Sion Build Guide by SanLourdes

PROS + Can soak up massive damage + Can provide pressure even after death + Great waveclear with his Q + High roaming and engage with R + High amounts of hard CC + Has infinite scaling + Rarely banned Sion has the ability to provide a dual threat once he scales. Enemies have to choose between taking time to kill you before they get to your other teammates, or they focus on your teammates first and risk getting caught in Sion's stuns. Even after he is killed, Sion is able to apply major pressure with Glory in Death.

CONS - Has very little mobility outside his R - Some matchups are a nightmare - Weak to damage based on max health - Q is easily disruptable by CC - Weak early game - High cooldowns on his W, E and R - Has mana problems in extended fights Although Sion has many strengths, he also has his fair share of weaknesses, mainly mobility. Sion can be easily kited when Unstoppable Onslaught is on cooldown. He has no engage outside of that ability and his only gap closer is the slow from his E. Since Sion is an HP stacking champion, maximum health damage hurts ALOT.

Glory In Death: After dying, Sion enters into a stasis before respawning at full health that decays rapidily, gaining 100% lifesteal, 75% attack speed, dealing damage based on the target's max health. He can activate Death Surge once for a short boost of movement speed.
Decimating Smash: Sion charges his axe over 2 seconds. If the channel is ended before 1 second, Sion will slow all units in range. If the channel is ended after 1 second, Sion will knock all units up. Depending on charging time, this ability deals varied damage and stun time. Can be disrupted by CC and put on reduced cooldown.
Soul Furnace: Passively, Sion gains bonus health for every unit killed. Actively, Sion builds up a shield based on bonus health and AP over 6 seconds. After 3 seconds, if the shield is unbroken, Sion can recast this ability to create a burst of damage around him.
Roar Of The Slayer: Sion lets out a roar that deals damage, slows a target champion and reduces their armor. If Sion hits a non-epic monster or minion, he will knock it back and slow, deal damage and reduce the armor of everything that it passes through.
Unstoppable Onslaught: Sion charges in the direction of the cursor for 8 seconds, rapidly gaining movement speed. If the ability hits a champion, Sion will stun them and deal damage based on how long the ability has been charged. If the ability ends, Sion will deal AOE damage. If Sion hits a wall, he will deal AOE damage and be stunned.

Overview

Sion is a really fun champion to play. He is very versatile and can deal loads of damage while also being a massive tank. He is fairly easy to pick up and his lore is pretty badass. The community for this champion is one of the best champion communities there is. Once you pick up playing Sion it will probably be very hard to put him down. This guide is aimed to help you have the best experience playing Sion so that you can enjoy the full experience of the champion. I hope it helps!

Disclaimer

Before you read this guide, I want to be transparent with the people reading and start by stating that I am a Bronze rank player. I cannot pretend to know everything about this champion inside and out or how to bring anyone from lower elo into higher elo. This guide is based entirely on my experience playing Sion and the experiences of other League players that are in higher elo as well. I'm making this guide because I really enjoy playing Sion and I wish to share the experience with other players. If you're looking for a guide made by someone of more credibility, the other Sion guides by Stinkee and Boptimus are also very well written. Thank you!

Spells

Teleport is a must if you plan to splitpush. You can get to lane almost instantly and increase your threat as a splitpusher tenfold. Flash is another mandatory spell. It is your best escape tool and can extend the range of your abilities.

Tank Runes

Grasp of the Undying is Sion's secret weapon. This rune hits like a freight train once you get a decent amount of stacks on it. It also increases Sions health permanently and heals him. The best thing is, this keystone deals damage and heals all based on max health, which Sion stacks very easily, making it hands down the best primary rune on Sion for dueling. Demolish is the next rune on this page. Sion can deal massive damage to towers because it deals damage based on maximum health to towers. Tower plates are valuable and if you have a good matchup, you can catch a few of those in the early game to help get your items faster. If splitpushing or taking towers isn't your main focus, Shield Bash is a great rune both for defense and offense. Conditioning is a scaling rune that provides great value on Sion after 12 minutes. Because we build armor and magic resist in the items, the extra percentage of resistances that you gain will highly reduce the damage that you receive from all sources. The last rune in the primary page is Overgrowth because Sion stacks health as a tank. Legend: Tenacity is another option and my preferred rune in the secondary tree (personally I can't stand playing against CC). Last Stand can really help rack up damage when you're fighting below low health, and has the most value than other runes available. For your bonuses take +10% attack speed, +9 adaptive force and +6 armor.

Starting Item

Corrupting Potion is your best starting item. No matter the matchup, this item is your best friend because of its mana regeneration. Sion has mana problems if he stays in a fight or in lane too long. The mana restoration from Corrupting Potion is very important to surviving the laning phase. The health you gain consuming this item is also very helpful because Sion has no sustain.

Mythic

Frostfire Gauntlet is the best mythic for health stacking. Frostfire Gauntlet is also relatively cheap at 2800 gold, so you will be able to build it very fast. The second reason why it is the best choice on Sion is because of its AOE slow. This slow can help you land your Q to stun, catch fleeing enemies when your passive is active and will help your teammates in teamfights to chase down enemies or slow them in general. In addition to those two great things about this mythic, your size will be increased by 6% for every legendary item you build. You will be HUGE after you build your items. Not only does this make your core abilities like your R and your Q easier to hit, but you will also be able to soak up more damage easier for your teammates. Sunfire Aegis is another viable mythic on Sion. The damage you get from this item can become insane in extended trades. It is a bit more expensive at 3200 gold, but if you prioritize damage over utility, this item is the better choice. The extra tenacity you receive from its mythic passive is also very useful. Sunfire Aegis is also the better choice for clearing waves of minions due to a better immolate passive. I recommend building Frostfire Gauntlet if you are up against teams that have high mobility, and Sunfire Aegis if there are many opportunities to engage in extended trades. In the case that you want to play Sion as a bruiser, Divine Sunderer is another mythic that fits well into Sion's kit because of the sustain it provides.

Boots

Your boot options are straightfoward. Take Plated Steelcaps when the enemy team has AD threats or AA reliant champions. Take Mercury's Treads if the enemy team has high AP threats or has high amounts of CC. If you decide to build Unflinching in the runes instead of Overgrowth, I highly recommend taking Plated Steelcaps because that 12% damage reduction from auto attacks is very powerful. Most champions that pose a major threat to Sion are auto-attack reliant.

Legendary Items & Elixir Options

Thornmail: This item is extremely important on Sion. Grievous Wounds are the best way to counter enemy healing in the game and will help your teammates in teamfights as well. The health bonus, damage and armor fit well into Sion's stats and playstyle. If you need early access to Grievous Wounds, building and sitting on Bramble Vest is a good idea.

Abyssal Mask: This item was recently buffed to where it gives an extra 100 health. This makes it a much more solid item on Sion. He has plenty of ways to proc its passive, and the magic resistance on this item is exceptional. This item really shines once you use your R to engage and your Q right afterward. It will deal 15% more damage and will hit like a truck. This item is also very cheap for the stats it gives.

Warmog's Armor: The ultimate health item. 800 health is huge, but the real value of this item comes from the insane regeneration out of combat. This allows you to engage for a quick trade, disengage, and heal back up to full health in a matter of seconds and make you ready for the next fight.

Gargoyle Stoneplate: This item provides significant resistances to your build. 60 magic resist and armor will reduce damage from both AD threats and AP threats. The shield from this item scales with your bonus health, meaning you can rack up over 3000 health shields over the course of the game. Gaining a new healthbar in battle certainly can turn the tide for you and your team. This item's passive is also very useful in teamfights as it will increase your bonus armor and magic resist by 25%, making you even more unkillable.

Frozen Heart: This item is best built against champions that are heavily reliant on auto-attacks to deal damage. It also recently got buffed to provide exceptional amounts of armor. The extra mana from this item is also a nice bonus that will help your mana problems in extended fights.

Spirit Visage: Choose this item if there is a lot of healing/shielding sources on your team, or if you prefer an extra 10 ability haste over damage. The shielding on your W, the shield from Gargoyle Stoneplate, the healing from Grasp of the Undying and the lifesteal you will get from Glory in Death will also be buffed with this item. Personally I still favor Spirit Visage over Abyssal Mask because of the increased shielding, but it is more of a preference than what might be more practical.

Titanic Hydra: This item is almost broken on Sion. His ability to stack up bonus health easily makes him the best user of this item in the game. The great thing about Titanic Hydra is that it scales its damage the longer the game goes. The more health you absorb, the more damage you will receive. Totally worth the 3300 gold.

Randuin's Omen: Great source of armor. The active is what makes this item useful because of the slow that you can use to stop fleeing enemies. Best used against champions that rely on crit to deal damage. If you can hit multiple enemies at once in teamfights, this item can be worth it.

Hullbreaker: So far in my current tests and games with Hullbreaker, it has been working exceptionally. Sion's splitpushing threat becomes significantly higher with the resistances you gain from it, and the damage and health stats fit well with his kit. Paired with Teleport, Demolish and Titanic Hydra, Sion can turn into a splitpushing monster that is difficult to stop.

Sterak's Gage: The perfect balance between defense and offense, this item fits best into the bruiser build for Sion. It provides a shield and extra damage as well as a mini ocean soul passive. The shield scales off of max health as well, making it very strong on Sion especially if you decide to build it along with Spirit Visage.

Anathema's Chains: Best used if the enemy team has one particular champion that is carrying. The 20% decrease of tenacity and 30% reduction of damage can really help you shut down the enemy carry. The extra health and ability haste make it a nice niche item and worth the price in certain situations.

Elixir of Iron: This is the only Elixir viable on Sion. This item actually provides great value for 500 gold. If you know the game won't last long enough, you can buy this item for an extra boost. This can be useful in fights that decide the outcome of the game, so its not totally a bad idea to buy it before you finish you next item in that circumstance. Spend any extra gold on this elixir.

Aggressive Splitpush Sion: 16,500 Gold
Choose this build if you have a good matchup and a good team composition.

Full Tank Sion: 16,300 Gold
When your team has enough damage but lacks in tankiness, going this route is a good idea. However, make sure that the enemy doesn't have tank shredding power or it will make you useless.

Bruiser Sion: 16,700 Gold
If you want to focus on teamfights and dueling, this build maximizes damage while keeping you tanky, and even includes some sustain from Divine Sunderer.

Defensive Splitpush Sion: 16,300 Gold
Build this if you're up against a bad matchup or your team needs splitpushing power ASAP. The difference between this build and the regular splitpushing build is that the regular build can give you good enough damage to where you don't need to prioritize Hullbreaker. This is only only true if you have a good laning phase though. If you don't have a good enough laning phase, it makes more sense to build Hullbreaker earlier. Anathema's Chains are great for targeted resistances against your bad matchup as well. Since you won't make much of a difference if behind, splitpushing is your best bet on helping your team catch up so Hullbreaker is rushed (not to mention it provides resistances). This build also saves the more expensive items for last to help you complete legendary items and catch up on gold.

Note: Gold costs do not include Elixirs.

Current Best Playstyle:
Splitpush Sion seems to currently be the best way to play Sion with the introduction of Hullbreaker.

Current Best Drake Souls/Stats:
1. Mountain Drake
2. Ocean Drake
3. Infernal Drake
4. Cloud Drake

Current Best Bans:
1. Gwen
2. Darius
3. Sett
4. Mordekaiser
5. Cho'Gath

Best Ability Combos:
Short Trade Combo: E, W, Q, AA, W2
Extended Trade Combo: R, W, Q, AA, E, AA, W2

Dirty Tips:
1. Using your E to slow the enemy before charging your Q almost guarantees a hit.
2. Don't forget to auto-attack between abilities.
3. Constantly proc Grasp of the Undying in lane.
4. Use your ultimate to get back to lane and surprise the enemy laner. If you can stun them while they are under tower, you can easily follow up with an extended combo to deal tons of damage safely.
5. Use your ultimate to engage in teamfights and peel for your team.
6. Try to gain early plates using Demolish during the early game.
7. If you are far into the enemy lane, place a ward to easily TP back to if you die or need to leave after splitpushing.
8. Use minions to proc lifesteal in your passive to keep you alive longer.
9. Your passive can deal tons of damage to towers.
10. Communicate with your teammates on how to set up a good ultimate/engage.
11. You can use your ult as an escape.
12. Destroyed towers still stop your ult.
13. A mythic with an immolate passive can easily draw tower aggro, be careful when diving.

Best Skins?
Lumberjack Sion : Simple yet fun if you enjoy Sion's classic ability effects and sound effects.
Worldbreaker Sion : Beautiful skin and the best choice for sound design. In my opinion it has the best ult sound effect.
Blackfrost Sion : Overall great skin with smooth animations, good colors, sound effects and a fitting theme.

Join the Dirty Sion Mains Discord Community!

Thank you for reading!