Overview
Snip, snip! Gwen is a bit of a refreshing champion archetype in the top lane as she is one of the few melee AP carries in the game. If she’s able to get ahead, she’ll literally be able to cut through the entire enemy team. She’ll bring a good amount of damage and side lane pressure to any team that needs some more AP damage. Click here for the latest data on her best builds, including Runes, Items, Summoner Spells, and more.
Keys to Remember About Gwen
Gwen wants to weave auto-attacks in as much as possible to stack up her passive for her Snip Snip [Q] -- you’ll want to consistently auto after dashing or between ult charges, for example, to be able to get max value out of your Q active. In general she’s a champion that rewards constant repositioning.
Come team fights, she can absolutely delete backliners, but her kit allows her to also blow through tanks with relative ease thanks to the percent health damage on her passive. This means you can just as easily front-to-back without needing to worry about diving, especially with Hallowed Mist [W] up.
Strengths
She can deal a lot of damage over an extended fight thanks to the passive healing on A Thousand Cuts [P] and CD refund on Skip ‘n Slash [E] allowing her to quickly reposition. And if she’s able to land all casts of Needlework [R], it’s going to be very difficult to beat her in a straight duel -- this damage also extends to team fights where she can quickly melt through multiple enemies if she’s able to jump on them. The in and out weaving she is able to pull off can be maximized with Hallowed Mist [W], which can block key abilities from reaching her.
Weaknesses
It can be difficult to maximize her damage -- the Snip Snip! [Q] damage is greatly influenced by how many times she actually snips her scissors, and if you mismanage it, you’ll quickly find yourself short of the damage you actually need to go for kills. She’s also lacking in CC options, so she’ll need some help from your teammates in order to actually reach her targets. That or she needs to find angles for flanks, but then she exposes herself to a counterattack, especially if enemies are able to lock her down.
Game Plan
Early Game: Gwen needs some time to scale up, so you should focus on playing safe and looking for safe trades with your Snip Snip! [Q] up.
Mid Game: You can look for fights whenever you have your Needlework [R] up. In extended lanes especially, if you have the lead over your opponent, you can often try to run them down for the kill. Gwen can also find success in team fights, as she’ll have many options to land her abilities on.
Late Game: She can easily one shot squishy champions at this point in the game if they unwittingly step into her scissors. You’ll find more success on flanks, but you can also opt to pressure side lanes if team fights are proving difficult.