Syndra shuts down other champions and limits champion diversity.

I recently played a game as Zyra vs Syndra mid. Syndra outclassed me in every way with her abilities. Her ridiculous range made it impossible for me to poke and answer for her harass. Her mana costs seemed insignificant compared to mine. She happily spammed away her spells while if I tried to do the same I'd be quickly out of mana. There was barely anything I could do to stop her from snowballing.

This got me thinking. Syndra is similar to the old Lucian. She is very safe to play and you can pick her confidently knowing that very few champions can put up a fight against you. It's just stupid how many champions she easily shuts down. Anivia, Brand, Annie, Swaine, Zilean, Volibear(who's so weak right now practically any recently released champion can beat him), Udyr, Cassiopeia, and Ahri to name a few. The shoutcasters are always going on about how Syndra gets these amazing 2 or 3 man stuns in pro games when in reality it is very easy to do. When the enemy is chasing you, of course they're going to be in a straight line, and of course the carries are going to be grouped up together in small spaces like the jungle and river. A max range stun is worth praise for sure, but not a stun in the jungle where the enemy has very little room to dodge and very little time to react to a quick Q+E.

Syndra needs a nerf. I think her stun should be the focus. She has a knock-back, a stun, and a slow all put into her kit. Xerath has the same sort of thing going on, but at least his are moderately hard to hit skill shots. Syndra can place a ball wherever she wants and hit her stun practically on whim. Make her stun harder to hit by reducing its radius or range. Or limit her to only being able to grab minions or monsters. Make her abilities cost more or reduce her mana regeneration.

I also have an idea for all mages that share the similar archetype of long-range and lots of self-peel. Reduce their movement speeds. Make them worry more about their positioning. It's so frustrating to watch a Syndra just glide past your much harder to hit skill shots as a Zyra. I literally could not touch that Syndra at all and after she got her first kill I couldn't even farm.