League of Legends Zyra Guide: Best Build, Runes, Combos

Zyra is a deadly mage support in League of Legends, known for her high poke damage, zone control, and game-changing teamfight presence. With her ability to fill the map with plants, root enemies from range, and burst squishies with ease, Zyra punishes poor positioning and thrives in chaotic fights. In this guide, we’ll break down the best build, runes, items, and combos to help you dominate bot lane, control objectives, and turn every fight into a thorny trap for your enemies.

Zyra Abilities Overview In League of Legends

Zyra is all about controlling space with plants, punishing missteps, and bursting enemies who dare get too close. Her kit offers strong crowd control, high poke damage, and excellent zone denial in both lane and team fights. Here’s a full breakdown of her abilities and how to use them:

Passive – Garden of Thorns

Seeds spawn randomly near Zyra. If an enemy steps on them or Zyra casts an ability near them, they grow into plants that attack enemies.

Tip: Always keep an eye on nearby seeds—they let you summon plants for extra damage or zoning without using W.

Q – Deadly Spines

Zyra conjures thorns in a target area that deal magic damage. If cast near seeds, it spawns ranged Thorn Spitter plants that attack from a distance.

Use it to: Poke enemies, clear waves, and create long-range plant zones for safe harassment.

W – Rampant Growth

Zyra plants a seed at a target location. Seeds last for 30 seconds and can be turned into plants when hit by Q or E. Zyra stores up to 2 charges.

Pro tip: Always use W right before Q or E to ensure plants spawn. Plants slow enemies and apply pressure in fights or skirmishes.

E – Grasping Roots

Zyra sends vines in a straight line, rooting all enemies hit. If it hits seeds, it spawns melee Vine Lasher plants that slow enemies on hit.

Why it’s strong: A well-placed E can root multiple enemies and slow their escape with plants. Great for peel or setting up kills.

R – Stranglethorns

Zyra summons a massive area of thorns that damages and knocks up enemies after a delay. Plants inside this zone become empowered and attack faster.

When to use it: In team fights or chokepoints for big AoE damage and CC. Use it to zone enemies off objectives or punish grouped opponents.

Zyra’s power lies in layering her crowd control and turning the battlefield into a dangerous zone filled with deadly plants. Mastering her combos and seed placement lets you control the pace of fights and shred through teams before they can react.

How To Play Zyra In League of Legends

Best Summoner Spells for Zyra

Zyra thrives on early pressure and teamfight control, so her summoner spells should match her aggressive, lane-dominant playstyle. Here are the best options:

Primary Setup: Flash + Ignite
• Flash – A must-have for repositioning, escaping ganks, or making clutch aggressive plays with your root or ultimate. Zyra has no mobility, so Flash is non-negotiable.
• Ignite – Perfect for aggressive bot lanes. It adds kill pressure, reduces enemy healing, and helps secure takedowns when you catch someone in your root or ult combo.

Alternative Option: Flash + Exhaust

If you’re against heavy dive champs (like Zed, Yasuo, or assassin-heavy comps), Exhaust can help protect yourself or your ADC by cutting their damage.

Best Overall Choice:
Flash + Ignite is the go-to for most Zyra games. It complements her poke-heavy, bursty playstyle and turns early lane control into kills that can snowball into mid-game dominance.

Best Runes for Zyra

Zyra’s rune setup should amplify her poke, crowd control, and teamfight impact. The best primary tree is Sorcery, with Domination as a strong secondary path for extra poke and kill pressure.

Primary: Sorcery
• Arcane Comet – Zyra’s go-to keystone. It pairs perfectly with her long-range Q and E, landing reliably thanks to her CC and slowing plants.
• Manaflow Band – Helps sustain your mana in lane so you can keep pressuring without running dry.
• Transcendence – Grants Ability Haste and cooldown refunds on takedowns, letting you cast more spells in extended fights.
• Scorch – Adds extra burn damage on poke, making your early trades more painful for enemies.

Secondary: Domination
• Cheap Shot – Adds bonus true damage when you impair movement, which happens constantly with Zyra’s roots and slowing plants.
• Ultimate Hunter – Reduces the cooldown of your game-changing R – Stranglethorns, letting you impact fights more often.

Stat Shards
• • Adaptive Force
• • Adaptive Force
• • Armor or Magic Resist (depending on matchup)

This rune page gives Zyra strong early poke, excellent mana efficiency, and faster cooldowns—all of which help you dominate lane and scale into a CC-heavy teamfight menace.

Best Build for Zyra

Zyra’s build focuses on maximizing poke, crowd control, and burst damage to punish enemies from range and dominate teamfights in League of Legends. Her plants and spells scale well with AP and magic penetration, so you want items that boost both.

Core Items
• Liandry’s Anguish (Mythic)
The best Mythic for Zyra. It deals bonus burn damage over time and shreds tanks, which synergizes perfectly with her sustained plant and AoE damage.
• Sorcerer’s Shoes
These boots give flat magic penetration, helping Zyra’s abilities and plants hit harder—especially early on.
• Demonic Embrace
Pairs incredibly well with Liandry’s. It gives tank shred, bonus AP, and durability, all while enhancing her plant damage over time.

Situational & Utility Items
• Zhonya’s Hourglass – Great for surviving dives or baiting aggressive enemies during teamfights. It’s especially useful against assassins.
• Morellonomicon – Essential when facing heavy healing champs like Soraka, Yuumi, or Aatrox. It adds Grievous Wounds and boosts your poke damage.
• Rylai’s Crystal Scepter – Gives HP and slows enemies hit by your abilities, making it easier to keep them in plant range or chain CC.
• Void Staff – Crucial against teams stacking magic resist. Take it when tanks are a problem.

Example Full Build
• Liandry’s Anguish
• Sorcerer’s Shoes
• Demonic Embrace
• Morellonomicon or Zhonya’s Hourglass
• Rylai’s Crystal Scepter
• Void Staff

This build turns Zyra into a sustained-damage control mage who can punish enemies with every spell and dominate fights with plants, roots, and AoE burst. Perfect for zoning, catching enemies, and carrying teamfights from the backline.

Best Combos to Learn for Zyra

Zyra’s power lies in catching enemies with her crowd control and punishing them with plants and burst damage. Her combos aren’t mechanically difficult, but mastering their timing, spacing, and plant placement makes a huge difference. Here are the most effective combos to learn:

1. Root into Burst Combo

E → W → Q
Start with E (Grasping Roots) to root your target, then immediately place a seed with W, and follow up with Q (Deadly Spines) to summon plants and deal damage.

Why it works: This combo roots the enemy and instantly spawns Thorn Spitter plants to keep attacking while they’re CC’d. Great for punishing missteps.

2. Poke and Plant Harass

Q → W
Use Q from a distance to poke, and drop a seed right as it lands to spawn a plant. Simple but effective for lane pressure and chip damage.

Tip: Do this repeatedly in lane to zone enemies and force them off the wave.

3. Full All-In Combo

E → W → Q → W → R
Start with E to root, spawn your first plant with W, follow up with Q for a second plant, then another W for a third seed, and finish with R (Stranglethorns) to knock up and empower all plants.

Use it when: The enemy is caught or overcommitting. This combo spawns multiple empowered plants that deal tons of DPS and control a huge area.

4. Defensive Peel Combo

E → W → R → Q
When getting dived, root the enemy with E, place a seed immediately, then ult to zone or knock them up. Finish with Q to add damage and control.

Why it’s strong: It keeps melee divers off you while your plants chip away at them or force them to retreat.

5. Vision Trap Combo

W → Q or E in a bush
Place a seed in a bush, then use Q or E to spawn a plant before the enemy checks. Plants attack automatically when enemies enter, giving vision and softening them up.

Zyra’s combos are all about layering CC, summoning plants at the right time, and positioning safely while her garden does the damage. Learn to time your W just before your abilities hit, and you’ll keep enemies trapped in a thorny nightmare.

Conclusion

Zyra with the right build, runes, and combos, you can punish enemies for poor positioning, lock down key targets with your roots and ult, and overwhelm teams with constant plant pressure in League of Legends. Whether you’re poking from range or setting up game-changing teamfights, mastering Zyra will make you a deadly support or mid lane presence that keeps the enemy on edge every time you cast a spell.