Sion

Playstyle Profile

Sion is an initiator — excels at engaging grouped enemies with impactful openings

Teamfight Role

Vanguard Initiator

Power Spike

Late game

Split Threat

None

Backline Access

Low

Sion's Strengths

• Starts fights on your terms — Sion's engage forces enemies to react, giving your team the initiative
• Creates map pressure through split-push — Sion forces enemies to answer the side lane or lose towers
• Outscales most opponents — Sion grows stronger every minute and takes over in extended games

How to Play Sion

Champion-specific pre-match tips

Gameplay tips on Summoner's Rift

Lane Phase

Block the first incoming minion wave with your champion's body before it reaches the middle of the lane to force an immediate slow push toward your side.

Lane Phase

Cast E through a minion to apply armor shred and a slow, using this brief window to channel a guaranteed knock-up with your Q.

Lane Phase

Activate W right before walking up to contest a minion, holding the detonation until the enemy steps into your melee range to trade.

Mid Game

Press Q during your ult charge to cancel the dash early if an enemy steps out of your turning radius.

Mid Game

Hide in an out-of-vision brush near a crashed wave and channel a fully charged Q just as the enemy walks up to clear the minions.

Mid Game

Push side lanes past the river only when your ult is off cooldown, allowing you to instantly rotate into a flank angle for Dragon or Baron fights.

Late Game

Pre-cast W three seconds before engaging with your ult so you can instantly detonate the shield for burst damage upon impact.

Late Game

Start your ult charge from a blind jungle flank rather than straight down a lane to minimize enemy reaction time during objective standoffs.

Late Game

Target an immobile carry immediately upon entering your passive state to force them to burn flash or die to your max-health auto attacks.

For matchup-tailored tips, download Baron Buff's AI Coach & Companion App.

Gameplay tips in Arena

• Charge Q from fog or after E slow, use W before taking damage, and hold R for a guaranteed corridor. Passive pressure should separate enemies, not chase one around the map.
• Build Heartsteel, Unending Despair, Titanic Hydra, and Black Hole Gauntlet. Health and resistances turn every charged control window into damage.
• Prioritize Goliath, Quest: Steel Your Heart, Heavy Hitter, and Slow Cooker. Health scaling and zone control remain useful before and after death.

Sion Build

This might not be your familiar build. We look at ranked games after each item was bought. If the player or team gained ground in gold, we rate that item higher.

Core

• Heartsteel
• Plated Steelcaps (Boots)
• Unending Despair

Situational

• Titanic Hydra
• Overlord's Bloodmail
• Jak'Sho, The Protean
• Thornmail

Sion Runes

The most popular rune page and summoner spells for Sion in ranked games over the last 30 days.

Resolve + Inspiration · 50.2% WR · 11,775 games

• Grasp of the Undying
• Demolish
• Conditioning
• Overgrowth
• Cash Back
• Approach Velocity
• Attack Speed
• Adaptive Force
• Health Scaling

Summoner spells

Flash, Teleport

Sion Skill Order

The recommended skill order for Sion from ranked games over the last 90 days: the first three skill points, then the order to max abilities.

1. lvl 1: E
2. lvl 2: Q
3. lvl 3: W
4. max: E
5. max: Q
6. max: W

How to Counter Sion

Counter strategies and draft context

build percent-health damage, kite effectively, or bypass them entirely to reach carries

• Weak to disengage and spread comps — Sion's engage loses value when enemies aren't grouped
• Split-push collapses against coordinated responses — a strong duelist or 5-man collapse shuts Sion down
• Weak early game — Sion needs time to scale and can be punished before hitting full power
• Split-push threats that avoid 5v5 team fights entirely

Sion's Weaknesses

Heavy disengage compositions push Sion's engages off before the team can follow up. A stronger duelist sent to the side lane stalls Sion's split push. Aggressive early compositions force the pace and put Sion behind before the scaling arrives.

Best Synergies with Sion

Team synergies and draft context

Burst mages and long-range ADCs turn Sion's engage into kills. Strong teamfight compositions win 4v4 while Sion splits, which forces impossible rotations. Waveclear and disengage allies stall the game for Sion's scaling, and every minute makes them stronger. Assassins flank while you hold the enemy's attention at the front.

Draft Context

• Pairs another engage champion with no follow-up damage to capitalize on Sion's initiation
• Locks in a full teamfight comp that can't hold 4v5 while Sion pressures side lanes
• Drafts an aggressive early comp that can't protect Sion through the scaling phase

Learning Curve

Based on 1.2M+ matches across all ranked elos, showing how Sion's win rate changes with mastery level

Sion has exceptional depth — there is always something new to learn, but getting results takes patience. Expect lower win rates early while building the experience to unlock this champion's potential.

Skill Cap

Very High

Cost of Learning

High