Characters / League of Legends: Swain

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Swain, the Noxian Grand General

Gen. Jericho Swain

"Fear the power you do not see."

Voiced by:
James Faulkner (English)
Juan Fernández (European Spanish)
Dan Osorio (Mexican Spanish)
Tetsuo Kaneo (Japanese)
Saulo Javan (Brazilian Portuguese)
Chang-Yeong Hwang (Korean)
Kirill Grebenshchikov (Russian)
Appears in: Legends of Runeterra, Katarina

"I have learned to detest all men. Only nations may be revered."

Jericho Swain is the visionary ruler of Noxus, an expansionist nation that reveres only strength. Though he was cast down and crippled in the Ionian wars, his left arm severed, he seized control of the empire with ruthless determination… and a new, demonic hand. Now, Swain commands from the front lines, marching against a coming darkness that only he can see—in glimpses gathered by shadowy ravens from the corpses all around him. In a swirl of sacrifice and secrets, the greatest secret of all is that the true enemy lies within.

Swain is a Battle Mage champion who excels in the front-lines, crippling his opponents with powerful sustained damage and stealing their very souls to boost his own survivability.

• His passive, Ravenous Flock, causes enemy champions that die near Swain to drop a Soul Fragment, which his ravens bring to him. Picking up a Soul Fragment restores a percentage of Swain's max health and permanently increases his max health.
• With his first ability, Death's Hand, Swain sends out five bolts of eldritch power in a cone in the target direction, each damaging the first enemy it hits, with enemies hit by multiple bolts taking bonus damage.
• His second ability, Vision of Empire, summons a demonic eye at any location in a huge radius around Swain, which reveals the area for a short duration before exploding, damaging and briefly slowing nearby enemies. Enemy champions hit are revealed for a few seconds and have a Soul Fragment ripped out of them.
• His third ability, Nevermove, sends out a demonic hand in a target direction that damages enemies in its path and then returns to Swain, exploding upon hitting an enemy to damage and briefly immobilize nearby foes. While enemies are stunned, Swain can recast the ability to pull affected foes a short distance towards him, additionally ripping out a Soul Fragment from each of them.
• With his ultimate ability, Demonic Ascension, Swain releases his inner demon, gaining a meter of Demon Power while entering a state where he continuously damages nearby enemies and heals himself for a percentage of the damage dealt. Demon Power slowly depletes over time, and the state ends once it runs out, but draining nearby enemies restores more Demon Power, extending the ability's duration. A few seconds after activating Demonic Ascension, Swain can recast the ability to create a Demonflare, a massive explosion that damages and greatly slows nearby enemies.

Swain's alternate skins include Northern Front Swain, Bilgewater Swain, Tyrant Swain, Dragon Master Swain, Hextech Swain, Crystal Rose Swain, and Winterblessed Swain. Legends of Runeterra exclusively includes Infernal Swain.

In season 1 of Teamfight Tactics, Swain is a Tier 5 Shapeshifter with both Demon and Imperial origins. His ability, Demonic Ascension, transforms him into his demonic form and causes him to drain health from all nearby foes. After a few seconds, Swain will end his transformation by releasing a burst of energy that damages all enemies in range. He was removed in season 2. He returns in season 4's Festival of Beasts mid-set update using his Dragon Master Swain skin as a Tier 5 Dragonsoul Syphoner. His ability was changed to Draconic Ascension, which functions similarly to his season 1 ability. Instead of dealing a burst of damage at the end of the transformation, Swain gains bonus health for the duration. In addition, Swain breathes a cone of fire that deals damage, applies Grievous Wounds and causes enemies to burn for additional true damage over time based on their maximum health. He was removed in season 5, returning with his base skin in season 6 as a Tier 2 Imperial Arcanist. His new ability, Death's Hand, unleashes piercing bolts that deal magic damage to all enemies in a cone, healing Swain for each enemy hit. In the Neon Nights mid-set update, his origin was changed to Hextech due to the removal of the Imperial origin, and his skin was changed to Hextech Swain. In season 7, he returns to using his Dragon Master Swain skin as a Tier 3 Ragewing Dragonmancer Shapeshifter. His ability, while still named Draconic Ascension, works very differently from its previous iteration. The transformation instead lasts the entire round, replacing Swain's basic attacks with fireballs that deal magic damage and replacing his ability with Greater Fireball, empowering his next fireball to deal double damage and explode in an area around his target. He was given a complete overhaul in the Uncharted Realms mid-set update as "Tyrant Swain", a Tier 4 Darkflight Dragon whose ability, Dragon Master's Decree, releases 8 dragonlings that each deal magic damage to a random nearby enemy before healing Swain for a percentage of his missing health. He was removed in season 8, returning to his base skin in season 9 as a Tier 2 Noxus Strategist Sorcerer. His Demonflare ability transforms Swain into his demonic form for a few seconds, granting him bonus max health and dealing continuous magic damage to nearby enemies for the duration.

In Legends of Runeterra, Swain is a 5-mana 3/6 Noxus Champion with Fearsome and a Nexus Strike ability to deal 3 direct damage to the enemy Nexus. When you have inflicted 14+ non-combat damage in a game, he levels up, gaining +1/+1 and Overwhelm, upgrading his Nexus Strike ability to deal 3 damage to all enemy units in addition to the enemy Nexus, and passively stunning the strongest enemy unit on the backline (that has not already been Stunned, unless they all are) every time their Nexus takes non-combat damage. His Champion Spell is Swain's Ravenous Flock (1-mana Noxus Fast spell that deals 4 damage to a unit that's injured or stunned).

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Swain has two main incarnations that have existed, his original version from 2010, and his Visual-Gameplay Update from 2018. Both versions will have respective folders with tropes specific to them.

General (No, not that kind of general)

• Achilles' Heel: Ravenous Flock's and Demonic Ascension's sustain makes him a notoriously tough bastard to bring down. Solution? Apply Grievous Wounds from the summoner spell Ignite, an item like Morellonomicon, or an ability like Varus' Hail of Arrows, and watch the healing get cut in half for a few moments.
• Age-Gap Romance: Riot has pushed the Ship Tease Swain has with LeBlanc into the forefront, starting way back with the promotional webpage for Sion's rework and LeBlanc's new Ravenborn LeBlanc skin. The two have since been in a constant back and forth between wanting to screw and screw each other over. Swain was at one point the second visibly oldest LoL champion (next to Zilean), and LeBlanc is the Ur-Example of sexy female LoL champions. Since their relative backstories make their real ages debatable, it is mostly because Swain is visibly at least in his 50s and LeBlanc not more than her 30s.
• Balance Buff:
  • Swain's kit when he was first introduced vastly emphasized a "drain tank" archetype to his battle mage gameplay, trading out burst damage for persistent damage over time and debuffs, with a toggle-able ultimate that allowed him to freely damage and heal from enemies just by being near them. However, this archetype was deemed obsolete really quickly as not only did he have the absolute highest mana consumption rate of any mage, it was realized that without any definite bursting abilities or really much utility (the largest extent of both for him was Nevermove, a single AoE stun and damage spell), it was difficult for him to be effective if he was behind, and when he wasn't behind, he was nigh-unstoppable. When Riot gave him his VGU in 2018, Swain's DoT emphasis was vastly toned down for more traditional burst power (including modifying his transformation ultimate into a proper Limit Break state), requiring him to fight in sustained battles, but allowing him to more definitively assert the truckloads of damage he would be expected to do. Combined with retaining some of his self-healing aspects and crowd control, he now works much more reliably as a frontline mage to be afraid of, but still with proper windows of vulnerability for him to be punished on.
  • In the years following his VGU, Swain was subject to a handful of mini-reworks due to some newfound conflicts of gameplay and identity, with some aspects of his kit (such as a singular pull tied to his passive and a very finite Demonic Ascension) being too limited to make his true "frontline mage" ideal consistently viable, encouraging him to instead play in a safe backline while relying on his allies to apply pressure (functionally leading to play as a Catcher support). In 2022, he received a mid-scope rework in order to reorient his power back into solo laning: he lost the ability to pull anyone affected by ally crowd control, but in return, Nevermove was given a recast to pull all enemies struck by the root, giving him more direct control of his catching ability. His mana costs were globally reduced and bonus health from Soul Fragments were increased to improve his sustain and uptime in battle, and finally, Demonic Ascension was reworked to last indefinitely so long as he continues draining nearby enemies, making him vastly more relevant in teamfights.
• Characterization Marches On: Swain was originally envisioned as a somewhat more cartoony take on a Sorcerous Overlord, a grouchy, decrepit cripple who rose to power in Noxus through tactical brilliance as much as his craven magics, but was much more known for his reputation than his personality, largely because it was deliberately shrouded in mystery. With his 2018 VGU, Swain was redesigned and instead played as a dangerously cold, yet refined overlord, with an expanded backstory making it clear that he's very firmly in control of his nation's plans.
• The Chessmaster: As powerful as his magic is, Swain is no stranger to politics and has pulled more than his fair share of strings. Though originally he really grabbed the Idiot Ball regarding Demacia's knight and king pieces...
  "Another piece cleared from the board."
• Cool Ship: Swain's personal warship, the Leviathan, was the pride of the Noxian fleet, until Gangplank made off with it. As a bonus, attacking Gangplank as Bilgewater Swain will have him call on this:
  Swain: The Leviathan belongs to me!
• Creepy Ravens: The demonic powers he possesses manifest heavily with a raven motif, and as such he's constantly accompanied by a flock of demonic ravens and gains raven wings during Demonic Ascension. Ravens can also be seen perched all over the scenery of Summoner's Rift, though only Swain can see them. The original Swain turns into a gigantic demonic one as his ultimate.
• Evil Old Folks: Clearly getting on in the years, especially after his rework, but is no less dangerous or threatening. Being a Noxian means you have to be this to maintain any semblance of authority in old age.
• Evil Overlord: He was made the high/grand-general of Noxus, and his Tyrant skin was released at the same time as his original launch.
• Eyepatch of Power: His Bilgewater Swain skin originally, only to have it removed after his rework. Now his Northern Front skin boasts one.
• Feathered Fiend: Evil birds are pretty much his theme. His demonic arm also has feathers sticking out across it.
• Four-Star Badass: On top of effectively being The Emperor of Noxus in all but name, he's more than proved himself a competent commander, doubly so considering his new title as "Grand General".
• Handicapped Badass:
  • The original Swain has a very noticeable limp from a severe leg injury from his youth. Despite this, his magical ability and tactical genius made him one of Noxus' most valuable military assets and he eventually still managed to rise to Grand General rank. Tyrant Swain does away with his limp, however.
  • Modern Swain having one arm hasn't slowed him down much. In fact, it seemed to have made him stronger.
    (taunting Irelia) "Am I to seek revenge for my poor departed arm? If anything, girl- you did me a favor."
• Healing Factor: His ultimate keeps restoring health to him when damaging something. Originally his passive restored a sizable amount of mana per enemy target killed to keep his ultimate going. Now it instead lasts indefinitely so long as he has enemy champions to siphon away at. It's not for nothing he has a reputation for being infinitely sustainable when used right.
• A Hero to His Hometown: Universally despised by Demacia, but is a national hero in Noxus.
• Life Drain: Ravenous Flock grants Swain a huge boost in sustaibability thanks to his ability to collect Soul Fragments from enemies, healing and increasing his max health. Both versions of his ultimate too gradually sucks away at his enemies' life force, making him a high priority target in team fights.
• Magikarp Power:
  • With his original kit, like Anivia and her Glacial Storm, Swain's power is subpar prior to reaching level 6 and once he has access to Ravenous Flock, he runs into severe mana problems using it for more than a few seconds. In due time, he goes from being a moderate nuisance to a terror once he accumulates a sufficient mana pool and tankiness from his build, as the direct metric of his usefulness is how long both will keep him alive as he devastates in demonic raven form.
  • The new Swain is also not that strong early on, but for different reasons. He doesn't have the same kind of mana issues like before, but his stats and base damage are still pretty lacking without items, and he's really squishy without any Soul Fragments built up. Rack up some those Fragments and some ability power though and he becomes a sturdy and powerful frontline menace.
• Mayfly–December Romance: Played with. Swain is visibly older than LeBlanc, but the mystery surrounding LeBlanc's age and the implication that she served and betrayed Mordekaiser suggests she is really hundreds of years old and thus far older than him.
• Mighty Glacier: As a battlemage, Swain is not only powerful but also very long-lived thanks to the amount of sustain his abilities provide him. While he can still be burst down if enemies get ahold of him, the constant Life Drain from his ultimate makes that a risky endeavor since he'll be damaging you and healing himself at the same time. Of course to balance this, he has nothing to assist his slow movements.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Can switch from human to demon-raven form at will, though originally there was a two minute cooldown.
• Pirate: Bilgewater Swain appears as a younger swashbuckling version of himself with his ravens replaced by parrots. This even changes or adds some voice lines to properly fit the aesthetic.
• Pragmatic Villainy:
  • In the old lore, one of the reasons he overthrew the previous Grand General is because of the former Noxian regime's tendency to waste resources doing somewhat petty things For the Evulz, like sending assassins to kill the smith responsible for forging King Jarvan III's crown (in Poppy's backstory) instead of someone actually useful to the Demacian war effort. He himself is ruthlessly efficient and believes that a competent regime doesn't need to resort to Kick the Dog to intimidate people.
  • As the Noxian Grand General, he picks his moves for its future wisely. Its rapid conquering of surrounding lands may be ruthless, but the approach is done to appeal to all involved parties. He's also good at identifying enemies to Noxus' destiny from within, including LeBlanc (and by extension, The Black Rose), and Urgot (whose rabid fanaticism makes him too much of a liability).
• Pun: One of his abilities is called, to misquote the raven, Nevermove. Apparently, it actually was supposed to be called Nevermore , but a Rioter changed it as a joke, and by the time it was noticed, it stuck.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: The fact that he obtained the highest position of power in Noxus, the most darwinist nations in Runeterra, is a pretty big clue that you should run. The original managed to be a powerful mage even while crippled.
  • Originally he rose to power after defeating Boram Darkwill's son in a duel, who was the only opposition to Swain for the position of Grand General after Boram's passing. Swain had already gained a lot of respect and support among the military command and the Noxian public due to being the only General actively fighting on the battlefield due to the Kalamanda incident, and his battles on Summoner's Rift in the League of Legends (which are broadcasted matches in-universe and source of entertainment).
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: During his ult, Swain's eyes start glowing red. He even has red eyes in his human form.
• Sorcerous Overlord: His main power fantasy, wielding powerful dark magic while ruling Noxus as its Grand General. Tyrant Swain goes even further, evoking design cues of classic tabletop villains.
• The Stoic: Seems pretty reserved when it comes to his emotions.
• Super Mode: Demonic Ascension fits the bill. The decorations on the back of his cloak unfurl into giant raven wings, his entire body becomes wreathed in shadow, his eyes glow bright red and he begins siphoning his nearby enemies' lifeforce by the gallon. It also grants him a sizable chunk of bonus health, allowing him to drain the life from all nearby enemies, and nuke the area with a powerful Demonflare once its duration ends. This form (though powerful and resilient) is by no means invincible and can inconveniently end the moment either when he's out of mana (original) or no longer has enemy champions around that he can drain from (modern).before he can go back to raven form again.
• Villainous Widow's Peak: One of his most prominent physical traits.
• Who's Laughing Now?: It's highly advisable to keep your distance from him because of his proximity-reliant spells. Due to his being a Mighty Glacier, an assassin that attempts to all-in him (as if he were a squishier foe) but fails to kill him will likely regret that decision as he holds them in place, pours on the damage, and heals a good deal of it back.
• You Will Not Evade Me: Nevermove allows Swain to drag enemies towards him to face the full brunt of his other offensive abilites. This one ability made him popular as a support champ through sheer utility.

Modern Swain (Post-VGU)

• An Arm and a Leg: Lost the majority of his left arm to Irelia in the Ionian wars. He replaces it with a construct of demonic energy.
• Ascended Meme: Dragon Master Swain has been a long time coming. Initially just a fan suggestion from as early as 2011, it reached semi-legendary status with many Rioters saying they wanted to develop it, but it ended up being iceboxed multiple times, until it was stated to be cancelled in 2017. And then finally brought back and released with his full visual/gameplay update in 2018.
• Baritone of Strength: Swain already has a naturally sinister, yet classily refined voice, but his Dragon Master skin pitches it down and adds additional reverb just for extra intimidation points.
• Bad Boss: He won't hesitate to kill off one of his own men when they are no longer useful to him. He did so with Urgot when the latter was deemed to much of an issue to keep around (that's yet to bite him in the ass after Urgot becomes a Cyborg cult leader). Before that though, he's more of a Benevolent Boss.
• Badass Longcoat: Has one draped around his shoulders, adorned with beak and feather-like blades on the shoulders and back.
• Benevolent Boss:
  • Treats his teammates like men under his command, but still gives them a fair deal of respect. He offers them promotions when they score kills he participated in, encourages the team when they successfully take objectives, and rallies them when the team is either behind or ahead.
  • He also saves Katarina's life in the Katarina webcomic, using his magic to stifle a bomb that would have toppled a Noxian fortress when she was ready to sacrifice herself to defend the rest of Noxus, and turns it against her father who plotted to kill her. He tells her that Noxus still needs her and names her the new head of House du Couteau for her efforts. He also trusts her to be the one to kill him should he ever end up succumbing to his demonic influence and lead Noxus to glory.
• Blue Blood: He was born into a life of aristocracy before becoming a soldier, then the Grand General.
• Card-Carrying Villain: He's aware of his outsider status as a villain due to his actions, and he has no qualms continuing to play into that reputation.
  "If they already call me a villain, what will they call me when I succeed?"
• Close-Range Combatant: The bulk of his damage will come from blasting enemies at point-blank with Death's Hand and keeping them in range of his ultimate's radius. He can use Vision of Empire to attack from across the map, but it's slow startup makes it hard to land and less reliable that his other tools.
• Coat Cape: How he wears his large, black coat.
• Darker and Edgier: The new and revised Swain is a much more credible threat than the original, no longer boasting the same kind of cartoony villainy and flat characterization of his original incarnation. His actions in Noxus's imperialism are explored with much more drama, like his standoff with Irelia when invading Ionia and how he achieved his status as the result of coup, disposing of the original leaders..
• Dating Catwoman: His arch-enemy is LeBlanc, but it's an intense love-hate relationship; as in, they love each other, but they're also constantly trying to kill one another.
• Deadpan Snarker: Many of his lines are dripping with sarcasm.
• Defensive Feint Trap: Swain's favorite tactic. During his campaign in Ionia, he held Irelia's countrymen hostage at the Placidium in order to bait the Ionian militia into fighting a forced battle in his favor. Of course he never thought that the hostages would rebel, resulting in his defeat. Later, Swain makes use of his frail appearance in size to fool enemies into thinking that he's an easy target, managing to play both the Black Rose and Noxian High Command simply by having them underestimate his willpower. In a more meta example, Swain's rapid healing and ascending into his Super Mode is excellent for turning the tables on enemies who think that they've just picked an easy kill.
• Demonic Possession: Defied. When he was dying in Ionia, the demon hidden within the Immortal Bastion attempted to do this to him, but he overcame it and made its power his own.
• Demoted to Extra: While ravens are still a major motif with Swain, his specific pet raven named Beatrice from before his VGU is only relegated to a nod in his joke emote:
  "Which one of you is Beatrice again?"
• Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Swain made a deal with a demon (similar to Evelynn and Tahm Kench), but instead of gluttony or lust, it was a demon of secrets. However, instead of the typical outcome where the demon wins, Swain somehow managed to best the demon and capture its essence, resulting in his visionary and demonic powers.
• Discontinuity Nod: Before his full VGU, Rakan had an interaction with Swain, accusing him of having Vastayan blood. This was retconned out by the time of the VGU (now he's the host to a demon of secrets that just so happens to have a raven motif), and Swain now fires back at him a line to confirm it.
  "The Vastaya blood is not in my veins. It is on my hands."
• Even Evil Has Standards: He clearly does not like Singed.
  (Taunting an enemy Singed) Why is he still alive? Another of Darkwill's loose ends.
• Evil Brit: He speaks with a classy British accent, which somehow manages to make his ruthlessness even more potent.
• Foil: To Irelia, ironically enough. Both deeply love their homelands - though Swain cares only for the land itself, while Irelia loves its people as well - both became military leaders but were not raised in the military - Irelia grew up wanting to be a dancer, Swain grew up as a member of the Noxian aristocracy - both are empowered through supernatural means - Irelia by a "spirit" she often references, Swain by his demon - and both became deeply respected icons of their nations - but Irelia had this forced upon her and really only wants to be normal, while Swain seized power willingly.
• Foreshadowing: Swain's ability to read the secrets of fallen opponents usually leads him to make a relevant comment about something soon coming their way. Most of them tie into a broad eventual storyline, but a few specifically foreshadowed proper champions that would be released in the months after him^note Or rather, his relaunch in February 2018:
  • Killing Kassadin has him make a comment about rumors of "the girl who came back," just one month before Kai'Sa was announced.
  • Killing any Bilgewater champion has him make a remark about how "They fight the [Black] Mist above the seas, never looking beneath." This was a few months before Pyke was revealed, alongside the broader mythos surrounding the supernatural jaull-fish and other horrors of the Swimming City beneath Bilgewater.
• Friendly Enemy: Invoked, to an extent. LeBlanc and the Black Rose have been retconned to be against Swain and actively trying to remove him from power, but that doesn't stop Swain from joking around when talking about her.
  "An assassin is due at any moment. It is how I know LeBlanc cares."
• Friends with Benefits: Confirmed to be this with LeBlanc through one of his taunt quotes towards her (and later, a comment from Interlocutioner), though it's mostly subverted with the "friends" part. He seems to regard her more as a rival of sorts.
  Swain: I suppose this makes us enemies with benefits.
• Hotter and Sexier: The original Swain was a balding, gaunt, hunched-over man who kept his lower face hidden at all times. His transformed state as well was a much more ragged, monstrous crow being. The reworked Swain goes for more of a Silver Fox design, being much broader, more chiseled, and given a much deeper and smoother voiceover. Even his demon form ditches the monstrous aspects, keeping him mostly humanoid save for the red wings that spawn. His skins indulge in the trope even further, like Bilgewater, which makes him younger, and Crystal Rose, which fits him in a clean, dapper white suit and gels his hair.
• Ingesting Knowledge: Raum was a demon who gained power through peoples' secrets, an ability which Swain gained after slaying and absorbing him. Whenever Swain kills someone, he also learns of their hidden knowledge, a powerful tool for an Evil Overlord with aspirations.
• Klingon Promotion: Swain organized a coup to oust the previous ruler of Noxus, Boram Darkwill, a supposedly tyrannical ruler. He saw Darkwill's execution through and then claimed the position of Grand General for himself.
  Some among the noble houses still called him usurper, since it was he who had dragged the madman Boram Darkwill from the throne of Noxus, but none of them said it to his face.
• Lovecraftian Super Power: Death's Hand specifically mentions eldritch power while the rest mention demons. Friendly magic tricks, these are not.
• Mr. Fanservice: Swain's Bilgewater skin gives him a more youthful, sculpted appearance and removes his shirt, exposing his well-toned chest.
• Necessarily Evil: Swain doesn't deny that he's done some shady stuff, but to him, his methods are the only ways of accomplishing his long term plans.
  "People often ask for a hero, when a villain is what they truly need."
• Not So Above It All:
  • While he normally presents himself as straight-faced and completely serious, Swain's dance has him pull out a cane and twirl it around while dancing and awkwardly whistling his own theme tune.
  • There's also one of his responses to an enemy's jokes.
    "I am not smiling, I am threatening to smile. It is still a threat."
• Officer and a Gentleman: Compared to the other Screaming Warrior tropes typically seen of Noxian soldiers, Swain's voice is hardly ever raised and reflects his more logical approach to battle. However, he seems to deny the aristocrat part of it to fit more with Noxian ideals.
  "I was born a patrician. I became a soldier."
• Old Friend: Considers Darius this, and possibly Draven as well.
  (Taunting an ally Darius) "Your trust may be misplaced, old friend, but it is appreciated."
  (Taunting an ally Draven) "You stood by me when I was outcast, so I stood by you when you were drunk... In spite of the stench..."
  [starting the game] A black flag above Bilgewater. A raven's wing.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Decked out in more black than a My Chemical Romance concert, with the red magic effects to go with it.
• Red Left Hand: Uses a construct of demonic energy to replace his lost arm.
• The Reveal: According to Fiddlestick's rework, the demon whose power he took is named Raum.
• Retcon: Before his 2018 VGU, Swain was a far more mysterious and shady figure, appearing as a much less refined "Master Tactician" of Noxus with an unusual pet raven named Beatrice constantly perched on his shoulder. After the VGU, he and his backstory became far more defined, notably with how in the place of Beatrice, Swain got his demonic powers from an actual demon he fought and defeated. In between then, a line from Rakan implied he had Vastayan ancestry.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Just like his rival and contemporary King Jarvan IV, Swain absolutely hates to rest on his laurels and prefers to command from the front line.
  "You can sit on a throne. That doesn't make you a ruler. It only means you have an arse."
• Self-Made Orphan: Swain personally executed his parents when he discovered that they were conspiring against Boram Darkwill while being members of the Black Rose.
• Short-Range Shotgun: Death's Hand works like this. It only does so-so damage at its maximum range, but enemies struck by multiple bolts take extra damage from each one, encouraging him to hit people point-blank with it.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: An unusual case given how both of them are depicted as villainous in their own ways, but Swain has a taunt calling out Urgot and his violence-based philosophy.
  "Your message is your power. You have learned nothing."
• Sinister Surveillance: Swain's supernatural vision isn't quite omniscience, and the secrets he obtains are from people he's killed himself, but he's strongly implied to be able to extend his eyes beyond Noxus through his ravens. In Garen: First Shield, while Garen and the Vanguard return from their mission — which turned out to be a trap orchestrated by Noxus — Garen notices a red-eyed raven watching them leave.
• Smart People Play Chess: Swain enjoys playing an in-universe equivalent, X'ah. The game is Vastayan in origin and allows players to keep any captured pieces after the game is over. His pieces have sentimental value but he is still willing to sacrifice them for victory.
• The Social Darwinist: As with Noxus itself, he believes Might Makes Right, and that authority is built on imposing fear with that might. He himself was crippled as a soldier, but clawed his way up the ranks through whatever means he could to become Grand General.
• Telepathy: A variant; collecting Soul Fragments from enemies seems to give him access to some of their secrets, albeit cryptically. Amusingly, collecting one from another Swain will flatly prompt him to say "I already knew that."
• Tranquil Fury: Hardly raises his voice when he's irritated.
• Vampiric Draining: Swain's abilities rip out chunks of an enemy champion's souls to heal himself with, called Soul Fragments. They apparently also give him a glimpse at their memories.
• Villain Respect: In spite of his ruthlessness, he occasionally offers respect or at least positive acknowledgement to his allies and even some of his enemies, though in his case, the line between genuine sympathy and backhanded pity is a blurry one.
  [taunting an enemy Darius] "It was only a matter of time, Darius. Do what you must."
  [responding to a Darius taunt] "You're the only man I know who believes his own words, even after he's said them."
  [collecting a Soul Fragment from Lux] "Which is the greater tragedy, that she fell in battle, or that she fell in line?"
  [taunting an enemy Riven] "The best armor is being forgotten, and you my dear, are quite forgettable."
• Visionary Villain: Of all the crimes that Swain has committed, he notes that all of it is for the greater good in the long run. And he will let nothing stop him from carrying out his goals.
• Voice of the Legion: Present in the voiceovers of his Tyrant and Dragon Master skins, especially in the former.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Is working too, among other things, root out the corruption endemic in Noxus and rally them against "a coming darkness only he can see." On the other hand, he's working towards this with extremely evil-looking powers that are explicitly labelled as "demonic."
• White Hair, Black Heart: Has a full head of white hair, and can be particularly cruel.
• With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Subverted — he's feared by his critics for his demonic powers, believing that whatever entity he supposedly stole them from will eventually take control of him and drive him and the rest of Noxus into devastation. However, not only has Swain not succumbed to this state yet, he's very much aware of the fire that he's playing with, influencing his fettered approach as Grand General. He's very aware that there may come a day where he is consumed by the demon, and so he fully trusts Katarina to be a loyal assassin who will serve Noxus proud by killing him when the time comes.

Old Swain (Pre-VGU)

Swain, the Master Tactitian

The early bird guts the worm.

Voiced by:
Unknown (English)
Jon Ciriano (European Spanish)
José Luis Orozco (Mexican Spanish)
Carlos Seidl (Brazilian Portuguese)

"If you haven't yet lost the ability to ask, you may not yet ask for relief."

The earliest account of Swain's existence comes from a Noxian infirmary doctor's notes. According to them, Swain limped into the ward without cry or complaint; his right leg was snapped in half, with bone protruding from the skin. A small, scowling bird seemed affixed to his shoulder. The doctor gawked in horror as the young adolescent answered questions about his health and age with a calm, even stare. Even behind the echoing crack as the sand counterweights reset his tibia, Swain's measuring gaze never flickered, nor did his eyes twitch from the pop of his fibula. He refused the doctor's recommendation of magical treatment for the leg's inoperable damage, requesting only a spare crutch before shuffling away. He next surfaced in documents from the Noxian military, although it is evident that they are incomplete. Normally a crippled boy would be turned away in shame from Noxus' proud legion, but the records indicate his first designation was that of a ranking officer.

The men who've served under him (and survived) have remained in his charge with unshakable faith and loyalty. He leapt through the High Command's hierarchy, often ascending when superiors requested demotions to join his unit. A cunning strategist, Swain was decorated after every battle he fought, regularly hobbling in contemplation at the front of the assault. His rise to power seemed unceasing until he was suddenly removed from the order of battle prior to the Ionian Invasion - a bewildering decision which reeked of bureaucratic subversion. If Swain was upset by the events which unfolded, he never revealed it. His face was so implacable that it was popularly rumored to be a mask, disguising something utterly inhuman beneath. More controversy surrounded the bird that never left his shoulder, whose name he whispered only to it.
——

Swain is a Battle Mage champion who can take a lot more punishment than the usual fragile mage, while also dealing powerful sustained damage on his own.

• His passive, Carrion Renewal, restores a small amount of mana whenever he kills an enemy unit, and a much larger amount if he kills or helps kill an enemy champion.
• With his first ability, Decrepify, Swain sends his pet raven Beatrice on a target location to fire a beam of energy at nearby enemies for a few seconds, continuously damaging and slowing the nearest available target or one recently affected by Torment, until the duration ends or they run away.
• His second ability, Nevermove, creates a magical mark at a nearby area that, after a small delay, will make giant talons erupt from it, damaging and briefly immobilizing all enemies inside.
• His third ability, Torment, curses a nearby enemy unit, damaging them over time for a few seconds and increasing all damage they take from Swain for the same duration.
• With his ultimate ability, Ravenous Flock, Swain transforms into a giant, six-eyed demon raven, constantly sending out crows to attack nearby enemies, damaging them and healing Swain for a portion of the damage dealt. This transformation has no set duration, instead consuming an ever-increasing amount of mana per second until it runs out or Swain turns it off, returning to his regular form.

Swain's alternate skins include Northern Front Swain, Bilgewater Swain, and Tyrant Swain.

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• Big Good: Despite being seen as a war criminal by Demacia, he's a national hero in Noxus and many Noxus champions see him as this.
• Combos: Torment first for extra damage on all his abilities, Decrepify next to slow (making it easier to land Nevermore), Nevermore to root them in place, then finally Ravenous Flock and Ignite to pour damage onto his helpless victim.
• Damage Over Time: Compared to most other mages, his kit is based more around effects that deal damage over time rather than sheer burst damage. If Swain lands the snare and throws all his damage-over-time at once (including an Ignite), two of which require staying within range of him, it can be just as bad as getting bursted down.
• Death of a Thousand Cuts: Unlike most mages Swain doesn't burst you with three or four spells, he basically throws so much stuff at you at once you die after a while. Eye Beams, green fire, demon crows...
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: There are hints across his bios that the raven may be the one controlling him.
• Eye Beams: Decrepify has one of his demonic ravens do this to his target, slowing them down as long as they're in range.
• Feel No Pain: His earliest appearance in any records was when he limped into an infirmary with a compound fracture in his leg. He gave no sign of pain, even as the bone was snapped back into place. He requested a spare crutch and hobbled away. The bird never left his shoulder.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: There isn't much known about Swain except for his meteoric rise through the Noxian ranks. No one knows where he came from, how he got into the army, or what the raven on his shoulder really is. Reached its zenith as of the final Journal of Justice entry, which reports that Swain has officially become the Grand General of Noxus, the highest position in the state.
• Humanoid Abomination: Possibly.
• Idiot Ball: While otherwise a brilliant tactician, Swain has a severe habit of underestimating Jarvan and Garen, the Bash Brothers of Demacia. It was to the point that he brought no backup with him when he ambushed Jarvan at the League. He got lanced through the chest, lifted up by the neck, slammed against the wall, and nearly choked to death as a result.
• Insufferable Genius: As a tactician and strategist himself, he has some back-talk to the summoner controlling him.
  How OBVIOUS.
  I'm *five* steps ahead of you.
• Mana Meter: For most mages, the mana meter determines how many spells they can cast before they run dry. In Swain's case, he needs to keep an extra close eye on it since it costs a lot to stay in his raven form continuously.
• Manipulative Bastard: Is really shaping up to be one of these.
• Man of Wealth and Taste: Referred to as such during his champion sneak peek.
  Meet Swain, the Master Tactician. In addition to being a distinguished Noxian gentleman of impeccable wealth and taste, Swain also just happens to be a fan of our feathered friends.
• Obfuscating Disability: Joked about in his dance, in which he carefully looks around him, then lets go of his cane and dances wildly. Also potentially made canon, as his Tyrant Swain skin — which depicts his successful attainment of the highest military rank in Noxus — has no limp.
• Old Flame: Hinted towards High Councilor Vessaria in his League Judgement, if their conversation (and the latter caressing the former's cheek) is anything to go by. If not, then at the very least, they do seem to know each other somehow.
  • More heavily hinted with fellow League champion LeBlanc. In her League Judgement, her memory is one where she meets Swain not long after she becomes the Matron of the Black Rose. They drink tea, reveal that Swain used to be part of the Black Rose, and notably LeBlanc is upset that Swain had to give up a part of his identity in order to reach the status he currently has in Noxus, to the point she reached out and held his hand. On Swain's part, he says he "made sacrifices. But I made them for us."
• Pet the Dog: He's quoted as complimenting the power of Sona's music, which is probably one of the nicest things he's mentioned to do.
• Stop Poking Me!: Swain does not take well to you repeatedly asking a giant demon bird to tell a joke.
• Tactical Withdrawal: He's quoted as saying this verbatim in the info for the Retreat ping.
• The Strategist: A bit of Story and Gameplay Segregation here. While in the backstory, he's almost entirely responsible for every political upheaval or underhanded Noxian ploy that wasn't caused by LeBlanc, in-game, his being a Master Tactician is not reflected in any of his abilities, which are fairly standard mage spells. He is one of the most combo reliant mages alongside LeBlanc and Veigar, and his abilities are geared towards making fights more one-sided. He even lampshades this in his /joke command:
  "If we approach strategically from the flank... ah, who am I kidding? Let's just morph and eat them."
• Villain with Good Publicity: An interesting case is that the state of Noxus itself is the 'villain' to many of the other factions of Runeterra except Zaun or the Shadow Isles, with Swain being one of the most iconic Noxian champions. So while he is a 'villain' to others, he is effectively a 'national hero' to Noxus itself. Notably it is mentioned in his League backstory that he was already on the rise to power prior to becoming a champion in League of Legends, but was removed from active duty due to his political rivals. When Demacia started placing more champion representatives in the League, Swain got recalled to active duty primarily to represent Noxus in the League. These matches are broadcasted in-universe, meaning that Swain's exploits on Summoner's Rift became known to the Noxus public. There were several other PR methods, both legitimate and shady, that was used to sway public and political support to Swain's side over the course of League lore:
  • During the Ionia vs Noxus event, the Journal of Justice ran an article that explained why Swain wasn't up for champ selection during the match. He had recently been promoted and there was a gala being held in his honor. At this gala, LeBlanc was his date and the article particularly noted how it was rare to see the Matron out in public at all, and that she 'hung onto (Swain's) arm' during the whole event. This had the effect of showing the Black Rose's unabashed support for Swain.
  • Darius' introduction was framed around his loyalty and support for Swain as his right-hand man and muscle. Given his personality and position in the Noxian military command, he represents Noxus' respect for strength and results. Darius has practical reasons for choosing to follow Swain, which would reflect the majority of the military command's reasoning as well - that Swain was simply the strongest and most intelligent among the Generals. His public support of Swain would also contribute to the political position that Swain was attaining.
  • During the Kalamanda incident (aka the introduction of the Dominion map event), Swain was on-site as a representative of the Noxian military, butting heads with Demacian forces led by his nemesis Jarvan IV. However, Jarvan IV was noted as acting out-of-character during the whole time, and it was he who attacked Swain first. In the high resolution version of the published image of the fight between Jarvan IV and Swain in raven form, one can clearly see it is LeBlanc's face reflected in Swain's breastplate as he is facing 'Jarvan', adding to his uncharacteristic behavior up to that point, it is pretty much confirmed that it was LeBlanc masquerading as Jarvan the entire time, working in cahoots with Swain. The result is that Swain appears as being the innocent party because he did not instigate the fight; instead he appears to be defending Noxus' rights to Kalamanda against an aggressive Demacia. The Journal of Justice article on the incident also noted that effectively made Swain the only General on active duty on an actual battlefield. This elevates Swain's popularity within the military high command as well as with the Noxian public. With the release of Sion's new lore in his rework, it has now been proven that it was indeed Leblanc impersonating Jarvan IV using samples of his blood.
  • The last political rival to Swain for the position of Grand General was one of Boram Darkwill's sons, Keiran Darkwill. During the duel, Swain notably never used his strongest ability - that is to turn into a giant demon raven. It is heavily hinted that until the last moment, it was likely LeBlanc who was fighting in his stead due to the lack of his signature abilities being used and that one of the quotes 'he' was saying was a quote that LeBlanc often uses. The killing blow/execution was also dealt by Darius and not him. Although this is purely speculation, the effect might be to belittle Keiran by showing that Swain did not see him worth fighting to his full capacity and that he was not an opponent worth personally killing. Another possibility as to why Swain would not turn into a raven, is that Noxus is officially described as xenophobic by Riot - Swain might not have wanted to turn into a raven so that the Noxian public would not be reminded of his non-human abilities.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Heavily limited by his Mana Meter even by mage standards due to his Ravenous Flock consuming increasingly more mana over time. He's one of few spellcasters in the game that can have Tear of The Goddess, Chalice of Harmony, and the Ancient Golem buff and still run dry.
  • The summoner spell Ignite (and any source of Grevious Wounds) is basically Swain's Kryptonite, since he relies very heavily on regenerating from Ravenous Flock and halving that healing is a huge Oh, Crap! moment for his summoner.
  • As of December 2015 it got worse as Executioner Calling made its return, providing cheap and easy to use source of Grievous Wounds.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: For all his talk about strategy and tactics, Swain doesn't have too many options outside "tactical withdrawal" and "kill everything in front of him with magic".
• Wicked Cultured: Is mentioned to attend some of Sona's concerts, so presumably he has a bit of free time in between his scheming and running of a powerful city-state.