It's been a while since Sion has been remade and his destructive AP build has almost been forgotten, locked in the old chest, and buried in the Legacy Vault of Old Champs. So for those who LOVE and WOULD LOVE to play as AP Sion, do not worry! Although Sion sports a new kit, we can still make Sion a killer AP Zombie with TONS OF DAMAGE!

Season 6
New items, new masteries.
Just when you thought you got the hang of it OR finally threw the towel for AP Sion, this comes in barging like an Unstoppable Onslaught. So here we are, trying to unlock new potentials for Sion!

Use this build can be used when:
-You miss AP Sion and want to play it.
-You want a new AP champ to play with
-You're good at throwing minions to your opponent's faces ;)
-You want to surprise your enemies with an unusual build.

Excited yet? Just read on to know more.

P.S. Be sure to try out the build and follow the guide before saying that it's impossible to build AP Sion anymore! :)

PROS:

+ Good initiate combo
+ Very good harass, waveclear and pushing power aka Lane Bully
+ Tanky for a mid laner
+ Nice crowd control
+ Enemies will usually be less mindful of you since they're probably thinking that AP Sion can't really hurt them a lot (they've never been so wrong)

CONS:

- You have to be good at aiming and harassing the enemy with your E
- You also have to be good at aiming and controlling his R
- Other players might throw tomatoes at you for building AP Sion, so just make sure you are either with your friends or a good, open-minded team. Remember that good teamplay is still needed to help unleash Sion's full potential.

-BARRIER
-IGNITE
-FLASH

Pick Barrier for survival purposes and also for rushing into the opponent with Unstoppable Onslaught while the enemy is under his tower. Imagine if they ignite, gank or a turret attacks you while on low health, you just use your Soul Furnace. If it's not enough you can happily use Barrier as you retreat. Neat.

Bring that Ignite if you're used to using this in mid lane or if you want to kill a lot.

Of course, you bring along that handy Flash. Especially when you fail with your Unstoppable Onslaught. Haha. Embarassing.

START OF GAME:

You have FOUR basic options:

1) Ruby Crystal

This is the safest starting items if your opponent would be more likely to harass you in lane ( LeBlanc, Ryze, Zed) as it will make you last longer and give you a higher chance to survive ganks.

2) Amplifying Tome

If you think you can harass the opponent without having to receive too much damage ( Teemo, Heimerdinger).

=These first two options should be used to buy Haunting Guise -> Liandry's Torment as soon as possible for a stronger harass.=

3) Spellthief's Edge

Buy this if you feel confident already, or have been forced to go bot and be a support. Build into Frostfang and eventually into Frost Queen's Claim as soon as you can. Not only can Frost Queen give Sion an excellent chasing/escaping mechanism, it can also give you some Cooldown Reduction and gold as you harass.

4) Doran's Ring

It's a classic all-around starting item. Why not?

BUILD PATH:

Rush Haunting Guise OR Frostfang, depending on your preferred item (Liandry or Frost Queen), get your boots built, then afterwards build Rylai's to get tankier and also for a good AP boost. Buy Rabadon's Deathcap as your third/fourth core item and the rest will depend upon your choice or situation.

Enjoy AP Sion!

Let's talk about Skills in order of importance.


Roar of the Slayer

Max E first. It deals a good amount of damage especially when you use it on non-champions and knock them into your opponent's face. Hard. If you are not familiar with the Roar's mechanic, range, and knockback distance, it would be best for you to turn Quick Cast off first. Turning it off would give you a better aiming too!

Remember that E is your all-important harass tool. Its manacost is so low that you can keep throwing Es at low levels without running out of mana. Just aim at a nearby enemy minion and knock it back in towards the rest of the minion wave, or knock it back to the direction of your enemy in the lane. You'd be surprised how much damage it can deal with a range that could rival Xerath's Q.

Again, be sure to utilize E's knockback mechanic for that extra "oomph"!

At late game, E can easily clear a wave along with your W if they still manage to live. Also, E has a good amount of slow so it's really good for getting close or escaping enemy champions.


Soul Furnace

Max this second. The good ol' Sion shield. Remember that it has an AP scaling and still packs a punch especially against squishy mages and ADCs!

Remember that you get extra HP from its passive effect everytime you kill something, and AP Sion can sure get a lot of HP by utilizing his E+W combo. Also, you have items like Liandry, Rylai, or RoA that amps up your Shield.

They say a good offense is a good defense, and Sion agrees. Just bring up your shield when you're close to the enemy. If they attack, you may leave with only scratches. If they run, give them a chase and if they're close enough just detonate the shield and watch their health go BOOM.

Also, a tip:
Waveclear combo = W + E + W detonation , then clean up with Q(charged) or auto attacks
Kill combo = W + R + W(detonate shield) + Q(charged) + E , then finish with auto attacks


Unstoppable Onslaught

Good for chasing for a kill OR escaping a 5-man gank. All you need to remember when you rush in is to bring up your shield around 2 seconds before impact, so you can detonate your shield immediately after you bump into them for a huge damage.

Again, the kill combo:
Kill combo = W + R + W(detonate shield) + Q(charged) + E , then finish with auto attacks

Don't hesitate to use your kill combo when the enemy is low on health, even when he is under his turret. Smack right into them and you are most certainly going to get the kill.

AP Sion also has good pushing powers so you might find yourself stretched out too close to your enemy's territory. If they're closing in and you think it's dangerous to recall, just Ult away from there! Because of the reasonably low cooldown especially at Rank 3, you can use it more often to rush in and out of battle.

Finally, if your opponent BARELY manages to dodge your Ult and you have your Soul Furnace shield ready for detonation, just pop it up for a surprise bombing attack! Just when they think they managed to live...

Decimating Smash

Finally, your Q. Although AD Sion is supposed to max it first, we want to max it last this time around. We don't have the AD to make the attack strong and usually the windup gives the enemy enough time to escape the skill's AoE. Also, we use Q here basically because of its effect when charged - the knockup and stun. Without it, it's just Sion flailing his axe. Not funny at all.

Otherwise, here are some stuff that will make us maximize our use of Sion's Q in AP Builds.
- Use the Frost Queen's Claim active effect before winding up your Q so that they will not be able to escape.
- Use Q immediately after you charge and bump into them with your R + W(detonation) to maximize the stun duration. This combo is also a good teamfight initiate!


Glory in Death

For that oh-so-sweet revenge kill and last hits OR you simply want to rush into the enemy tower/inhibitor/nexus and punch the lights out of it. Sweet.

Remember that the damage is probably a lot lower than when you build AD Sion. Also gets pretty useless if the enemy has crowd control to keep you at bay.

Reminders:

-It's a Dark Horse build - use with caution if you intend to use it in Ranked Play!
-Use AP Sion in Ranked after you have practiced it in Normal Play.
-It is also best if you use AP Sion along with your friends/team. This makes them able to maximize combos with you and enables you guys to dish out cool plays.

USE THIS GUIDE WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING AS SUPPORT, OR WANT TO PLAY MID BUT FORCED TO GO SUPPORT.

When using AP Sion as a support, there is only one starting item build path you have to take:

-STARTING ITEMS: Spellthief's Edge + 2 health potions + 1 mana potion + trinket

~In case you think you don't need to use potions, you can opt to buy wards instead.

-SPELLS: Barrier and Flash as usual, or you can get Exhaust or Heal.
~Exhaust lowers enemy's mobility and damage output and could save you and your ADC from a sudden initiate. Paired with Sion's CCs, it would also help your partner secure the kill. Also makes the enemy less likely to dodge your charged Q.
~Heal could save you and your allies. When your ally is being picked on, dive in with your R, then Heal and retreat. Also gives you movespeed boost for the chase.

-THE HARASS: Again, to unleash Sion's poking potential, just pick a nearby minion, aim it at the ADR or SUPPORT, then fire away your E. Plus points if they line up or are close together that you can hit them both with a single fire of your Roar. It also triggers Edge's gold mechanism (Hooray +5/+10 G) as a reward for a good poke. Since E's cooldown and manacost is quite manageable, you can cast your E without worrying about mana shortage.

-THE INTIMIDATING SUPPORT: There are several ways to make the enemy team less likely to get minion kills. Since Sion is THE Undead Juggernaut, he likes to intimidate enemies, and he does it excellently. Sion likes to:

>Bring up his W shield and drive the enemies away. Usually, they are afraid of your shield detonating or think of you as initiating a fight, and they will start to back off.

>When they get too close, charge up your Q. They will try to dodge your Decimating Smash and run away from its range. Even better if they stay in range and gladly receive the stun. Be careful of enemy skills such as Thresh's hook which can disrupt your charging.

>E them ALL THE TIME. Sion HATES champs that hides behind lackeys. Really.

-THE CLEANUP GUY: Your ADC almost got the kill but the slippery enemy champ managed to pull away to safety? Well worry no more because Sion is here! If Sion is close by he can:

1. Bring up his W shield, FLASH in or chase, and detonate the shield.
2. Find a nearby minion and throw it to the retreating enemy's wounded face. You'd be amazed at how much range Sion has. If the target still lives, at least you managed to slow him down, so you can proceed with option 1.
3. If you are brave enough, you can bring up your shield, dive in, charge your Q in front of the enemy, then Stun and kill.
4. Chase the enemy down with your R! A good time to use the Kill Combo (see Skills section) and secure the kill.
5. Remember to use your Frost Queen's Claim to slow the enemy down and claim your bounty.

WHAT ELSE: Build him as provided in the guide - a Tanky AP with LOTS of CCs. You can also opt to buy a BANNER OF COMMAND if you need a little extra pushing power and AP + Health. Remember that these tips can also be used by AP Mid Sion, especially in teamfights.

Playing with:

Yasuo

Your charged Decimating Smash and Unstoppable Onslaught would give Yasuo easy Last Breaths. You can even detonate your Soul Furnace Shield if the target barely manages to survive!

Also, your Roar of the Slayer can boost a minion farther towards the target, and Yasuo can dash into it and use it as a stepping stone towards chasing your target (provided the minion survives).

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Vayne

You rush in with your Unstoppable Onslaught and Vayne steps in for the kill. You use Decimating Smash and let it charge before slamming it to the still-stunned champions. If they're still alive, Vayne can use Condemn if there's a nearby wall for another stun. You can use your Roar of the Slayer or Frost Queen's Claim/ Hextech Gunblade for slowing the target that manages to escape, plus - your skills have low cooldowns that you are ready for another round of combo after a short break.

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Jarvan IV

Remember to communicate with your team. Sion CANNOT pass through J4's Cataclysm! So plan ahead to avoid bumping into his arena instead of your enemies. On the other hand, when you are both inside his arena, it will be easier to get a charged Decimating Smash connect, make sure the enemy is within range as your W shield detonates, and easier to hit E and R too. J4 has slow and knockups too so the enemy will have a hard time escaping from both of your CCs.

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The combination of your ally's AD and your AP damage ensures that whatever defense your enemy built, whether armor or magic resist, they are still sure to get a beating or die trying to escape.

That's it for now! Hope you try out and have fun using AP Sion! Leave a comment for suggestions and improvements! Thank you for your time and continue to support League of Legends.




Changelog:
[01/21/2015]
v1.0 - First iteration of AP Sion guide for Season 5+
v1.1 - Added tips for AP Sion playing as support. Added J4 in Team Work section.
[01/22/2015]
v1.2 - Improved the viewability of the guide and added Hextech in items
v1.2.2 - Tweaked some Runes. Thanks to Navy Blue Fire
v1.2.3 - Improved Readability
[01/25/2015]
v1.2.4 - Added Sion's support build