet-summoning abilities, can lead a swarm of units to overwhelm opponents. Champions like Elise, Zyra, and Malzahar excel at this strategy. Elise’s spiderlings and rappel ability allow her to engage and disengage fights at will, while Zyra’s plants provide continuous damage and vision control. Malzahar’s voidlings, combined with his ultimate ability, Malefic Visions, can shred through enemy defenses and trap them in a swarm of nightmares.
Number 3: Exploiting Clone and Duplicate Champions
Champions with the ability to create clones or duplicates can also form a formidable swarm. Champions like Shaco, LeBlanc, and Wukong can spawn multiple copies of themselves, confusing enemies and overwhelming them in fights. Shaco’s clone can deal significant damage, while LeBlanc’s mimic can copy the abilities of her teammates, providing bonus damage and utility. Wukong’s clones can tank damage and provide extra crowd control, making them a valuable asset in team fights.
| Champion | Tier | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Veigar | S | Yordle, Burst Damage |
| Elise | A | Swarm Queen, Mobility |
| Shaco | B | Clone, Deceit |
The Power of Unity: Synergizing Swarms
In the realm of League of Legends, swarm compositions are renowned for their overwhelming force and relentless aggression. By amassing a host of units, players can overwhelm objectives, control team fights, and pave their way to victory. Understanding the principles behind synergizing swarms is crucial for unleashing their true potential.
Swarm Composition Synergies
Champion Synergies
The key to effective swarm compositions lies in selecting champions that complement each other’s abilities. Ideal choices include champions with area-of-effect damage, crowd control, and mobility. This combination allows for swift and coordinated engagements, maximizing the swarm’s impact.
For example, a composition featuring Malzahar, Mordekaiser, and Nocturne offers a formidable synergy. Malzahar’s Void Swarm damages and silences enemies, while Mordekaiser’s Death Realm isolates a target andNocturne’s Paranoia fears nearby opponents. This trifecta of abilities cripples enemy defenses and sets the stage for swift annihilation.
| Champion | Role |
|---|---|
| Malzahar | Mid Lane Mage |
| Mordekaiser | Top Lane Bruiser |
| Nocturne | Jungle Assassin |
Mastering the Swarm Mind: Coordination and Communication
Coordination and Communication
Effective communication is crucial for coordinating a swarm build. Assign specific roles to each member, such as the initiator, the tank, and the damage dealers. Use concise callouts and clear communication channels to avoid confusion during team fights.
Positioning and Map Control
Securing early vision control is vital for maintaining map awareness and tracking enemy movements. Ward key areas and establish a strong presence to suppress the opposition’s vision and mobility.
Itemization and Synergies
Team synergy is enhanced by optimizing item builds. Consider items that provide teamwide buffs, such as Knight’s Vow, Zeke’s Convergence, or Locket of the Iron Solari. Additionally, ensure that each member’s item choices complement each other, creating a cohesive and powerful team composition.
Team Composition and Strategy
A balanced team composition is essential for swarm builds. Choose champions with differing roles and strengths, such as a tank, a frontline damage dealer, a sustained damage dealer, and a burst damage dealer. Develop a clear strategy that outlines when to engage, disengage, and prioritize specific targets.
Execution and Timing
Proper execution and timing are critical for success. Coordinate the swarm’s initiation, ensuring that all members are prepared to commit and follow through. Focus on isolating high-value targets and executing them quickly to minimize enemy counterattacks.
Adapting and Counter-Strategies
Swarm builds can be countered by teams that prioritize crowd control, high burst damage, or anti-healing effects. Monitor the enemy’s composition and adjust your strategy accordingly. Consider adding additional peel or mobility to protect your damage dealers or adapting your item builds to mitigate enemy countermeasures.
| Champion | Role | Core Items |
|---|---|---|
| Jarvan IV | Tank | Sunfire Aegis, Randuin’s Omen, Spirit Visage |
| Malphite | Tank | Frostfire Gauntlet, Thornmail, Dead Man’s Plate |
| Hecarim | Frontline Damage Dealer | Trinity Force, Black Cleaver, Sterak’s Gage |
| Galio | Sustained Damage Dealer | Righteous Glory, Liandry’s Anguish, Spirit Visage |
| Katarina | Burst Damage Dealer | Hextech Rocketbelt, Rabadon’s Deathcap, Shadowflame |
Choosing the Right Swarm Compositions: Champions and Abilities
Assessing Team Synergy
When selecting champions for a swarm composition, consider how their abilities complement each other. For instance, champions with crowd control (CC) can immobilize enemies, making them easy targets for swarms. Champions with mobility and gap-closers can quickly engage or disengage from enemies, allowing your team to maintain constant pressure.
Early Game Power
Swarm compositions aim to establish dominance early in the game. Choose champions with strong early-game abilities, such as burst damage or area-of-effect (AOE) spells. This will allow your team to secure objectives like kills, turrets, and dragons, building an early lead and forcing your opponents into a defensive posture.
Sustained Damage and Durability
Swarm compositions rely on constant damage output to overwhelm enemies. Champions with lifesteal, healing, or damage mitigation abilities are crucial in prolonging team fights and keeping your units alive. This allows your team to sustain the onslaught and maintain map pressure throughout the game.
Itemization for Swarm Compositions
To further enhance your swarm composition’s effectiveness, consider the following items:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Crowd Control | • Rylai’s Crystal Scepter • Frozen Heart • Hextech GLP-800 |
| Sustained Damage | • Nashor’s Tooth • Rageblade • Guinsoo’s Rageblade |
| Durability | • Zhonya’s Hourglass • Spirit Visage • Adaptive Helm |
Early Game Domination with Swarm Strategies
Champion Selection:
Choose champions with strong swarming abilities such as Ziggs, Miss Fortune, or champions with wide area crowd control like Maokai or Malphite.
Itemization:
Prioritize items that augment your swarm playstyle, such as Luden’s Tempest for increased area of effect damage or Shurelya’s Battlesong for bonus movement speed and crowd control.
Wave Management:
Maintain a constant stream of minions pushing towards the enemy to keep the pressure high. Avoid over-pushing, as it can make your team vulnerable to ganks.
Gank Coordination:
Coordinate ganks with your team to maximize the impact of your swarm. Use your champions’ AoE abilities to quickly engage and overwhelm the enemy, focusing on squishy targets.
Team Fights:
In team fights, position your champions strategically to maximize their swarming effects. Use AoE crowd control to set up combos, and let your minions and allied champions do the rest.
| Champion | Ability |
|---|---|
| Ziggs | Satchel Charge, Hexplosive Minefield |
| Miss Fortune | Double Up, Bullet Time |
| Maokai | Sapling Toss, Nature’s Grasp |
| Malphite | Seismic Shard, Unstoppable Force |
Mid Game Transition
As the game progresses into the mid game, the swarm transitions from its early game focus on laning and dragon control to a more aggressive, objective-oriented playstyle. During this time, teams look to rotate their champions to secure kills and build a gold lead, gaining momentum and pressure to maintain their dominance in the match.
Objective Control
Contesting neutral objectives becomes crucial in the mid game. Teams prioritize the acquisition of Rift Herald and Baron Nashor, utilizing them to push into enemy territory and secure valuable advantages. Rift Herald’s Eye of the Herald buff can be crucial in taking down towers, while Baron Nashor’s Hand of Baron buff empowers champions with increased damage and global pressure, making it a highly sought-after objective.
Baron Nashor Combat
When engaging in Baron Nashor fights, teams should consider the following tactics:
- Vision Control: Establish vision around the Baron pit to gain early detection of enemy presence and prevent ambushes.
- Positioning and Targeting: Position champions to protect damage dealers and focus fire on enemy carries to eliminate key threats quickly.
- Crowd Control: Utilize crowd control abilities to disrupt enemy formations and protect teammates from damage.
- Map Awareness: Be aware of enemy movement on other parts of the map to prevent split pushes from distracting from the Baron fight.
- Objective Rotation: If the Baron fight is not favorable, consider rotating to other objectives, such as towers or inhibitors, to maintain pressure.
- Counter Jungling: Invade enemy jungle camps to control jungle vision, slow down enemy farm, and potentially catch out enemy junglers for kills.
| Objective | Importance | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Rift Herald | Towers and map control | Utilize Eye of the Herald buff to push lanes and secure towers |
| Baron Nashor | Global pressure and damage boost | Engage in team fights while under the Hand of Baron buff to maximize damage output |
Adapting to Late Game Challenges
Swarm compositions face unique challenges in the late game as enemy teams stabilize and their defenses become more formidable. To overcome these obstacles, it’s crucial to make strategic adjustments and adapt your playstyle.
7. Mastery of Split-Pushing and Flanking
Late-game swarms excel at split-pushing, creating chaos by diverting enemy attention and pressuring multiple objectives simultaneously. Teams should assign champions with strong split-push capabilities to side lanes, forcing the enemy to split their forces or risk losing structures. Additionally, master the art of flanking, catching enemies off-guard for decisive pickoffs.
| Objective | Tactics |
|---|---|
| Split-Pushing | Assign champions with wave-clear abilities to side lanes, creating map pressure. |
| Flanking | Coordinate with teammates to position themselves behind enemy lines, surprising them with attacks. |
Swarm Builds for Specific Situations
Swarm builds are a unique and devastating strategy in League of Legends that revolves around overwhelming opponents with a massive number of low-cost units. These builds are particularly effective in certain situations where they can capitalize on specific weaknesses in the enemy team’s composition or playstyle.
5v5 Teamfights
Swarm builds excel in teamfights due to their ability to quickly overwhelm and burst down enemy champions. Utilizing champions with area-of-effect abilities and low cooldowns, these builds can swiftly decimate multiple targets simultaneously.
Split Pushing
Swarm builds can also be effective for split pushing, as they can rapidly clear waves and create pressure across multiple lanes. By sending swarms of units down different lanes, you can force the enemy team to divide their attention and resources, potentially creating opportunities for your team to secure objectives.
Objective Control
The constant pressure and wave clear provided by swarm builds allow for efficient objective control. By constantly spawning and amassing units, you can prevent the enemy team from contesting objectives such as Baron Nashor or Dragon, providing your team with a significant advantage.
Tower Destruction
Swarm builds are incredibly adept at destroying towers due to their high attack speed and low cost. By sending waves of units at towers, you can quickly and efficiently take down enemy structures, opening up opportunities for further aggression or map control.
Counter to Tanky Compositions
Swarm builds are an effective counter to teams with multiple tanky champions. The sheer volume of units and constant damage output can quickly overwhelm and melt through even the most durable opponents, nullifying their defensive capabilities.
Counter to Burst-Heavy Compositions
Swarm builds can also be effective against burst-heavy compositions, as the constant stream of units can absorb the initial burst and provide a buffer for your team to survive and retaliate. By overwhelming the enemy team with numbers, you can neutralize their burst potential and limit their ability to take down your champions.
Counter to Immobile Champions
Swarm builds excel against champions with limited mobility, as they can quickly surround and trap them. The constant flow of units restricts the movement of the enemy champions, making it difficult for them to escape or kite effectively.
Psychological Warfare
The sheer number of units in a swarm build can have a significant psychological impact on the enemy team. The relentless pressure and constant threat of damage can demoralize opponents and lead to mistakes.
Countering Swarm Strategies
Swarm strategies in League of Legends can be overwhelming and difficult to deal with, but there are several effective methods for countering them:
1. Early Game Aggression
Put pressure on swarm-heavy lane match-ups early on to prevent them from scaling and grouping up.
2. Crowd Control
Champions with crowd control abilities, such as stuns, slows, and knock-ups, can disrupt swarms and make it difficult for them to coordinate.
3. Wave Clearing
Champions with strong wave clear abilities can push minions faster than swarms, preventing them from building up minion waves.
4. Split Pushing
Split pushing can force swarms to split up and defend multiple points, weakening their overall strength.
5. AoE Damage
Area-of-effect damage spells can quickly clear out swarms of minions and champions.
6. Vision Control
Maintaining vision in vital areas can prevent swarms from sneaking up and surprising your team.
7. Communication
Clear communication and coordination are essential for countering swarms. Identify swarm priorities and focus fire on them.
8. Defensive Items
Items that provide defensive stats, such as armor, magic resist, and health, can help your team survive the onslaught of minions and champions.
9. Specific Champion Counters
Certain champions are particularly effective at countering swarms. Here are some examples:
| Champion | Abilities/Skills |
|---|---|
| Anivia | – Ice Wall: Creates an impassable barrier, dividing swarms – Glacial Storm: Deals damage and slows enemies in an area |
| Brand | – Pillar of Flame: Stuns enemies – Conflagration: Deals AoE damage and applies a burn effect |
| Morgana | – Black Shield: Blocks incoming projectiles and spells – Tormented Soil: Roots enemies in an area |
| Rumble | – Scrap Shield: Grants a shield and reflects damage – Flamethrower: Deals AoE damage and slows enemies |
| Yasuo | – Wind Wall: Blocks projectiles and stuns enemies – Last Breath: Knocks up enemies in an area |
The Evolution of Swarm Builds in League of Legends
Swarm builds have emerged as a dominant force in League of Legends, enabling teams to overwhelm their opponents with an unrelenting wave of minions and pets.
1. Origins of Swarm Builds
The early roots of swarm builds can be traced back to the introduction of champions like Ziggs and Heimerdinger, who could summon numerous turrets and mines. However, it was not until the release of champions like Malzahar and Yorick that swarm builds truly began to take shape.
2. Rise of Void and Shadows
In Season 10, Riot Games introduced champions like Vel’Koz and Pyke, who possessed abilities that summoned multiple tentacles and shadow minions. These champions provided a significant boost to swarm builds, allowing teams to establish a dominant presence in the early game.
3. Domination of the Golem
The addition of Anivia to the roster in Season 11 further cemented the strength of swarm builds. Anivia’s ability to summon a swarm of Cryophoenixes could quickly overwhelm enemy defenses and create immense pressure.
4. The Swarm’s Evolution
Over the following seasons, swarm builds continued to evolve with the introduction of champions like Ivern and Maokai, who could summon Daisy and Twisted Treants, respectively. These new additions provided swarm builds with increased tankiness and wave clear.
5. Adaptability in Playstyles
Swarm builds are not limited to a single playstyle. Some teams opt for a more aggressive approach, using their swarms to push lanes and secure objectives, while others prefer a more defensive strategy, using their minions to create a defensive perimeter.
6. Strategic Considerations
When executing swarm builds, teams must carefully consider the composition of their enemies. Champions with abilities that can clear large numbers of minions or pets can pose a significant challenge. Additionally, teams must have a plan to deal with champions like Kassadin, who can easily absorb and negate the effects of swarm builds.
7. Counterplay Strategies
There are several strategies teams can employ to counter swarm builds. Champions with strong wave clear abilities, like Sivir and Ziggs, can effectively mitigate the overwhelming force of minions and pets. Additionally, teams can focus on targeting champions that summon the swarms, eliminating the source of the swarm’s power.
8. Impact on the Meta
Swarm builds have had a significant impact on the League of Legends meta. They have forced teams to adapt their strategies and consider new ways to approach team fights and objectives.
9. Future Prospects
As the game continues to evolve, it is likely that swarm builds will continue to play a significant role in League of Legends. Riot Games may introduce new champions or items that further enhance swarm builds or develop new strategies to counter them.
10. Recent Champions and Items
| Champion | Ability/Item |
|---|---|
| Seraphine | Beat Drop (summons multiple notes) |
| Akshan | Going Rogue (summons a spectral companion) |
| Mythic Items | Moonstone Renewer, Shurelya’s Battlesong, Imperial Mandate |
These champions and items provide new options and synergies for swarm builds, allowing teams to explore even more innovative and effective strategies.
The Best Swarm Builds in League
Swarm builds in League of Legends are a great way to overwhelm your opponents with sheer numbers. By focusing on champions that can summon or create multiple units, you can create a powerful army that can quickly take down towers and inhibitors. Here are some of the best swarm builds in League:
- Elise: Elise is a jungler who can transform into a spider form, gaining the ability to summon spiderlings. These spiderlings can be used to clear camps, harass enemies, and even tank damage. Elise’s ultimate ability, Cocoon, can also be used to lock down a single target, making her a great choice for team fights.
- Malzahar: Malzahar is a mid laner who can summon voidlings. These voidlings are melee units that can deal significant damage to towers and inhibitors. Malzahar’s ultimate ability, Suppression, can also be used to lock down a single target, making him a great choice for team fights.
- Yorick: Yorick is a top laner who can summon ghouls. These ghouls are melee units that can deal significant damage to towers and inhibitors. Yorick’s ultimate ability, Eulogy of the Isles, can also be used to summon a massive ghoul that can tank damage and deal significant damage to enemies.
People Also Ask
What are the best swarm builds in League?
The best swarm builds in League focus on champions that can summon or create multiple units. Some of the best swarm builders include Elise, Malzahar, and Yorick.
How do I play a swarm build?
To play a swarm build effectively, you need to focus on creating and maintaining your swarm. This means constantly summoning units and using your abilities to keep them alive. You should also focus on objectives, such as towers and inhibitors, as your swarm can quickly take them down.
What are the weaknesses of swarm builds?
Swarm builds are vulnerable to crowd control and area-of-effect damage. This is because your units are relatively weak individually, so they can be easily killed if they are grouped up. You should also be careful of champions that can split push, as they can take down your towers and inhibitors while you are busy fighting elsewhere.
