Hey all. I'm Barennoso and welcome to my first guide. This was a ton of work and I do look forward to making more in the future, so any and all feedback is truly appreciated. This is a very text heavy guide and somewhat lengthy, so feel free to skip parts you already know and please, don't just down vote for the length. Now. To answer any questions you may have, yes. This is an AP carry Sona guide. I began to play her as a joke before realizing that she had actual potential as a caster rather than just a support in bottom lane. I should also take this opportunity to mention that this build is in no way designed for ranked play. It is simply designed to exploit certain aspects of the champion in question. So with that out of the way, let's dive right in.
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• 8/1/2013
  + Changed runes
  + Added Rylai's Crystal Scepter as an optional item
  + Added Barrier as optional Summoner Spell
  + Removed Purchase order image from Items chapter
  + Changed guide skin

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Sona has some of the best lane harass in the game, and her ability power scaling on her abilities aren't to bad either. She is known as one of the better supports in game for the low cool-down on her heal, her passive auras and game changing ultimate ability, (R) Crescendo. Though most who play her play like most other supports; burning much of their gold buying standard support items such as sight ward/ Vision Ward, Aegis of the Legion, or Sightstone. Very often, purchasing ability power items while supporting will upset or annoy your lane partner or even your whole team. That's why I'm keeping this guide specific to twisted treeline, where it's expected that you play to you champion's strengths. Supports are not very often picked unless they are good mid laners as well, such as Nidalee or Lux. This is a very good way to catch your enemies off guard, often forcing them to adjust their builds to counter you, and in turn, reducing their damage output or field presence all together.
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PROS High burst damage Great self and team sustain Game changing field presence Ranged champion A whole array of dangerous passives and buffs Spammable spells With Sona's range, you'll find that harassing the enemy during any phase of the game will be incredibly easy. Not to mention, using your spells in succession will be no problem with her naturally low cool down, allowing you to stock er passive every ten seconds or so. Her heal has an acceptably low cool down, meaning your team will not have to recall as often. She is also armed with an arsenal of passives at her disposal, which she can choose to use to make that life saving or even game changing play. Her (E) Song of Celerity will also come in handy to help yourself or a teammate secure a kill, or use it to run away and prevent the enemy team securing their own. Keep this in mind during team fights to keep constant pressure on enemies that flash away, dash away or speed themselves up to escape your team.

CONS Very squishy Forced .5 second cool down between spells Loses much of her damage when (Q) Hymn of Valor is on cool down Deceptively short range on ultimate Very little escape Sona's naturally low health and defenses leave her in constant peril. Unless you can get a few moments to heal yourself, (and your allies as well) you'll find yourself having to stay a great distance away from your opponents, meaning you get less poke damage in and maybe even less farm. It should also be noted that her Q casts on the two nearest enemies, leaving you at the mercy of it's prioritization. While her ult is one of the best in game, (arguable), you may find it's cast is not instant. The wave must travel to it's max range, unlike Lux's Final Spark and more like Caitlynn's Ace in the Hole. (Granted the range of Sona's ult is nowhere near the range of the two mentioned) That being said, note that aiming at an enemy that is near max range may still leave them a chance to "out run" your ultimate.

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To look more in depth on the masteries I've selected; each is picked mainly to increase Sona's overall damage output and, (to a lesser degree), her sustain. We max each mastery that ups her ability power in the Offensive skill tree, taking Fury to allow her to kite a it easier and making sure to grab Spellsword . Wanderer is also a necessity to help make your way from spawn to lane or from any point on the map to join a fight just a bit quicker than usual. We will also be taking Summoner's Resolve to make up for Sona's low health and give her a total of +90 health at level 18. Not a ton, but every bit counts. That leaves three points to do anything you wish with. I suggest putting them in Meditation , Sona is usually spamming her abilities and any mana regeneration is a welcome change of pace.
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We take these runes to make up Sona's naturally low defenses. While many champs share the same magic resist as Sona, she has some of the lowest base health in game and the MR runes will help to keep her alive. The AP quints give you a healthy boost during the early phase of the game while the magic pen runes help to further shred any magic resistance your opponents may buy to counter the magic penetration in your build.
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Barrier should be taken if you tend to focus more on sustaining yourself during a team fight. It provides the benefits of a generous health boost without temporarily debuffing the health you gain from Aria of Perseverance. . . . .

Even if we are using a damage based build, Sona is still a support. Taking heal will guarantee your teamfight presence and keep yourself or your teammates alive in a sticky situation when (W) Aria of Perseverance happens to be on cool down. . . .

Taking flash will give Sona the escape tactic that she desperately needs. If you find yourself caught off guard checking a bush or corner, flash will help you to make that instant getaway. It works great when paired with your ultimate, (R) Crescendo. By casting it on your opponents and flashing away in the opposite direction, you can almost guarantee an escape.

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NOTE 2* If you want to focus on being purely headstrong offensive, take Ignite and Exhaust. Both of these will help you and your team to secure kills, though the short range necessary to cast these spells will force Sona out of her comfort zone and are considered a last resort.
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There is a lot of information to take in about each of Sona's abilities. I'll go over each of them here in detail then wrapping them up in a quick summary. If you are already aware of what Sona's abilities do, than I suggest going onto the next part, as this just review.
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NOTE 3*Sona is one of only two champions that uses "stances", or persisting auras based on the last spell she cast. The other being Udyr.
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Power Chord
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(Innate): After casting 3 spells, Sona's next attack deals an extra
13 / 20 / 27 / 35 / 43 / 52 / 62 / 72 / 82 / 92 / 102 / 112 / 122 / 132 / 147 / 162 / 177 / 192
magic damage in addition to a bonus effect depending on which ability was cast last.
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Additionally, Sona's Auras persist for 1 second after deactivating and set off a 0.5 second global cool down.
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What this means is that casting spells grants Sona's auto attacks extra damage. This damage increases with each level meaning that Sona can only get stronger as she levels up. But do be weary. As I've said before and as it's restated hear; casting spells forces a short cool down on your other spells, so don't just mash your keyboard when strolling into a team fight.
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(Q) Hymn of Valor
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(Stance) – Persistent Aura: Sona plays the Hymn of Valor, granting nearby allied champions bonus attack damage and ability power while the aura remains active.
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- Aura Diameter: 2000
- Attack Damage & Ability Power: 4 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 20
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(Active): Sona fires bolts of sound, dealing magic damage to the nearest two enemies (prioritizes champions).
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- Cooldown: 7 seconds
- Targeting Diameter: 1400
- Cost: 45 / 50 / 55 / 60 / 65 mana
- Magic Damage: 50 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 (+0.7 per ability power)
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(Power Chord) – Staccato: Deals double Power Chord damage.
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In short, this ability will target the two nearest enemies and deal a burst of damage. While the stance is active, it will boost the ad and ap of yourself and nearby allies. If this is the last spell cast before activating your passive, Power Chord will deal double damage.
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(W) Aria of Perseverance
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(Stance) – Persistent Aura: Sona plays the Aria of Perseverance, increasing nearby allied champions' Armor and Magic Resist while the aura remains active.
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- Aura Diameter: 2000
- Armor & Magic Resist: 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
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(Active): Sona sends out healing melodies, healing Sona and the most wounded nearby allied champion and inspiring them to receive additional Armor and Magic Resist for 3 seconds.
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- Cool down: 7 seconds
- Targeting Diameter: 2000
- Cost: 60 / 65 / 70 / 75 / 80 mana
- Heal: 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 (+0.25 per ability power)
- Bonus Armor & Magic Resist: 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10
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(Power Chord) – Diminuendo: Reduces the target's total damage output by 20% for 3 seconds.
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In short, this ability heals the nearest ally with the most damage and grants bonus armor and magic resistance for a brief time. It does not have to be aimed. Its Power Chord will reduce damage done by the target hit for a short time.
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(E) Song of Celerity
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(Stance) – Persistent Aura: Sona plays the Song of Celerity, granting nearby allied champions bonus movement speed while the aura remains active.
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- Aura Diameter: 2000
- Movement Speed: 4 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 20
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(Active): Sona energizes nearby allies, granting them increased movement speed for 1.5 seconds.
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- Cost: 65 mana
- Cooldown: 7 seconds
- Targeting Diameter: 2000
- Bonus Movement Speed: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 14 %
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(Power Chord) – Tempo: Slows the target by 40% for 2 seconds.

In short, this ability will speed up all nearby allies. It's Power Chord will slow the enemy hit for a short time.
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(R) Crescendo
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(Active): Sona plays her ultimate chord, forcing enemy champions in a line in front of her to dance for 1.5 seconds and take magic damage upon impact.
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- Range: 1000
- Cost: 100 / 150 / 200 mana
- Cooldown: 140 / 120 / 100 seconds
- Magic Damage: 150 / 250 / 350 (+0.8 per ability power)
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In short, this ability does damage to enemies in an area and stuns them for a short time. It does not trigger any Power Chord bonus.

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Now that the details of each of Sona's abilities and their effects are fresh in your memory; I'll go over each final item as they come up in the build order. I'll cover what stats they give, why we put them on Sona and what good they'll do for her in the long run.
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Stats . - +80 ability power - +250 mana - +5% movement speed - Unique Passive – Spellblade: After using an ability, your next basic attack deals bonus magic damage equal to 50 + 75% of your ability power. 2 second cooldown. . - Item cost: 3000g . Why this item? As any one of us who have had to play against a Fizz mid lane, we all know that devastating power that Lich Bane brings to the field. But why put this on Sona? Simple. By the end of the build, you will have massive amounts of ap to apply to the bonus damage from Lich Bane. Not to mention, your Aura from Hymn of Valor applies to yourself, too. Giving you an extra bit of damage if that was the last spell cast. Even without applying the ap bonuses from runes, masteries, alters or Archangel's Staff's passive; your Lich Bane will be doing 342 damage on it's own. Stacking this with Sona's Hymn of Valor Power Chord, (which doubles her Power Chord's damage and grants 20 extra ap and ad) and you'll be nuking for a grand total of 741 magic damage and 121 basic damage with one auto attack! And remember, that's without including Archangel's Passive or alters to boost your ap.

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Stats . - +15 magic penration - Unique Passive – Enhanced Movement: +45 movement speed. - Item cost 1100g . Why this item? We get this item in the build for much of the same reason as any other mage gets it; to cut through the opponent's magic resistance and maximize the damage output from Sona's magic damage. The movement speed buff is just a given necessity of course, which is great consiering the 5% movent speed buff from Lich Bane and the flat (+20) and percent (14%) movement speed buffs from Song of Celerity, allowing a brief movement speed buff up to 446 movement speed!

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Stats for Blackfire Torch . - +80 ability power - +250 health - Unique Passive: +20% cooldown reduction - Unique Passive - Eyes of Pain: +15 magic penetration - Unique Passive: Your spells burn for an additional 3.5% of the target champion's maximum health in magic damage over 2 seconds. Each second burned consumes a charge. Up to 18 charges are generated when not in use. - Item cost 3770g . Why this item? In grabbing Blackfire Torch, we grant ourselves a bit of health and CDR. But to me, the main focus of this item is the extra magic penetration we add to our build. The passive of this item can come in handy, acting like a less powerful version of ignite. however, this items passive can really only be exploited by champions with constant damage. Such as Cassiopeia's Miasma or Malzahar's Null Zone. With Sona's only two damage causing abilities being Hymn of Valor and Crescendo, you'll only get a few seconds of burn from the passive, which may not be a lot, but it may secure a kill on an opponent that escapes with very low health.

Stats for Rylai's Crystal Scepter . - +80 ability power - +500 health - Unique Passive: Dealing spell damage slows the target's movement speed by 35% for 1.5 seconds (15% for multi-target and damage-over-time spells). - Item cost: 2900g . Why this item? This item grants you the same ability power as Blackfire Torch, but at the cost of the increased magic penetration, damage over time passive and cool down reduction. It makes up for this with an increased health bonus, much lower cost and having a slowing passive from your spell damage. Considering that your Hymn of Valor can be activated while moving without having to stop, this is a great kiting tool and can help you escape death or secure a kill. While the loss of magic penetration may be noticeable, the increase in survivablity will be worth it.

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Stats . - +70 ability power - Unique Passive: Magic damage ignores 35% of the target's Magic Resist (applies before magic penetration) - Item cost 2295g . Why this item? Again, the main reason behind this choice in item is to grant ourselves even more magic penetration for truly devastating magic damage. Or, if your opponent has stacked magic resistance, you'll be able to cut through a great deal of it to keep your damage relatively high.

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Stats . - +250 mana - +60 ability power - +10 mana regen per 5 seconds - Unique Passive – Insight: Gain ability power equal to 3% of your maximum mana. - Unique Passive – Mana Charge: Grants +8 maximum Mana (max +750 Mana) for each spell cast and Mana expenditure (occurs up to 2 times every 8 seconds). - Item cost: 2700g . Transforms into Seraph's Embrace at +750 mana. (listed below) . Seraph's Embrace Stats . - +1000 mana - +60 ability power - +10 mana regen per 5 seconds - Unique Passive - Insight: Gain ability power equal to 3% of your maximum mana. - Unique Active - Mana Shield: Drains 20% of your current mana to shield yourself for an equal amount plus 150 for 3 seconds (120 second cooldown). . Why this item? This item is crucial for sustaining Sona's mana. Since she is usually spamming her abilities, it would be no problem to fully stack your Tear of the Goddess or Archangel's Staff at any point of the game. It's passive, Insight will also proc off of the mana gained from your Lich Bane and is another great way to grant yourself a good amount of extra ap during the late game. It's other passive, Mana Shield, will help when taking large bursts of damage or when near death. I recommend using it either while initiating or fleeing. If used while initiating, it will allow you to absorb much of the early high burst damage, saving your actual health and teammates the trouble. If used while fleeing, it can easily save your life when an incoming barrage of auto attacks threaten your life bar. Keep in mind that it will shield you more if you have more mana reserved. Meaning that if you've spammed a lot of your abilities already and only have 200 mana left, you will only be granted a shield worth 190. If you activate it while at full mana, (2352 mana) you will be granted a shield worth 615, but at the cost of more mana. . . NOTE 4* Seraph's Embrace Also grants ap equal to 3% of your maximum mana. (stated above) At the end of this build, this item will grant 130 ability power on it's own! .

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Stats . - +100 ability power - +40 Armor - Passive Unique: +25% ability power - Active Unique: Places your champion into stasis for 2.5 seconds, rendering you invulnerable and untargetable but unable to take any actions. 90 second cool down. - Item cost: 3500g . Why this item? This item is very situational. It's passive grants you a healthy chunk of extra ability power late game and it's armor bonus allows you a bit of late game survivability when enemy carries or bruisers are stacking damage. Remember. Even though you are carrying, YOU ARE STILL A SUPPORT. Timing this item's active when initiating a team fight is very crucial to yourself and your team. While enemies are focusing their abilities on you, you can activate it to prevent yourself prom taking this damage. This will also allow your allies to begin attacking without having to take the initial bursts of heavy damage. Using it in conjunction with your ultimate, Crescendo just after coming out of the invulnerable state will allow you to avoid damage for a few seconds longer and grant even more free damage to your allies and yourself, almost insuring a kill or a last minute escape for your team, should you be losing the fight. As a given, the items active can be used to buy your team time to assist you when you are low health and being chased down lane or targeted by enemies. It is also a great counter to abilities like Nidalee's Javelin Toss, allowing you to avoid taking heavy damage if you are unable to run away. *CAUTION* Using this item's active will cause projectiles to go through you. Take caution that you do not put your teammates in harm's way to avoid damage yourself.

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During the earliest phase of your 3v3 game, Sona should try your best to farm from a distance. Your low health and defense make you a very easy kill early on in the game. I recommend that unless your team organizes an early team gank, do not pass these areas without your team to help defend you until you've reached level six.
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NOTE 3* Don't forget to cast Hymn of Valor twice while still in the fountain to allow yourself only one more cast until Power Chord is ready, giving you a devastating first combo.
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As long as all of your lane opponents are in vision, use the range on your auto attacks and Hymn of Valor to harass your opponents. As you level up, make sure you make rounds between top and bottom lane to heal your teammates every now and then, forcing your opponents to recall in order to keep up with your sustain.
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During the late game, focus your attacks and passives on prime targets, such as carries or casters with little defense, but high damage. Speaking of her passives, let's go over them again and review the best situations to use each one.
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Staccoto will deal double your Power Chord damage. It should be used mainly when you want to cause a lot of damage in a very short burst. It stacks well when combined with your Lich Bane and Spellsword mastery.

Diminuendo will reduce the targeted enemies damage output by 25% for 3 seconds. I find that it is most usefull to use against hyper carries with a great amount of attack speed, such as Vayne or Caitlyn. Timing it just right could save a teammates life, and you find that healing your teammate to charge this passive adds to their chances of survival.

Tempo will slow the target enemy by 40% for two seconds. This is a power gap closer or kiting tool as the huge drop in movement speed for the enemy and sudden burst in speed for your nearby allies will allow for a great amount of secured kills and prevented deaths.

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We will start with different uses for Hymn of Valor
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And now we move onto Aria of Perseverance
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Now Song of Celerity
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And finally Crescendo
. This is a great example of where to use this combo. These lanes are vital chase points on twisted treeline and allow you to save a teammate or use them as bait to quickly burst down an enemy. Use this the plan out where else you can apply this combo on the map.

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