Scylla, for Dummies to Veterans

Greetings! I'm DecimusBrutalis, and have been a MOBA player (namely League of Legends, but also DotA 2 and Heroes of Newerth, with a probable inclusion in Heroes of the Storm) for quite some time. I've found a nice fit in with Smite, a purely skillshot based game, which I find more fun and skill-requiring to play.

I've been a member on Smitefire for multiple months now, boasting the second highest reputation amount among current members at this time (Second only to the only moderator, HiFromBuddha, from what I know), as well as having three guides that have all been homepaged, two achieving the top spot.

But enough about me.

Scylla is the epitome and embodiment of a glass cannon mage. She's basically Anubis. What separates her from other mages (and other people in the game), is she is the only god in the game with a reset based on assist or kill (in this case, kill), with her ultimate. This allows her, when fed, to chain kills together, decimating a teamfight. Her Sentinel, however, separates her from possibly higher DPS mages like Anubis, by actually having a very solid, near instantaneous escape. Her pure damage, utility, and safety, make her the burstier, mage form of Neith - no downside is present. This is leading me to believe that while not explicitly overpowered, Scylla is easily a top tier pick that can't be punished easily.

I mainly play arena, but this guide is, as you'll see, definitely tailored for Conquest. However, every single item, skill order, etc is 100% the same in Arena. 100%. Take this for both.

Without further ado, let's get started.

Pros

-Insane Burst Damage
-Utility in the form of Magic Protection Reduction, Roots, Cripples, Slows, and Vision
-Only god in the game with a form of Reset, leading to insane cleanup capability
-Relatively easy to hit abilities - big targeted areas
-Passive is basically a mage form of Xbalanque - passive damage is perfect!
-Even if behind, spells provide nice team presence
-High base damage and decent scaling leave her relevant all game, early to late
-Very mobile with Sentinel, for both chasing and escaping
-Later game can clear waves easily, leading to sieges or siege defense
-Ultimate can destroy a team, or in dire situations, even be used to escape
-Very easy roaming capabilities with Sentinel going through walls, and roots/slows



Cons
-Abilities, while having a huge hit radius, are very slow
-Passive is useless until level 10, and becomes semi-irrelevant as end-game is reached
-Some full-rank bonuses are underwhelming
-Needs to max 1 over 2 for harass/kill potential, but leads to low early-game waveclear
-Can easily die before ult finishes
-Ultimate is only marginally easier to land than Ao Kuang's
-Ultimate wind-down duration after timed out or missing is a very vulnerable immobile period (I've personally died while waiting to come out of it)
-If falling behind, damage can become irrelevant
-No sustain built into her kit whatsoever. Mages like Ra or Chang'E can destroy her in lane
-Very very weak against very mobile champions with how slow her shots are
-Moderately mana hungry
-If you miss your shots, you're done, as she has nothing that melds well with auto attacks, and will lose in sustained fights against many people, including Chronos, Freya, Nu Wa, He Bo, etc
-Moderately long cooldowns


So numbers wise her cons outweigh her pros. Her pros, however, are better in quality.
Summary: Pros include usefulness all game, safety, heavy burst damage, decent sieging, and stupidly good teamfight presence. Her cons are no synergy with auto attacks, low early game waveclear, a useless pre-10 passive, weakness against mobility and those that can survive her rotation, and difficult to hit skillshots. In my mind, a skilled player removes those cons entirely, and will wreck a teamfight.

Quick Learner
Scylla gains 20 Magic Power for every maxed skill, and each skill gains an effect at max rank

I'll review what these effects are under each specific skill. Useless early game, so you're playing without a passive for a while. The added effects are hit and miss, and the bonus power is a decent addition but at 6 items, basically negligible. However, it does combo with Rod of Tahuti, leading to +100 Magic Power, which is very decent.

Sic 'Em
You shoot a moderate speed, ground-traveling pair of hounds for a decent damage, rooting the first target hit. This also cripples them. Note, this is the first person hit, so it will collide with minions for an underwhelming effect. The root and cripple increase a quarter second each level for a max 2.25, which is a very solid amount of time and guarantees a Crush follow up. But it is relatively slow, and thus easy to dodge, however it is slightly hard to see so they might not pay attention.

At max rank it also hits 2 nearby enemies as well, and since level 10 is the first available skill to max, you might start getting into partial teamfight brawls. Rooting 3 gods in an early teamfight for 2.25 seconds is a nasty thing to bring to a teamfight. *Can* be undervalued compared to Crush. See next section.

Crush
Very slow moving air projectile that lands and creates an Isis-like circle on the ground, slowing them, and lasting 5 seconds. You can detonate it for its damage. This is your major waveclear, and easiest to hit harass. The closer you are to where you're launching it, the quicker it'll arrive at it's target location. You can combo a Sic 'Em into this for your harass potential. Note that early game, since you max Sic 'Em first, is relatively low, but lowers the minion health pretty substantially for last hits.

At max rank, it reduces enemy Magic Protections by 25% (HUGE. Free Obsidian Shard), and reslowing them for a second. Note the reduced protections are applied while it's on the ground, not as a debuff after detonation, so it provides some tactical advantage to not immediately detonating the Crush. Now technically if you're expecting a very prolonged laning phase and are against a pushing god, you can max this first. This will leave you without a maxed Sic 'Em until level 14. Or you can just take a couple points in this and max Sic 'Em as normal, but the +20 power for quickly maxing something is substantial early game.

Sentinel
Passively grants you a mediocre amount of MP5 (but still noticeable), provides vision when placed, and allows reactivation for a teleportation to the hound head. Each rank in this increases the passive MP5 and increases the sight radius of the hound head. This is your solid escape tool, with a root and slow also factored in, you can escape any bad situation.

At max rank, the head sees through Line of Sight (The head's vision itself), and you can place it an AMAZING (sarcasm intended) 5 more units further. It's really really mediocre and I find it exceptionally underwhelming. Since this is not a damaging ability anyway, there's no possible argument to not max this last.

Honestly, this ability won't be used for vision 90% of the time, as you're giving up your DEFINITE escape for the CHANCE at seeing a jungler in a random spot over a wall. It's so not worth using it unless you're using it for the dash. And besides, if you're in a spot where you can get ganked, why would you want to see your impending doom coming instead of using your dash to get out of there? You now have no escape. Good going smart guy. :)

I'm a Monster!
You become pure terror, letting loose those wicked little hounds under your dress, gaining 35% movement speed, and enabling one use of a (rather small) circle targeted attack that will nuke anyone hit. The radius is about how small a Mercury's level 2 Made You Look is, or slightly smaller than Artemis's Suppress The Insolent. If you're brand new and checking her out, I really can't describe it too well, but it's about a god and a half wide. If you kill someone with this, the duration refreshes and one more instance of the ultimate may be used. Killing two gods at once only grants one refreshed usage, but you can kill all 5 gods in a row. The nuke is substantial and slightly less damaging than an Ao Kuang, but I've literally oneshot people with it from full health, so it's nasty. I've personally also gotten a one-hit quadra kill with it. It's possible to aim well, but note, the cast time for the usage is very high and very dodgeable. Practice with it!!

Maxing this ability grants double the speed bonus, for 70% movement speed. Kind of meh, but you can only max an ult at level 20 anyway, so it doesn't matter.

My best suggestion for this ability, is unless you're very comfortable on it, do not use it alone. Try to wait for a teammate to use CC in conjunction with it, like Pillar of Agony or Mummify, or something else. Just make sure it isn't too short a duration or they'll just get out of the CC before you can even start your ult.

Option 1 - Kill/Harass

> > >
You're going to want to avoid splitting up maxing skills. Your passive dissuades that behavior. Pick something to max and STICK WITH IT. I believe this to be the best order, as you have very high kill potential, especially if you're getting a gank, so the increased root and damage is amazing, and the level 10 triple root can be gamechanging. This does, however, leave you weak against certain splitpushers

Option 2 - Waveclear (Slow Laning Phase/Heavy Pushing Opponent)

> > >
If you're having serious problems farming, max Crush first. It's your only waveclear. I don't suggest it, for the scaling is nasty and you'll clear waves quickly as soon as you get a couple items, but if your early game is in that much jeopardy you can max it first for the guaranteed waveclear. If you're maxing it for waveclear, however, you're going to have trouble in straight up fights against your opponent. Luckily this doesn't cripple you too much in mid-game teamfights, as you're trading a triple root/cripple for a 25% magic protection reduction, which can still work well. Sadly, only tanks will have protections this early, so it's still kinda useless.

I heavily suggest the first skill order. But if you're new, you may need that safe creep farming.

Edit: Still suggest first build. Some people who are newer or not on an exceptionally competitive level may have trouble last hitting with creeps. For the instant, easy waveclear, I've updated the maxing-crush-first skill order to the Main order, and the maxing-SicEm-first skill order to the secondary build.

This section is for the order you use your skills in. In general, there's really not much argument here.

First option:
General, flexible, jack-of-all-trades rotation:
Sic 'Em to root the enemies. Throw in your Crush while they can't escape, and under your discretion immediately detonate for damage or leave it for any magic-using teammates to make use of the 25% protections reduction (if you don't really have any magic-using teammates it's so not worth it), then I'm a Monster to clean up kills. Sentinel can be used to chase down stragglers afterwards or flee if you started losing the fight.
Sic 'Em --> Crush --> I'm a Monster --> Sentinel

Second Option:
It's hard to hit them due to their speed, or your team is heavy on magic users/you have the leisure to set this complicated set-up, up.
Crush first. Leave it sit under the opponents for the slow it has on them, and the reduced protections. Your allies can make use of this. Use your Sic 'Em on the slowed, easier to hit enemies, which benefits from the reduced protections. While Rooted, Detonate your Crush under them, then I'm a Monster to clean up stragglers, same as before, with the same ideology behind Sentinel.
Crush --> Sic 'Em --> Detonate Crush --> I'm a Monster --> Sentinel

And one final thing to mention, is a rank 3+ Sic 'Em is long enough to root them, IMMEDIATELY ult, and ult them before they are unrooted. This, however, requires IMMEDIATE reaction - so know if you're going to hit them or not! At rank 5, it gives about a quarter of a second of pause before you activate your ult with the increased timer.

Just know, that since you'll likely be using Sic 'Em into I'm a Monster WITHOUT using Crush, they may not die unless not at full health to start, so you might not get a reset. But it is a guaranteed hit. And sometimes that's all you need - a point blank crush is easy enough to land to secure.

EDIT: Now they nerfed the root duration. Note that you CAN still land the sic'em + ult combo, BUT it has to be a rank 4+ sic'em, and that's with a good internet, or else you simply WILL NOT have time, and they have the ability to escape. In theory, the aoe is still big enough to land it before they move out, as their escape is probably too slow, but they could have combat blink and, in your haste, you might have not centered it perfectly. But this combo WILL still work.

Mouse over the icons to see the item details specifically.

Shoes of the Magi

As a glass cannon mage, this is a solid penetration item. Shoes, even with your escape, is kind of fundamental as a first purchase to position better during trades or fights. Get this pair if their team is looking like it will end up tanky, as in a bruiser, a tank, and possible a bruisery jungle. If it's the classic Bruiser, Assassin, Mage, Hunter, Tank setup, use the next option.

Shoes of Focus

My preferred pair of boots. I love cooldown reduction. Statistically, it's better DPS most of the time, and even if your individual abilities hit for less, it allows for error if you miss abilities. Additionally, it allows for your ult more often. Think about this scenario: you got into a very heavy engagement with your lane opponent earlier, and you both used ultimates. No matter who won, with CDR shoes, you can use yours sooner, so going aggressive as soon as your I'm a Monster is up can allow for a very positive trade. In the end, I just love more opportunities for spells, especially during sieges. A solid boots pickup.

Chronos' Pendant

This item has been revamped with a solid 25 bonus magic power, putting it at a nice +75 magic power, on top of being a cooldown reduction item, with mana per 5 added in, for a very modest price. I think it's a VERY solid first item (post-boots) build, as you can build it for a reasonable increasing price, and lets you harass with more spells early game, leading to a very good advantage. The only downsides are you're giving up the possibility of Breastplate of Valor, as you'll reach your CDR cap with the pendant, and the middle tier price is a semi-rough 1300 gold. The item bracket changes hit it hard. But the MP5 is amazing early game, the 40% boots+pendant CDR is beautiful, and the damage is nothing to sneeze at. I absolutely love this item in the early game.

Rod of Tahuti

The end-all be-all of mage items. There is not a single mage who should not have this item, and I say that without hesitation. The 25% bonus magic power it gives works for anything - items, buffs, and importantly, Scylla's passive, turning her most likely 1 or 2 (levels 10-14) passive stacks into 25 or 50 MP instead of 20 or 40. MP5 is definitely influential early game, so combined with your Pendant, it's going to do very well for you. The base 125 (156 including it's own passive) Magic Power is also ridiculous early to mid game. However, as with most items, the new item bracket hit it a little hard. The first item is an amazing 600 gold, but it's been bumped up to a tier 2 1300 gold, and a final tier 1420 gold, which is pretty steep. However you should be clearing waves with ease at this point, and towers / Gold Fury might start getting taken, so you should have a steady gold flow.

Bancroft's Talon

Now I may get some criticism with this, but since your abilities kind of chain together, and you only have 2 abilities that proc it, Polynomicon, with its 15% nerf, isn't really a nice fit for Scylla. I find raw stats that directly buff her SKILLS better, since she has no reason to auto attack. So the 100 Power (125 with Rod), 12% Magic Lifesteal, and nasty passive is very beneficial. As I said in the pros/cons, Scylla has no built-in sustain. A Talon provides that with the magic lifesteal, which is about the best form of sustain you'll ever get. Additionally, the increasing passive will stack up to another 100 + 25% bonus, meaning the Talon can single(ish)-handedly get you 250 magic power. That's, ridiculous. I find it better than a measely Polynomicon proc when you'll auto attack at most once in your rotation. Additionally, the price is never too steep along any of its tiers, which is a nice bonus.

Obsidian Shard

Well we needed penetration eventually. I'm aiming this guide towards new players too, so I'll explain briefly: a mage without magic penetration is useless. You'd rather do 80 damage that isn't reduced, than 100 raw power with no penetration, because 1/2 of that could end up mitigated. This penetration helps you shred tanks and bruisers too. Spear of the Magus isn't bad, but you don't have any dots to make use of the passive. Void Stone doesn't give enough, 15 penetration is pretty bad. Obsidian shard gives a nasty 70 power, and 33% piercing, and 33% is usually (always) better than just 15. Since you want your hits to hit as hard as possible without set up, Obsidian Shard is definitely the best penetration item.

Gem of Isolation

So we don't want to die instantly, right? Don't answer that.
We also don't want to miss every shot either, huh? Also don't answer that.
There is one item that can be the answer to both your prayers, and that's Gem of Isolation. It provides 250 health (plus mana) for a few hits taken before you can Sentinel away, and the passive 25% slow, despite you already having a slow, and root, and cripple, will stack with them for easier follow up from you AND your teammates. Now the slow WILL wear off before you can both activate your ult and attack with it, but it's still not a bad item. It is, however, as your final item, what should be swapped with any situational item that may be more necessary.

POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES

Breastplate of Valor - what I'm expecting to be the most viable alternative in here. This alternative is going to need to be an extremely early decision based off their team composition, as it's going to replace your 2nd item, the Chronos' Pendant. I'd suggest it if they have 3 physicals with high damage split among them, or 4+ physicals no matter their individual output. Note that your sustain and damage is hurt heavily by it, but you have a higher base mana pool, and you have more survivability. You can't do damage if you're dead, so don't get dead!

Doom Orb - if you're a veteran player, this is a very known pickup in the midlane. Only 1/3 stacks lost on death, with a huge magic power number at full. This will literally make your ult one shot an opponent. It's not an early game pick, though, as you can't clear waves as easily.

Warlock's Sash - same as above: veteran players who know how to last hit with spells very easily. Provides less magic power, and takes more stacks to cap, but doesn't reset and provides a nice amount of health. Take this in between Chronos' Pendant and Rod of Tahuti to start stacking early, and don't take Gem of Isolation if this is your path.

Ethereal Staff - the 600 health and 30 magic power + 2% of health will give around ~65 magic power and very nice survivability. However, since it's kinda forced into replacing either the Bancroft's Talon or Gem of Isolation, you either have no health items to make its passive useful, or are missing a HUGE chunk of power plus any semblance of sustain. If you're being bursted 100-0 by all members of the enemy team, no protection can save you, so it might be worth just taking it for the 600 health. Again, you do 0 damage if dead, so its minimal magic power contribution might be a sacrifice that's necessary to make.

Polynomicon - I explained under the Talon suggestion why I don't like this item on Scylla, and many gods now that it's 85% of your magic power and not 100%. However, if you find yourself able to weave in auto attacks seamlessly, it's a decent pickup that really increases your overall damage. Still, I love the passive of Bancroft's Talon on Scylla as her I'm a Monster kinda requires being in the thick of the fight, so damage is unavoidable. Anyway, I wouldn't recommend as she's not a basic attacker, but you can theoretically make it work.
SEE THE FAQ SECTION FOR AN ELABORATION (and sorta more current opinion)

Pythagorem's Piece - the third lifesteal possibility, if you have a few other magic users, namely your solo lane and, god knows why, possibly a jungler or something, this is a solid pickup. You're sacrificing direct personal stats for a very solid aura that helps a lot. Additionally, it DOES offer the highest lifesteal possible at 25%, leading to the most sustain possible. Still, if there is no reason to take it, don't, Talon is better.

Spear of the Magus - no idea why you'd do it, but I mean you can. With 10s CDs (6s with CDR) on your spells, it will literally fall off before you actually make use of the passive, making the item useless compared to Obsidian Shard. Technically, if you have other magic users, you can take one for the team, but you'd rather them take the dive than you, the glass cannon.

Soul Reaver - this is an item I have a hard time liking, but it can work on Scylla. I mean in theory it's 100 flat magic power, which is decent, and the passive can allow you to oneshot someone with your rotation. And what's really outlandish, is the Soul Reaver is available, and you decide for funsies to just straight up ult someone, I can 100% guarantee if it's not a tank, it's dead. I've reached a 1900 damage ult at (I think) 4/5 ranks with 5/6 items, so toss in 15% of their max health and it's a dead duck. But you're sacrificing a rather important passive for the chance to do 15% max health to ONE person, hence why I don't like it. Plus, it has a habit of being wasted during pre-fight poking, so it can be healed back up. But for gimmicks, it's fun.

Void Stone - if you're having some big problems with your lane opponent, while the 15 penetration SUUUUUUUCKS compared to Obsidian Shard, the 50 magic protection may be ridiculously worth it. Not to repeat myself, but you do 0 damage dead, so take steps if their magic users are rolling over you. Remember though, this does nothing against physical users, and leaves you with less penetration against tanks, so you're making yourself into a carry-killer, not an overall teamfight mage.

AND WE'RE DONE THIS HELLA LONG SECTION. If you have any question about non-listed items, PM me or ask in comments and I'll explain why I think it's not even mentioned.

Remember, once you leave the well, you cannot sell back an active. These choices are permanent.

Aegis Amulet - Solid damage avoider, can let you stall for cooldowns or completely avoid nuking ults you can't avoid like Release the Kraken or if you're caught in a bad spot Spirit Tempest. Remember, it's usable while CC'd, so this is a lifesaver. Also note it reduces post-activation damage for a brief period, so it can let you survive burst even after you come out. And even though they can surround you and just wait, it can buy your teammates time in a fight.

Aegis Pendant - same as above, except you CAN move during it, CAN be CC'd during it, still can't use skills, but can't use it while CC'd. Better against a team with no CC possible so you just run away without taking damage.

Purification Beads - for when you don't need to avoid damage, but avoid a CC that leads to death. For the newbies, a few things to pay attention to: No Escape, Ragnarok, Pillar of Agony, Mummify, Fear No Evil, etc. Just pay attention to particularly hard to escape CC that will ruin you or separate you from your team.

Combat Blink - Lets you be a little more flexible in your positioning, and theoretically it's your best escape mechanic. However, it's on a much longer cooldown than other actives, so in rapid teamfights it's not possible to use as a failsafe.

Enfeebling Curse - not only gets those pesky melee off you (sometimes they're so fast that there is no escape, blink or not), and even cripples their attack speed! It's the only defensive that helps the rest of your team, too. It's also the only defensive that actively hurts them!

Sprint - not the most ideal and I don't suggest it, for *Scylla*. It allows you immense speed and helps cover more overall distance than combat blink on a shorter cooldown, but it's harder to escape with. However, you are immune to slows. The downside is no hard CC immunity, and the bonus passive of no movement speed penalty for auto attacking is kinda wasted on you. Still not a bad option if you're not in fear of hard CC.

Ok so I've gone over mathematics, what do you do in lane?

Level 1, take that Crush. Try to aim it so it not only clears the archer line (possibly the soldier minions as well), but harasses the enemy too. Honestly, level 1 goes by very quickly, and unless someone is GROSSLY out of position, will not result in much. Try to shove the wave very hard and get level 2. If you get a chance, weave in auto attacks on the enemy to get some damage on. But never underestimate the minions. They hit hard hard hard early game.

Level 2, you'll have your Sic 'Em. If you did better at pushing, you're level 2 before them. Really try to land that for an immediate follow up into Crush. Even with the rather bad base damage, that's a lot of damage. If they hit level 2 before you, try to be very cautious as they have a big advantage on you.

Any time past now, you can call for jungler help, as your root is nasty even at this level. Additionally, boots are not finished yet, so it's easier to lane.

Level 3, you just level Crush again, for more harass and waveclear. If you land it at this point, they still have very little health, and this can easily land in a kill. If you can use it in a way to clear the wave and leave the enemy alone for a Sic 'Em, your minions can tear them a new one.

Level 4 you finally have your Sentinel. Now you don't have to play so safe, but with jungler help, you can chase for a kill. Only Agni is quicker than you, and only because you have to double cast the ability - you're still 'faster' than him. Any other mage cannot escape your aggression, but they MAY expect it. Call for a jungler gank and get that root, and you're seeing a dead duck. I'm legitimately under the impression that Scylla is the most jungler-cooperative mid in the game. Anubis has a decent stun too, but he's not mobile enough to follow up well enough. Scylla is. At 4, you have your best gank potential in the game.

Level 5, you're both getting your ults. You probably win the trade, though. While at level 4 you hit your gank peak, level 5 you hit your 1v1 peak. Most mages will not have an ult that can go toe to toe with you, and if you land it, you either kill them or they're leaving lane. I'd suggest going very aggressive if you hit 5 before them, because they still likely do not have rank 3 boots to dodge the ult very well, but remember: if you miss, you have about a second to a second and a half period where you have to "wind down", VERY similar to how vamana's ult wind down works. If they hit 5 before you, depending on who you're facing, you can be in a very rough spot. Nowadays they're making people with easier and easier to hit ults, so an Agni or Poseidon or Chang'e can really ruin your day. All in all, in the level 4-5 range, you seriously need to be ON YOUR GAME. This is the most influential level range in the entire game for you - sure it can end very anticlimatically, but a big play here can make or break your laning phase.

Past level 5, just play it by ear. You have all your abilities, everything just starts getting averagely ranked up by now, but you still synergize better with junglers than any mid in the game save Chang'E with that nasty ult. So if you see them pushing up hard, just work with it and call your jungler for help. Remember, you're ranking up Crush first, so you can hold your own but they may still outpush you from it's natural 'meh'-ness. Let your jungler know this, and repeatedly gank an overextended enemy. Eventually your single target damage will outshine theirs, and if they're too far pushed up, you can just hard engage on them, and they won't be able to escape. Past level 10, your farming will start escalating quickly, and you'll both outduel and outfarm the enemy. Remember, base damage increases may not mean as much as the magic power scaling, so you WILL still clear waves!

If you start falling behind, when the enemy mid laner backs, clear your wave and roam. He most likely won't call you missing right away, you have a solid root and slow, and a surprise factor. If you're daring, ult and walk into lane behind them, and aim a shot. They might not see you, so you might get a free ult hit off, even if it does kill them for the refresh the damage is nasty! Seriously, if you start falling behind for some reason, roaming is definitely a way to come back into the game. You're most likely more mobile than your enemies, so take advantage of it.

In mid-game skirmishes, most likely you're not fighting a full team. Take this opportunity to slow the enemy and get off a full-rank Sic 'Em to root all the enemies, leading to a quick kill. There's not much to be said about mid-game skirmishes, as they're not very consistent in what exactly happens. Just play it by ear, and treat it as a multiple-person lane engagement. Most often these will lead to a Gold Fury or Tower seizure, not a Fire Giant or major push. Still very important you pay attention to your skills, though, as wasted skills can lead to a bad fight.

In the end game, every fight matters. Gold Fury is a forgotten objective, as a major Fire Giant buff will lead to a win, or you will lose an entire lane worth of objectives, if not the game itself. This means you have to play your part better than your opponent or you may end up losing the game for your team. Not to make you feel the pressure, but you are the mage - one of the two carries - so if you fail at your job, your team loses almost all of its damage.

There are two ways you can have engagements for your team: you engage, or you're engaged upon. I'll try to go over both. Remember, there is a very big difference from a light engage without using ultimates, such as an Athena using Preemptive Strike into Confound, or a very all-in engage with ultimates like a Fenrir using Ragnarok. This should determine how much they've wasted and how important their, or your, engage is for following up.

If you're engaged upon, your team has most likely used NONE of it's cooldowns. Immediately Sentinel out if you're the one being attacked, let your team counter engage, and rejoin the fray to spend your abilities. If they spent ultimates chasing you, and you successfully peel away, they are at your mercy. If they used a soft engage, it can be repeated, so you should consider choosing the time when you need to react for the all in. In these engages, if you are NOT the one being attacked, lay down your Crush in the area where their team will have to most traverse through. Assumedly, the person on your team being attacked is your Hunter if it's not you, so place it before them, slow the enemy, and get ready to root their carries. Remember, it's important to peel off the bruiser/tank frontline from your VIP, but you can't ignore all their damage, so you have to set up important target focusing. After using Crush to slow the front line, Sic 'Em on the backline damage doers, and let your team follow back up. Try to find a decent place to I'm a Monster and start chaining kills. If you're ever focused, have those actives and Sentinel ready.

If your team engages, do not follow up with Sentinel, no matter how much distance you want to close, ever. If they were to turn on you, you're DONE. DO NOT USE SENTINEL TO GAIN GROUND. Ideally the prefight consisted of you poking them more than they poked you, so you have a health advantage. Move up, and go through the rotation I gave you. Try to use your Crush on their backline, not their frontline. Since you engage, their frontline is on peel duty, not dive duty. For new players, this means their tank and bruiser has to use their CC to stop your team, not dive onto you and your hunter. The crush in the backline is to slow the damage doers and damage them heavily. Sic Em for more damage if possible, and ult for the mop up. If it goes awry or they're able to dive heavily, just Sentinel out of there to a better position. If you're engaging, though, likely you're in a better spot than them, so the fight should go well.

If you lose the teamfight, regroup. If you win, decide with your team if you want Fire Giant or a lane push. I suggest not pushing a lane if you will not get a phoenix, if this is very late game. Getting Fire Giant is more impactful than even two towers in a lane, as it gives you ridiculous sieging potential and teamfight power, meaning if they engage you win ANOTHER fight. The two towers may open up the map, but it doesn't do much else. A phoenix *may* be worth it, but only if you're doing well in the other two lanes as well, otherwise they can easily defend that lane.

So Scylla is a destroyer of hope, crusher of dreams, and winner of games. You do well carrying with her and get ahead, and you'll single handedly decide how the game goes. She's nasty at all points in the game, and if ignored, will ruin a team. Just make sure you don't use Sentinel wrong, make sure you hit your shots, and take advantage of your lack of disadvantages.

Good luck, you Monster Neith ;)

Isn't Crush better?

Yes, sort of.
Basically, If you are going to get your wave so pushed that you CAN NOT harass, and no matter how skilled you are, that you won't last hit under tower, the waveclear is better. Ideally, since your crush will NEVER outfarm someone else like Ao Kuang or Ra, you don't want to have to fall back on it. But sometimes it's better to minimize loss than fall down into a hole. I'd prefer to harass someone with Sic 'Em and force them out of lane - letting me free farm and make up the distance. However, that's not entirely possible.

However, if you are a very big team player - you roam a lot and get fed off other lanes/get other lanes fed, Sic 'Em is very solidly better. It's a longer root which can end up assuring a kill. The extra second is HUGE in laning phase. But if you're so pushed to your tower you can't even roam, why max a roaming skill?

In summary, if you can roam and/or not get push so hard, max Sic Em. If not, which may be the more general case, take Crush.

How valuable is Polynomicon? When do I use it?

Credit: Darks and Talgor
This has been elaborated in the polynomicon section now, but there are two items to replace with it, one for the "I want to kill things better" build, and the other for the "I REALLY want to kill things better (survival isn't a requirement)" build. The former is replacing Bancroft's Talon, the second is replacing Gem of Isolation.

So let's go over more in depth here what I can't necessarily in an item section without turning it into a novel on its own. Polynomicon doesn't suit Scylla's skills, but it suits her playstyle, which is weird. Basically, Scylla doesn't have a solid way to integrate auto attacks if you're trying to go through her rotation, but as a burst god that expects to 100-0 someone, polynomicon can help attain it easily. Your only real way to land an auto attack is to root them; if you're going for the Sic 'Em --> I'm a Monster combo, don't try to auto attack, you will not have time. But if you're looking to save the ult, Sic 'Em --> Auto Attack --> Crush will probably instant kill someone.

Replace Bancroft's if you're looking for a duelist build, replace Gem of Isolation if you're looking for a wtf-burst build that doesn't have any assassins. If they have a loki or such, though, you'll be 100-0'd before you can even sentinel.

The pros to this are higher teamfight presence. You can stretch out your skills and have much better overall damage. However, Polynomicon has average magical power, and its passive contributes nothing for poking or AoE fights, so it's only good for singling out a target. Remember also, that the auto attack is not easy to aim at one target in particular, so if you auto attack the wrong target it's too bad. I wouldn't take it if you are the only sieger on your team and no one else can hurt them while pushing or defending a tower, but in a general even team composition on both sides, polynomicon helps your burst potential substantially. Just make sure you're hitting both Sic Em AND your auto attacks!

NightDeluire wrote:
Do this Build works for Joust 3v3? I am Dummie with Scylla, and just wanted to know

Yes, the build DOES work for 3v3. It's a pretty versatile build, you might want to build chronos pendant a tad later since the mana regen is less impactful in such a short map, and blue buff is pretty much a shoe-in. So shift that item later on in the build. Additionally, 3v3 is often decided by either someone one shotting you, or being CC locked to death (Since high CC gods do well in turning the fights into 3v2's), so consider swapping out Gem of Isolation for Magi's Cowl for that CC immunity, because you do 0 damage while dead or CC'd.

Otherwise, she plays very similarly to in Conquest or Arena. The only sad part, is the joust walls are too thick to Sentinel through, so you're only creating distance, not hopping over the wall for a clean escape. That's why I'd suggest a FULL defensive item, instead of an offensive item with a tad bit of health.

(To be added. This is for community stories of (hopefully) success with the guide)

Month/Day/Year

3/7/2014: Guide Made. Scylla on release patch, no changes made yet.
3/7/2014: Updated Crush to main skill order for average or lower players. Changed Sic Em to secondary skill order for advanced players
3/7/2014: Added two community based sections.
3/9/2014: Revamped Laning phase for maxing Crush first, and added a section to Skill Combo about her Sic 'Em + I'm a Monster combo
3/30/2014: Updated Polynomicon Section. Nothing else, no real changes have occured to change anything else.
6/27/2014: Updated for Scylla nerfs D:
2/22/2015: Added small FAQ answer about Joust 3v3. Otherwise, build pretty unaffected