Items

Syndra only has 30 mana so a mana generation item is very strong. Blue Buff is ideal, but Shojin and Adaptive Helm are both very acceptable substitutes. Arcanists give a lot of AP so Archangel’s Staff and Rabadon’s Deathcap have a bit less value than usual compared to items such as Nashor’s Tooth or Jeweled Gauntlet. Because this comp is entirely magic damage, having Shred is very valuable, either from Ionic Spark or Stattik’s Shiv. Antiheal is always good to have but not as important in other comps since Syndra’s high single target burst will certainly kill her target even without it. Your frontline has high effective health from AP scaling on Neeko and Illaoi’s shields, so pairing it with bonus resists and damage reduction are ideal frontline items while HP items such as Warmog’s have a bit less value than usual (but are still good). Rods and Tears are very valuable so avoid building Crownguard and Vow unless you have your carry items completed.

Positioning

Pair Ahri and Syndra until you get Sett, then pair Syndra and Sett. Starting in Stage 4, make sure your Syndra is not hit by “largest clump” enemy abilities such as Nautilus. Make sure you cannot be wrapped by enemy melee carries by not leaving more than 2 hexes open on the left or 1 hex open on the right. If you are relying on Ionic Spark for your Shred, it must be within range of Syndra’s target (2 hexes). Protect your Shred holder as your damage will drop significantly if it dies.

Board Examples

These are some example boards to play around Syndra, you can also play 5 Fated or duo carry her in the Sniper Ashe composition if you have both AD carry and AP carry items.