EDIT: Im going to be revamping the guide soon enough. Alot of the elementz are a tad out of date and i need to change around the sections and builds some. Ive been a little lazy coming around to it, but itll be updated soon enough! The core build/optionals are still sound, as is about 90% of the information; so continue checking all of that out!

Welcome To Sion:

I primarily created this build because my last AP Sion reference was quite old, and i felt it was high time for a new one.

Now i dont mean to brag, but ive NEVER FINISHED A MATCH WITH A NEGATIVE K/D as AP Sion.

This means that everyone who is looking at this guide is heading into a game with a general amount of game-play knowledge, and is capable of performing with a team.
While Sion is a great champ, this is a TEAM GAME. DO NOT run out and get yourself killed, then cry to your teammate ''I USED MY STUN, WHERE WERE YOU!?'' Please dont embarass yourself.

Work with your team in vent, or in-game chat/ping, THIS will improve your skill, and help your performance with Sion considerably.

In this build, ill describe the Pros/Cons to Sion, explain the summoner spells that i feel benefit him the most, early/mid/late game, team fights, and other tips/tricks that really make you a force to be reckoned with.

Now me being completely unskilled with the guide creation system, and being completely illiterate with the picture implementation, ill explain this as much as possible with words, insuring that only the literate people will be able to read my guide, and that picture book kids wont just look at the photos and and ruin all of your fun games.

CHANGED:
I caved to the above statement, sat my *** down in front of the FAQ page, and figured this **** out. There are now pretty pictures to accompany this guide and show you what i mean.

So sit back, and get all of the information spoon-fed to you because you dont feel like wasting your own free time.

-Chancellor

RUNE SELECTION:


Marks:

I choose Magic Pen marks, feeling that these give you the early game damage boost.
I feel filling up your entire rune page with these are redundant, as late game, you have more that enough Magic Pen from your items to more than make the entire page void.


Seals: Greater Seal Of Replenishment

Like any smart person would, i take Flat MP5 seals, since these practically nullify Sion's only early game weakness. These, coupled with the Doran's Ring, gives you around 10 MP5, and that with your masteries, youll be sitting at around 17-18 MP5. With Sion's low mana, youll look like youre full all the time! Hows that for a mind game against the other team? Yeah, not so much.

CHANGED:
I changed from Flat MP5 to MP5 per level. By level 4, the Per Levels are giving you just as much mana as the Flat ones would be. Then, by late game, it greatly increases your MP5. Seems like the logical choice.

Thanks to Malakio for pointing out the change!


CHANGED AGAIN:
I changed the Seals back to Flat MP5s. I did this because early game Mana regen got hit hard and the MP5's per level held Sion back a bit. I made the change back and i dont regret it.


Glyphs:

I take Flat AP Glpyhs, furthering ya boi's early game performance because as i said, filling up your whole page with MPen is completely pointless. You can also do this new fad and take flat Magic Resist if you so choose. I dont really see the point in this, but if you want to do it, go for it kiddies.


Quints:

And i take Flat HP quints. These give you more health early game, and with your Doran's Ring, gives you around 750-800 health starting off! This really intimidates your foes, and gives you alot of breathing room for mistakes. But as i said earlier, NO ROOM FOR MISTAKES.


CHANGED:
I changed the Quints to Flat AP. I feel that since the Forts got nerfed hard right along with MP5, i changed the early game toughness for early game AP. I actually ended up liking the change since the extra AP allows you to poke a little bit harder early game. So its a cute little change.

Sion's Pros:

-Great Stun With Huge Nuke Potential

-Shield That Allows Incredible Lane Harass/Farming/Damage Mitigation/Nuke.

-Can KITE ALL DAY LONG ( Move Over ***Kassadin!*** )

-A Permanent Health Gain Through Enrage ( E )

-Incredibly Tough For An AP Carry

-Great Overall Team Synergy.

Sion's Cons:

-If His Shield Is Broken, Loses A Crucial Part To His Nuke

-Is A Melee Caster Nuke ( Meaning He Has To Get Close To Do Damage )

-Has No Long Range Poke

-Is Susceptible To CC

-Mana Pool Scales Like A Tank/DPS, Hurting His Ability To Spam Moves.

***Disclaimer:***
I apologize for the above statement. As much as i would love for it to happen, Sion cannot out-kite Kassadin. THAT DUDE CAN JUMP THROUGH ****ING WALLS. Kassadin is hands down the BEST ****ING KITER/CHASER IN THE GAME. Hes the Bees-knees. By the way, why doesnt Kassadin have his Lord Zurg ( Toy Story 2 ) or Darth Vader ( Star Wars ) Legendary skin yet? RIOT NEEDS TO STEP THEIR ****ING LEGENDARY SKIN GAME UP.

Mana Pool:

Problems And How To Deal With It:

So ive gotten a couple comments of people saying ''Sion has mana problems.'' Unforunately, its not ''Sion'' who has the mana problems, its his ''POOL.''

Sion's mana pool scales like a Melee/Tank, not like a caster. Casters normally can have a large base mana pool at the start allowing them to spam their moves very well. Sion's pool has about 150-250 mana ( Not sure of the number exactly, ive never really paid attention ) and at end game, it tops off at 625 without any additions to his pool.

Now you COULD buy mana additions to increase his pool, and thus give him more mana to work with, but these overall weaken his AP advantages.

Ive decided to alter this section to explain the items you WILL be purchasing in order to deal with Sion's mana problems. This is following the changes ive made to the core build and guide.

Items That Solve Your Mana Problems:

Rod Of Ages:


How Does It Help?: Ive kinda overlooked Rod Of Ages. I was unaware that the timer for it to increase to its max buff duration was halfed, from 20 minutes to 10. I feel this totally justifies the purchase now, as it gives HP, Mana, and AP. Just too great of a item to pass up. This will help Sion with his Mana problem, as well as give him a little extra somethin somethin. Get this early in your build so you have the maximum time to get the full buffs from this.




Archangel's Staff:


How Does It Help?: I like to call this the MANAPROBLEMELIMINATOR. You kinda have to say it outloud in a deep voice to really get the feel for it. Anyways, buying this will effectively eliminate ALL mana problems on Sion, and on alot of other champs. The only real downfall to this item is the lack of spammage you can get out of Sion's skills, thus making the permanent gain of mana from this item's unique passive kinda stunted. However, the flat mana it gives you and MP5 is great, and will officially nullify Sion's mana problems.


NOTE: Archangel's Staff was moved out of the Core Build and moved to the Optional Items build. Morello's Evil Tome has taken its place.


Conclusion:


By the time you get RoA, AA's, and DFG, youll have MORE than enough mana flow to completely spam Sion's arsenal while not having to overly worry about running out of mana due to this builds overall mana flow income. Hopefully this will have cleared up alot of peoples mana problems. If you are still experiencing mana loss problems, go grab golem. If problems still persist, please leave me a comment in my guide and ill get back to you as soon as i can.

WIDPLB:

A Small Article On Why I Dont Purchase Lich Bane.




Some people are still confused as to why i dont purchase Lich Bane on AP Sion.

These people are obviously illiterate, as ive stated why dozen of times through this entire guides existance. So i gave it its own part in the guide, hoping people will finally SEE THIS PART AND ****ING READ IT.

Ktnx.


Lich Bane:


Why Not?: This is the item people have been foaming over for me not putting it in my guide. It gives AP, Mana, Magic Resist and movement speed along with a decent passive. So everyone is asking me, WHY NOT!? BECAUSE. AP Sion's biggest nuke technique, Death's Caress , requires him to be IN melee range already.

Lets put it like this. if youre in a team fight and you pop a level 4 Death's Caress on 3 champs with no MResist and you have 300 AP ( Level 4 DC does 270, plus the AP it equals = 570 damage ) Multiply the damage times 3 for the three champs, and it equals 1710 DPS IN ONE SECOND. Thats incredible team damage, and the enemy is really gonna feel it.

Now lets say you buy Lich Bane, have 300 AP, and use a level 4 Death's Caress. While sitting in melee range waiting for the shield to get manually exploded, the enemy POPS it due to you being so close and AoE damage is the new in. That 1710 dps in one second is down the drain. BUT OH MY GOD, YOU HIT WITH THE LICH BANE PROC BEFORE DYING! That totals about 400 damage if youre lucky. Now compare the 400 damage to the 1710 dps. Its not even close to the second number is it? Ive seen SO many AP Sion players make that mistake, but continue to insist that Lich Bane is great for AP Sion. Sure it gives mana, Mresist, and that small movement speed, but its NOWHERE near as useful as actually getting your dps off from Death's Caress.

In short, Lich Bane puts you in too much trouble for your ACTUAL form of dps than its going to be giving you. Especially in higher elo, smart players are going to target you when they see you coming. Dont be a derp and sit in melee range. Dip in and out of combat. Dance around. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT SIT AND MELEE CHAMPIONS. Your dps is going to FALL FAST. The only time you should be meleeing is when they literally have a sliver of health left, and you know you can do it. Be smart, dont take Lich Bane. Its a great item, but not for AP Sion.




Conclusion: This is my reasoning as to why i dont purchase Lich Bane. You can bring a solid arguement to the case, but im not going to include it in my build simply because IT GIVES ME 7% FASTER MOVEMENT SPEED. That does NOT make it viable enough on AP Sion to really warrant a purchase. Please bring another arguement to the table. Thank you.

Skilling Sequence:

I feel Sion is skilled the same way, every time.
There really isnt too much of a alternative.

You should want to get 2 points into Cryptic Gaze, then 2 into Death's Caress, and 1 into Enrage before 6, which is when you get Cannibalism.
This will give you a even spread of damage early game, while giving you that crucial Enrage point early enough for the effects to really start showing.

Then, youll want to max out Death's Caress as soon as possible, followed by Cryptic Gaze, Cannibalism, and finally Enrage.

CRITICAL THINKING:
To be utterly honest, i feel Cannibalism is such a useless skill for AP Sion that i dont really even think the points are NEEDED in them at every available level. ( 6,11,16 ) I honestly think you can skip the skill points in Cannibalism until the last points in the game, allowing you to put the points into the skills you really want to level up. As stated below, Cannibalism is AP Sions most useless technique. Give it a try by allocated the points into other skills, if you guys find out a better skill order that really works out and you see yourself out damaging greatly, please tell me. Ill change around the point sequence and give you a shiny dedication on my guide!

Conclusion To Critical Thinking:
Ive determined that skipping points in Cannibalism is too stupid. I feel Cannibalism is a Utility technique that helps you take Golem faster. Through my games of trying to skip it, i found myself taking a bit of time to take Golem without it. Definitely continue using my skill sequence as recommended.




Skills And Usage:

Below are Sion's skills, what they do, and how you should use them.
Please be aware that Sion has some slight mana problems at lower levels, simply due to his meager mana pool. Pop your techniques wisely, and dont spam them rapidly so youre constantly OOM. ( Out Of Mana )

Cryptic Gaze:

Sion gazes at a foe and stuns them for 2 seconds. Has a tad bit of range, and unlike Taric's Fruity Shot, it does the same stun duration regardless of the distance! This is Sion's main Ganking and Disabling tool. When ganking, you should be using it on the easiest kill, or disabling a lane partner who is the biggest threat to stopping you or your allys from stopping your kill. ( Pesky Supports and Taunters ) You should be using this to poke your foes in lane as well. With 100% AP ratios, this move is incredible.


Death's Caress:

Sion creates a shield around him for 10 seconds that absorbs damage. After 4 seconds, you can manually explode the shield, dealing damage in a AoE to surrounding enemies. The amount of absorbtion, and damage dealt upon manual explosion is increased by 100% of your AP. This is Sion's bread and butter technique, and is the scariest AoE in the game. ( Biased Opinion ) This move allows Sion to walk around as if he owns everything. It absorbs an abnormal amount of damage, and then allows you to blow your load ( Ha ) all over the enemy. ( Seewhatididthere?) You should always attempt to pop this BEFORE you engage, so it allows you to pop it, the start up another one as soon as possible. After Level 3, and with a tad AP, itll allow you to completely kill a creep wave, and with Enrage activated, it allows you to PUSH WHENEVER THE **** YOU WANT. People will stroke your ego when you push your lane in 10 minutes. Do it, and watch your TRYHARD ego soar.


Enrage:

Essentially useless for the AP Sion, other than giving its permanent health increasement whenever you kill a minion/champion. KEEP THIS ACTIVATED AT ALL TIMES. There should be no reason to turn this off. Other than that, it gives a passive AD boost as long as its active, and i guess itll help you hit towers slightly harder.


Cannibalism:

AP Sions' most useless technique. This skill is literally a lane/tower push. Use this after a small fight to heal your team up, or use it when you have a clear push on a tower for the speed boost it gives you. IF YOU USE THIS AND START MELEEING IN A TEAM FIGHT, YOU BE DERPIN. YOU DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH AD TO MAKE THE LIFESTEAL SUBSTANTIAL ENOUGH TO SURVIVE IF YOURE LOSING. Use the mana wisely, do not stand and fight against a champ. Sion is a insane kiter. You have other options than sitting and going toe to toe with other Melee Champs.

Note: Cannibalism has finally found its niche for me! I use it primarily to grab Golem.
It helps grab Golem faster, and makes it a safer solo job due to the huge Lifesteal you get.
Save this for Golem grabbing.


Summoner Spells:


Ghost:

Essential for Sion i think, bottom line. Being a Melee Nuker, Sion needs to close the distance, and keep it up. You can take Flash if you want, but after the first jump, if you dont have em, they will get away. CG has distance, but if they get out of that range, you arnt catching them. Take Ghost and go home and be a family man! ( I wonder if anyone will catch that meme? )


Ignite:

Its a small extra DoT to help you push that little extra bit of damage to acquire that early game kill. Its more so to help you get those kills early game to start the snowball. Still useable late game, but more of a last hitting type technique. Also effective to use on pesky healers or annoying escapers. ( Sona, Taric, Soraka/Kassadin, Tryndamere ) It gives you more team fight potential shutting down someones incoming heals by 50%. People often over-skip this fact. Great summoner spell all around.


Notable Mentions:

Flash : As i said above, nice for a quick placement, but not for chasing. Decent escape as well, but Ghost can do that as well. Take this ONLY if you prefer it more than Ghost.

Exhaust : With the recent nerf to Exhaust, i dont really see it shutting down as well as it used to. A semi decent pick, considering it works on casters now, but Ignite is the better pick to take.

Cleanse : Sion's one downfall is that he is VERY susceptible to CC. Now Cleanse would clear this up in a jiffy, and i would totally recommend this to anyone who feels they're going to be picked on by the meanie ol' CCs. However, i feel that Merc Treads really nullify a large amount of CC issues without taking Cleanse. This is a solid pick only if you feel like youre gonna be picked on. If you MUST take this, id recommend replacing , so it leaves Ignite open. Ignite is way too much to pass up on for the early game domination it gives you on Sion.

Everything Else: Just no.




Masteries:

I take a typical caster spec, 9/0/21.

The offensive tree is the obvious spec, putting just enough points into it so that you can recieve the Mpen. As for most casters, its too much to pass up.

The 21 in Utility is also a given. 1 point into Haste for the obvious speed increase to Ghost and the time extension. 2 Points into Utility Master for when youre owning Golem. The rest are typical mana efficient and support points.

Note: If you dont find yourself grabbing Golem too often, you may allocate those 2 points from Utility Master into the passive Quickness down one line on the tree. ( It gives you a passive speed increase. ) Whatever floats your boat really.

CHANGED:
I changed the masteries around. I took the 4 points out of Awareness and applied them to Greed and Quickness respectively. Awareness wasnt really doing a TON for me, especially since i zone most people out. This gives Sion a little more Support, and gives him a small speed boost to move around, something i saw alot of people felt like they needed.

Item Order/Explanation:


Doran's Ring
Doran's Ring gives you the Health, MP, and 15 AP for the early game.
Wayy too good to pass up for a Amp Tome, and the health really helps you later into the game as well.

NOTE: Due to the increase cost of the Doran's items, you are no longer capable of purchasing a Doran + a Potion of either kind. I still feel that Doran's Ring is the superior first game item purchase for AP Sion, due to the health, increased MP5, and AP it gives you. Still choose this over an Amplifying Tome.

Then Get...

Sorc Boots/Merc Treads:
Ill break this down easily;
Sorc Boots: If they have less than 3 CCs.
Mercury Treads: If they have 3 CCs or more!

Sorc boots give you 20 Mpen, Merc Treads give you CC reduction. Nuff said.

Please note that with how much CDR is coming with this build already, i DO not even consider purchasing Boots Of Lucidity. Its unneeded.

Then Get...

Rod Of Ages:
This spot was originally filled by Mejai's Soulstealer, but it came to the point where Mejai doesnt ALWAYS perform how it needs to. Not every player can ALWAYS have a positive game. ( Unlike me, Ahem. Kindofabigdealhere. Ahem ) This is where Rod Of Ages comes in. It always gives you the same stats, regardless of how bad youre doing, while giving you Health, Mana, and AP. All just great stats that benefit AP Sion. Plus it maxes out much faster. Incredibly viable purchase now, so i included it.

NOTE: What happened to Mejai? I moved it into the Optional Item Build. You can now find its new location and description there.

Proceed Into...

Morello's Evil Tome:
MOVE OVER ARCHANGEL'S STAFF! MORELLO'S EVIL TOME IS IN TOWN! This item is amazing. Its incredibly cheap, gives you AP/MP5/and CDR! This also helps out for the players who thought Archangels was too much to build after RoA. The second i saw this item i knew i was gonna love it, and i do. This, with DFG, will give you 35% CDR. THATS JUST FROM THE CORE BUILD. Now if you grab a Elixir of Brilliance or Golem, youll be topped off. If you also picked Mejai and get it to 20 stacks, youll be 10% over CDR cap i believe. All in all, this item is just great, and a welcome change to Sion.

Note: Archangel's Staff has been moved into a Optional Item. You may find it in its new corresponding chapter.

Head Into...

Deathfire Grasp:
The most important item in the build. It gives Cool Down Reduction, gives you another nuke on top of yours, and enough MP5 to not have to worry about mana any longer. You incorporate the activate into your nuke rotation. It should go DFG > Cryptic Gaze > Death's Caress pop. This will kill the enemy. Bottom line. It also allows you to really put the hurt on a pesky health stacking tank.

Go on to...

Rabadon's Deathcap
Huge AP boost, not even going into it. You Nuke, you Hurt, you Win.

And Finally!

Abyssal Scepter:
I get AS for the AP, the Magic Resist, and the Magic Resistance reduction that it gives to all of the surrounding units. This coupled with Death's Caress, is like a big MPen AoE nuke.
I jumped in between a couple fill-ins, but i really ended up liking this item. You can change this with a Banshee's Veil or a Guardian Angel if you want a tad bit more survivability.

OPTIONALS:

Offensive:

Void Staff:


What It Should Be Replacing: Haunting Guise/Abyssal Scepter


When/Why:
I really see two opportunities to replace Haunting with Void. Either early game when dominating, or late game when making strategic item replacements. If youre completely and utterly slaughtering early game, and you have a surplus of gold, purchase Void Staff in place of Haunting Guise to lay on the pain even more. You should be making this move because health isnt a issue due to the raw skill and abilities of your team. ( Ganks are better, supports are better, teamwork is better ) This gives 55 more AP and 20 more Mpen than Haunting Guise. Late game, if you notice the other team is stacking up Magic Resistance in order to deal with the AP nuke problem, sell your Haunting and replace it with Void. This will add a huge bonus to your Mpen and make their resistance seem pointless.

NOTE:
''Don't get Void Staff if you're already getting Sorcerer's Shoes and Abyssal Scepter, as you end up wasting a huge portion of your magic penetration. Personally I say only go for Void Staff if you're forced to get Mercury's Treads, in which case skip the Haunting Guise entirely.'' - Jebus McAzn

I agree entirely with Jebus's diagnosis on the Void Staff. Stacking that much Mpen would be a waste, even if youre dominating. Move into another optional if you end up getting the Sorc Shoes and Abyssal. Grab some survivability from one of my recommended Defensive items or grab a Will of The Ancients for a little support.

Thanks to Imatapthat for his diagnosis of including Void Staff!



Mejai's Soulstealer:


What It Should Be Replacing: Rod Of Ages/Archangel's Staff/Abyssal Scepter


When/Why?: All Snowball items are incredibly tricky to use. Once you get them rolling, you might as well have a oracle potion icon above your head because you're gonna become prime target number one. This has benefits and disadvantages. You become a pseudo-tank, and i mean that in everyone is gonna want to target you first since you do the most damage. This nearly opens up a beneficial 4-5 seconds of the enemy team focusing you for your other carries to get in and cause damage. On the other hand, youre getting your *** whooped. The only time you should be purchasing this in place of any of the replacement items is when you are absolutely, positively raping ****ing face. I repeat. YOU MUST BE RAPING ****ING FACE IN ORDER TO JUSTIFY THIS PURCHASE FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE ITEMS. I placed 3 items into the replacement tab to give you the leisure of when you want to fill this in. Either early game domination, mid game sustainment, or late game boosting. The choice is yours.

NOTE: Mejai was moved from the core build into the Optional Build section due to its sketchy performance due to player skill. Also moved it here to make room for some increased mana play with AP Sion, another problem many people had problems with.



Archangel's Staff:


What It Should Be Replacing: Morello's Evil Tome


When/Why?:
You should only be replacing MET if you have terrible mana control. Other than that, you should ALWAYS take Morello's over this. The AP is a decent synergy with RoA and the flat Mana it contributes to your pool will never make you have to worry about it again. Overall a decent pick, but was moved here just due to the awesomeness that is Morello's Evil Tome.

Support:

Will Of The Ancients:


What It Should Be Replacing: Haunting Guise


When/Why:
Again like above, you should be replacing this in the spot of Haunting Guise. This is a much more support-type item and should be situationally bought. ONLY purchase this if you have another dominate AP nuke user on your team ( Annie, Anivia, Vlad, Kennen to name a few ) The Spell Vamp from this will allow the AP users to poke and prod during team fights and allow them to regain some health, furthering the abuse theyre allowed to take. The AP boost it gives them is also decent. As for you, it gives you an AP boost as well, and gives you Spell Vamp. When your stun starts hitting hard, this will virtually allow you to kite enemy champs and regain health! Very nifty. Again, only purchase this if you have other AP dominate champs on your team, and have a very positive early game.

Defensive:

Haunting Guise:


What It Should Be Replacing: Archangel's Staff


When/Why?: You should be replacing AAS with Haunting Guise after you build RoA. If the team is particularly tough and you need some additional health without putting yourself out of the way, purchase this cute little guy. It gives Health, AP, and Mpen. This should tide you over well into late game coupled with RoA, and give you a decent round of health/ap/and Mpen. A nice all around item.


NOTE: Haunting Guise was moved from the Core Build to Optionals, just like Mejai. I did this in order to put in Archangel's Staff, so people would have more options towards MP5 without having to rely on Golem every match. If you still feel you really want Haunting Guise and Mejai in your Core Build, take them!



Banshee's Veil:


What It Should Be Replacing: Abyssal Scepter


When/Why:
You should be purchasing this late game when all of the enemy champs have had their time to fully develop. If youre finding yourself in a total rut, being focused relentlessly and needing some health and mana, purchase a Banshee's. The passive on it will allow you to block one of those extremely nasty hits once every 30 seconds, and giving you the health and mana to back it up. The Magic Resist it gives you is nice as well, further increasing your survivability. If you find yourself not being targeted late game and youre getting free reign, pass this for more AP/Nuke.



Guardian Angel:


What It Should Be Replacing: Abyssal Scepter


When/Why:
The iconic defensive item. What carries get when they dont want to die and lose stacks, or what tanks get when they want more lives, GA can be fit into any build. Purchase this late game if you see your Mejai over 16 stacks and you just need that extra icing on the cake to punish and win. Watch the 5 minute timer on this so you dont run out and die when its on CD. It gives Armor and Magic Resist furthering your survivabilty, while giving that ''Oh **** he has a Guardian Angel'' aura. Another point to get this is if youre getting killed late game, but you consistantly put out good numbers/assists in team fights. This will allow you to help out, die if targeted, then come back and help your team clean up the mess. But as with the other optionals, only purchase this if you really need to. Otherwise, purchase more AP.




Zhonya's Hourglass:


What It Should Be Replacing: Abyssal Scepter


When/Why:
The other half of the Unique Passive that they took away from Zhonya's Ring and turned it into its own item, same as Rabadon's Deathcap. Much more defensive now, as it should be. Purchase this late game if you are mercilessly being targeted by heavy nukes. MAKE SURE YOU HIT THE ACTIVATE. It will make you invincible and untargetable for 2 seconds, make all of their initial attacks miss, and allow you to lay on the pain afterwards. It also gives 100 AP and 50 armor, giving you a full round of offensiveness and defensiveness while giving you the support of its activate passive. Again, only purchase this if you see yourself being targeted and need the survivability.

---

WARDS:

Now i know theres a little bit of speculation to buying Wards.

Some people like to believe buying wards is a pointless act, and sometimes, i would agree with you.

In a NORMAL game, buying wards is almost nearly pointless due to complete lack of map awareness and the general lack of serious game environment. No one cares about normal games, and its a shame.

However, in a RANKED game, Wards are NECESSARY. Wards provide much needed map awareness and allows you to set up ambushes, and allows you to get the head start if you see a gank coming.

People feel like wards are stupid ''Becuz dey w4ste muh gUld.'' On the contrary, Wards MAKE you gold. They help you see whats going on and they will NET YOU KILLS. Place them in the jungle and watch that low health champ walk by. You now know the area theyre in, and you can proceed to kill them. Congrats, you just earned that Wards gold back, plus more.

Now on Sion, i feel buying Wards are ABSOLUTELY necessary. I purchase these in normal matches, i purchase them in Ranked matches. Set them up in mid and watch someone walk into the brush and try to gank your mid buddy. Since you should be on the prowl, communicate and tell your team you want to take him out. Bum rush that brush and get that kill! Wards pay for themselves, i assure you.

Now there are two types of wards.


Sight Wards: Sight Ward
These are the standard wards. Place a ward down on the ground that lasts for 4.5 minutes with 1100 yard range. This type of ward doesnt reveal stealthed units.
Now for 75g, this thing is literally a pick-me-up. You can pick up two of these EVERY TIME YOU BLUE PILL BACK HOME. There should be no reason to not buy these. Theyre cheap, they net kills. Your team will love you, you will love you, and Baron Nashor will love you. BUY THESE.


And The Other Type..


Vision Ward:
The same exact thing as a Sight Ward, except that it costs more, has a shorter timer, and it reveals stealthed units. Now this obviously only effects 3 champs in the game: Shaco, Evelynn, and Twitch. Now i know Akali goes stealthed, BUT IF YOU DROP A ****ING WARD IN HER CIRCLE JUST TO DPS HER...
Actually thats kinda a pro thing to do. Drop these in her circle and watch her cry. Anyways, these have the 3 and a half minute timers, and reveal stealthed units. These can REALLY **** up a stealthed champs game. If Evelynn is jungling, you NEED THESE. Theyre ABSOLUTELY neccesary. If you dont purchase these, you WILL be tower hugging the whole lane phase. These also shut down Twitch completely and ruin his lane phase. Of course, Oracle's can also solve this problem for all stealthed champs, and its also mobile, however it costs quite a bit more gold and immediately paints a HUGE target above your head.


Conclusion:
As Sion, i feel its your job to protect and nuke. Wards fufill this job and allow you to help your team out as a whole. PLEASE be a good player and do this. You will become a better League player.



DEDICATION: Thanks to Searz for recommending 2 core build item changes and practically forcing me to see the positive benefits from them!

Early Game:

Start off with grabbing your Doran's Ring and immediately start discussing with your team what is capable of happening. Sion is ideally a Duo Lane champ, or a SITUATIONAL mid laner.

Mid Lane:
Look at the opposing team comp, and see who they have available for a competent mid laner.
If you see that the only option is a non-dedicated lane pusher. ( Teemo, Swain, Ryze, Lux to name a few ) Being confident in your player skill, you can lay on the pain, and this gives you a really good view point to move to either lane and help with a couple ganks. ONLY take this lane if you feel like you can really punish mid, and force the other team to change their tactics so as to not feed you. If you have a confident, dedicated mid-lane champ, mid should generally be given to them. Speak to your team to see the possible outcomes.


Duo Lane:
If the above criteria is not met, you should always be Duo laning. This is where Sion is really a threat, and allows him to get the early snowball. Try to communicate with your team and get a suitable partner, more than likely someone who can guarantee a constant CC. When i say this, i mean non-skill shot CC. This rule can be bypassed if you're laning with someone whos skills you can identify with. ( Pantheon, Annie, Twitch, Ashe, and Taric are a couple great choices for guaranteed CC ) ( Morgana/Lux, Swain, Olaf and whoever else has a skillshot slow/snare are a couple choices for un-guaranteed CC. ) Meld your techniques together to get the most out of your CCs, and you will succeed. You will shut down any lane.


Early Game Continued..
After deciding what lane you are going to, play smart. Do not spam your Cryptic Gaze repeatedly and blow your mana. Poke with it, just to lower your chosen pray. DO NOT target champs with built in health gains, or any champ with lifesteal items. You will just waste your mana if theyre capable of farming. When you hit level 2, grab Death's Caress , and start mixing it in with your stun. Generally, activate in a bush, then when you can manually detonate it, move out and see if you can hit the minions AND the champs. Itll allow you to harass, AND push the lane. As i said earlier, work with your lane partner and really mix your skills up. Youll dominate the lane, and get quite a couple kills, i assure you. Proceed with this process until about level 7-8, or until you push lane early. Then, proceed into mid game.

Tip: Are you at tower but too afraid to poke it, and are they turtleing? Use Death's Caress, walk up to their tower, and smack it 2-4 times, then back off. This will steadily push the tower, while theyre unable to hurt you due to the damage mitigation due to the shield. TAKE NOTE: DO NOT OVEREXTEND. If you see that mid or the other side lane is missing, DO NOT DO THIS. This may be a gank waiting to happen. Play smart.


Mid Game:
Around this time, you should be walking around with the Ring and whichever boots you want, along with an either a Amplifying Tome/Blasting Wand, leading into a Mejai's Soulstealer/Rod Of Ages respectively. Or if youve been doing incredibly well, you already have a Mejai/Blasting Wand and youre working on your Haunting Guise or Archangel's Staff. Take this time to talk to your team. Ask whos been doing very well in their lane, and ask if the opposing players are playing badly, or whos a easy target. ( Whos been overextending, whos squishy ) Move between lanes, and look for soft/easy target. This will begin your snowball. Use your Ulti and DC to grab Golem for the CD reduction and the mana. Patrol the jungles, watch the lanes, while running back to your lane now and then to engage and gank. The better you played your early game, the better your mid and late game will be. Try and nab as many kills are you can this way, and around level 13-15, youll be heading into late game.


Late Game:
By now, lanes should be pushed somewhere on the map. Late game is incredibly easy as an AP Sion. Move with your team, preferably ahead of your group. Make sure you have activated before you walk into suspicious bushes, so if youre walking into a death trap, youll have enough time to show your team the danger, and probably even survive due to the damage mitigation from DC. In team fights, stun the AP/AD carries, or disable their supports. Make sure you lock down their chances of healing or dpsing, while giving your team enough time to melt face for AMERICA. By this time, you should have quite a bit of CDR ( Cool Down Reduction ) For more on team fights, refer to the next section. Your DC will be clearing creep waves entirely, and the passive from Enrage will be giving you all the heath in the world. Continue this up, and ganking/team fighting as much as you can, and eventually all their base are belong to you.

THANKS FOR PLAYING

What Is This Section For?

Great question! Now let me explain.

In team fights, you might always be baffled as to whos capable of doing the most. As a nuke, your job is to hit their DPS/Carries as fast and as hard as you possibly can. Now, what if you have multiple targets to choose from? Who do you target? This section is for you!

As a team fight begins, the tank hopefully is the one to initiate. NEVER run in before your tank, or someone more durable than you. Thats rule number one. Rule number two, is to ALWAYS TARGET DPS. ALWAYS. The priority list goes as this.

DPS > Support > Off-Tank > Tank

You look at who youre targeting and follow that list. Never purposely blow all of your nuke on someone lower on the priority list UNLESS DISCUSSED BEFORE HAND. What i mean by is this:

Say they have 3 very high priority targets, and you have several CC's. Two are DPS, one is a Support. Your team wants you to stun the support while they deal with the DPS. THIS is when you should break the order, simply to have a easier time dealing with the MAIN threats. This is called disabling.

So now that you have this information, take a look at the Tier List of priority down below.
This is my own opinion of who is the most dangerous in all around Team Fights, and from top to bottom, is the list of priority.

NOTE: Champs are subject to change due to buffs/nerfs. If you believe a champ deserves to have a higher spot on the priority list, let me know and we can discuss it. If i believe youre correct, ill more than gladly move the champ higher or lower, accordingly.

If You Decide To Use/Emulate My List, Please Give Me Credit.

TOP PRIORITY:

Champs that are just simply great at everything they do. They farm well, they have great utility, and are just superior to alot of other champs. Youre gonna notice alot of AoE'ers in the top simply due to the overall damage they bring to team fights, but their also on top because they come squishy. Target these guys down first to insure your team doesnt sustain TOO much damage.



1. Annie : Annie is a monster in fights. With her Pyromania Tibbers stun, shes capable of such outrageous AoE damage/CC. She needs to be dropped fast.

2. Anivia : Anivia was a close spot to first, but due to her learning curve i dropped her to second. Just like Annie, she has outrageous AoE damage/slow/wall/stun. Also has the *******t passive in the game. Kill her.

3. Sivir: Practically the AD counterpart to Anivia. Her boomerang EATS PEOPLE IN TEAM FIGHTS. Her Ulti is also incredible for AD carries and chasing. Huge priority.

4. Corki: Can poke like no ones business. Great carry strength and AoE damage. Also has a great escape mechanic. Big damage equals big priority.

5. Kog'Maw: Lower on the Top simply because of a lack of AoE, but in terms of AD single target, KOGMAW WILL ****ING EAT YOUR TEAM IF GIVEN A COUPLE SECONDS. He NEEDS to be either stunned or CC'd while you take out some of the higher up champs, but he needs to die. Bottomline.

6. Ashe: Also slightly lower on the Top simply due to lack of AoE. Sure she has a Volley poke, but it requires you to get slightly close. After her stun, she turns into a single target carry capable of dealing good AD damage. Take her out as well.

7. Warwick: Literally the same thing as Ashe, but without the range or poke, hence the lower spot. However Jacob Black Warwick comes with a stupidly long suppression that is practically insta-death for anyone who gets snatched in it. After that, he turns into a single target Carry nitemare due to his stupid strong Lifesteal component. High priority as well.

8. Janna: **** support. Puts a super gay AD carry loving shield around her butt buddies. You proceed to try and hurt her carries and she pushes you away with her Ultimate, Monsoon. AND IT HEALS EVERYTHING. Great support, annoying on the other team. Has top priority simply due to her Utility. ADJANNASAYWHAT?

9. Taric: Diamonds. Jewels. Fabulous. Men. All of these previous statements are what Taric likes. Hes also a incredibly annoying Support, capable of stunning and healing. The reason hes so low on the top priority list is because he normally comes tanky, and you dont want to waste too much time on him until you have the ability to.

10. Kennen: Hiyaah! Runs around stunning everything, but due to his recent nerf and the unintentional nerf to his build due to Zhonya's Ring being seperated, hes not TOP TOP priority. Takes a bit of farm to get really dangerous again, but once he does he needs to be stopped. Hes like a constant stun to your whole team. Just no.

HIGH PRIORITY:

Champs that farm well, and have great single target/AoE capabilities. The reasons theyre not in the Top priority is because they may have easily dodged moves, easily interruptable Ultis or easy ways of being shut down, or are just SIMPLY TOO TOUGH TO WANT TO BE TARGETTED FIRST. I mean champs that have such high health, it would be pointless to blow ALL of your nukes on them. Also have great ways of escaping meaning if you get them low, they have a chance to get away. Target these guys after the Top priorities.



11. Zilean: Great support. Capable of speeding up or slowing down champs, and has those oh so incredible Time Bombs. The reason why hes not top priority is because of his Ulti, Crono Shift. If he gets low enough on health, hell simply pop his Ulti and come back. Tada, there goes your nuke. High priority due to his utility.

12. Xin Zhao: Incredibly tough AD anti-carry. Simply not higher up due to his beefyness that comes with him. Take him out due to his Crescent Sweep and disable with 3-Talon Strike.

13. Vladimir: Great Ulti capable of causing huge problems for your team. After that though, he becomes a single target nuke. Not Top priority due to puss running out with Sanguine Pool.

14. Pantheon: Every knows Pantheon is my homeboy, can you tell me whats happening to him this patch? Well, with Pantheons global Ulti, CC stun, and AoE we decided to nerf his stun making it easier for people to get out of Heartseeker Strike. :O
Pantheon is High priority due to those reasons. Only reason hes not higher is because hes been nerfed. Still great sources of DPS though.

15. Twitch: Everyones favorite Master Splinter wannabe. Without the staff or kungfoo skill. Not top priority any longer due to his nerfs and squishyness. Still a huge *******. Capable of running away due to his stealth.

16. Kassadin: YOU CANNOT CATCH HIM. YOU CANNOT CHASE HIM. HE WILL GET AWAY. Does great heaps of damage plus his silence. Not Top priority since hell just Rift Walk out of everything.

17. Udyr: MANBEARPIG. You get the drill. He stuns, he AoEs, he has a rarely seen triple hit. Not Top priority due to his tankyness and Turtle stance, which hell just run away with. What a good shield, amirite?

18. LeBlanc: Huge single target nuke. She hits so incredibly hard, and her Sigil can silence for SO LONG. Annoying to chase due to her distortion.

19. Miss Fortune: Great single target dps, but wayyy low due to her squishyness, and easily interruptable Ulti. Still a high threat though.

20. Fiddlesticks: Crowstorm+Darkwind=Helladps. Easily interruptable due to Exhaust now shutting down casters plus a silence or stun. Still huge amounts of AoE.

MIDDLE PRIORITY:

These champs also produce high dps, but start to become situational. Youre gonna start to see a couple tanks coming in here, simply due to what they do. You dont want to target alot of these champs due to their survivability or high amounts of health. Champs that also dont perform as well as the others, hit as hard, or bring as much useful CC will also be here. Also easily interruptable during pinnacle techniques.

BEING IN THIS TIER DOES NOT MAKE THE CHAMPION BAD OR THEIR MOVESETS TERRIBLE.



21. Sion
22. Sona
23. Akali
24. Morgana
25. Olaf
26. Tristana
27. Shen
28. Rammus
29. Veigar
30. Malzahar

LOW PRIORITY:

These champs are simply single target champs with not alot of utility. Might have decent ways of escaping. Also incredibly tough. Simply not a big deal really. Just take care of these guys according to what theyre building.



31. Nunu
32. Amumu
33. Nidalee
34. Garen
35. Renehkton
36. Mordekaiser
37. Twisted Fate ( Yugi Motoh )
38. Singed
39. Galio
40. Evelynn

BOTTOM TIER:

Everyone here isnt really too big of a deal. They dps. They kinda have utility. Theyre tough. Dont bother with these guys until theres nothing to do.



41. Cho'gath
42. Malphite
43. Ezreal
44. Irelia
45. Swain
46. Tryndamere
47. Alistar
48. Katarina
49. Ryze
50. Yi
51. Soraka
52. Jax
53. Gangplank
54. Dr. Mundo
55. Urgot
56. Karthas
57. Shaco
58. Lux
59. Nasus
60. Gragas

YOU GUYS KNOW IM PLAYING RIGHT?! TIER:

61. Teemo
62. Cassiopeia
63. Karma
64. Heimerdinger

Not Placed Yet:

65. Maokai - Just released champ. Waiting for some judgement.


Edit: Im missing some champs on here for some reason. I think we have around 70 now or so? If you spot who im missing, please inform me!

SUMMARY:

The placement of champs on these tiers are simply based on what their capable of dealing in a team fight. AoE is way up top, while single targets are way low. Great team comp utilities are way up top, meager nerfed one are bot. Off-tanks are also low as well, simply being tough targets you dont want to target.

This is my complete opinion and is subject to change as the meta and buffs/nerfs change.

IF YOU FEEL SOMEONE IS A BIGGER THREAT AND DESERVES TO BE HIGHER, LET ME KNOW.
WE CAN DISCUSS THE PLACEMENT AND CHANGE IF NEEDED.

I hope this helps you guys out on who to target as Sion/Champs as a whole on who to target in team fights.

TIPS:

-I cannot stress this enough, do not use your Ulti and run into a team fight AND SIT THERE AND MELEE. You are not AD Sion. You nuke, back off for two seconds, head back in and nuke again. Do not sit and melee.

-While in the lane phase, take command! Activate your shield, and WALK IN THAT BUSH. THEY WILL LEAVE.

-If youre gonna poke with your shield, use the above tip, then rush them when you have active control to detonate your shield. If they see it coming, theyll have a better chance of dodging it, and youll waste it. Use the brush to your advantage!

-Always see if you can clip enemy champs AND the creep wave with DC. Nothing is better than a 2 for 1 while only having to waste the mana for one spell.

-When ganking, hit the proper champ with your stun! If youre taking out the squishy, get the squishy! If youre ganking with others, help them achieve their goals! Disable anyone who could get in your teams way from that potential kill!

Team Fights:

Team fights are incredibly simple with Sion. By the time you get Deathfire Grasp , youll have a good amount of CDR. If you need more, grab Golem ( Which you should be doing throughout the game ) and get a Blue Bottle . This will give you ***more than enough CDR***, and your stun will be up every 5-6 seconds. Make sure you stun your party's target, or if there is a true team fight, DISABLE THE ONE MOST CAPABLE OF RAPING YOUR TEAM. This is up for your player intelligence. If there are more than one favorable target, stun the one who is the most deadly, or the most vulnerable. When you have more than one stunner, SPEAK WITH YOUR TEAM. Get a order in which to stun, so you have the most time for cycling CC. This will result in success in ALL team fights. Death's Caress should be used as many times as you can. Use this to get in the way and stop some damage, but not enough to break the shield. When you blow this, the enemy will feel it. The most ive ever had to cycle this in a team fight is about 3 times, and thats because more and more champs kept entering the scene.
Work with your team, and you will see success.


SaveTheServer says:
With your masteries set up the way they are, Deathfire Grasp's CDR, and Golem, youll have MORE than enough CDR. The cap is 40%. If you are already running these, do NOT purchase an Elixir Of Brilliance for the CDR. Purchase it for the AP. However, if you dont have Golem at the time, feel free to grab a Blue Bottle!

In other words, dont be a Derp. Zing!

All in All:

Sion is a great champ, and you may be a great player, but all games are won with Cooperation.
Talk with your team, discuss strategies, and keep insults to a minimal.
If you TRYHARD, you WINHARD.


Follow my guide to get the easy part out of the way.
Take Sion, play good, and maybe we can get him enough notice to get nerfed by Riot's ever hateful hand! ( Lets Hope Not )


If you play my build, please leave a comment below and leave some feedback!
If you give this a thumbs down, please explain as to why you did, and let me know what i can do to fix this!

If you feel ive left anything out, leave a lovely comment ill check back and fix it up!
I respond to nearly ALL feedback. Dont feel like youre being left out. Ill be back to check up on everyone!


-Chancellor

January 16, 2011:
I changed the Flat MP5 Seals to MP5 Per Level, i was told these top the Flat MP5s by level 4, so it seems like a logical change.

I also changed some smaller information around, such as incorrect spellings. In addition, I also added some more information. Early/Mid/Late game information, elaborated more on my masteries, and changed around my reasoning for Ignite, along with why i dont use the only other interesting summoner spells for Sion; Flash and Exhaust.


January 17, 2011:
I added in skill photos and item pictures to help out the more illiterate people.
Hopefully this will smooth line some of the more questionable statements where i use abbreviations.


January 23, 2011:
Went in and fixed MORE spelling errors, because apparently im appalling at my native tongue.

Added in the Optional Item sections, and added reasons as to when and why you should replace the core items in the build.


January 25, 2011:
Added in the Ward's section in the Items/Optional's chapter. Just implimenting a little bit of opinion.

Also, almost to 5k views, a small step for my first build!
But more importantly, this is now the second highest rated Sion Build on Mobafire, and the highest overall rated AP Sion build! Thanks so much for the views and positive ratings, and i hope we can all continue to collaborate together to make sure this build stays up to date for veteran/new Sion players everywhere to enjoy!


January 27, 2011:
Incredibly, ive exceeded my own expectations for this guide.
Almost reaching 10k views, this guide has made it into the Top 10 for this months builds!
Quite the honor.

More importantly, this has become the highest rated Sion build on the entire site of Mobafire! An incredible honor. Thank you so much to the views and the positive feedback!


January 29, 2011:
Added in the Mana Pool problem section after the Pros and Cons section. I know alot of people really feel that Sion has mana issues, so i added it in to explain the reasoning behind it, and the items i feel you shouldnt need to get just to even it out.

I also discuss why you shouldnt buy SHEEN/LICH BANE. Its explained in the mana pool section as well.


February 02, 2011:
Removed the addition of purchasing the Health Potion early game as Doran's Ring was increased in price. I still believe Doran's Ring to be the superior laning item early game for AP Sion. I inserted a note below the item description for everyone to see.

Also, added in the HUGE Priority Tier List section for a little bit of assistance in team fights as to how you should engage with Sion! Maybe you can even apply it to other champs!
Hope this added section helps everyone out a little bit.


February 03, 2011:
Came to the conclusion that im gonna keep Cannibalism in the skill rotation. It provides a small bit of Utility that really helps you out in taking Golem. For that reason, im keeping it in the regular Ultimate intervals. ( Level 6, 11, and 16)


February 09, 2011:
Changed the core build around.

Removed Mejai's Soulstealer and Haunting Guise from the core build, and added Rod Of Ages and Archangel's Staff in their places, accordingly. I hope this will solve alot of mana problems for players who felt it was a big AP Sion downfall.

I added Mejai and Haunting to the Optional Item Build section.

I also changed the Mana Pool section around, giving it a more positive feel. As well, i gave WIDPLB:WHY I DONT PURCHASE LICH BANE, its own section. Hopefully, more players will see this sections and actually read it.

Ill see how the reception goes to these changes and fix them however i need to.


February 13, 2011:
Highest Rated Sion Build: Highest Rating 91%

First Veteran Recommendation: Scrax :]

Build/Guide has now reached over 100k views, and rising fast.

Thanks so much for the positive feedback and continued assistance in making sure this is the best AP Sion build there can be!


February 16, 2011:
A list of changes:

-Changed the Utility tree in the masteries around. Took 4 points out of Awareness and put them into Greed and Quickness.

-Changed out the MP5 per level Seals and changed them to Flat MP5 ones. Made the change due to the changes to the MP5 nerf.

-Changed the Quints of Fortitude to Potency. Got nerfed the same as MP5 early game, so i made the change to the early game Flat AP. Really nice change actually.

-Im in love with Morello's Evil Tome. Once its updated into the database, it is MOST DEFINITELY going to be replacing Archangel's Staff. Its so amazing. AP, MP5, AND CDR in an entirely cheap package. Its awesome. Look for it in my build soon!


February 19, 2011:
Updated the guide for Morello's Evil Tome. Moved AAS to the Optional items build. MORELLO'S IS AWWSUM.

Thanks for all of the continued support guys!



February 21, 2011:
Elementz has declared that MET ( Morello's Evil Tome ) is bad. Shame on you Ele. AP, MP5 and CDR in such a cheap package is amazing. Especially on AP carry champs who struggle with long CD's and dont want to grab obnoxious support items. :|


Anywho, finally put Karma in this really low part of the priority tier list. I dont even feel like she exists. DOES anyone even play her? Oh well.

Moved Urgot up because hes such a annoying ****ing carry. He pushes lanes ******edly well and his Crab**** suit is pretty baller. Moved up.

Moakai moved on the waiting to be played list. I feel im gonna put him low due to his tankiness, his tough Ulti, and that snare. Just too tough to want to focus. But im gonna give him a bit for while a CERTAIN MAN WITH A CERTAIN TIER LIST WITH A CERTAIN BIASED OPINION puts him in tier 3 or 4 and makes Maokai lovers everywhere foam instantly and immediately facepalm/faceroll their keyboards in an Anti-Tier List movement.