Avoid picking Sion into Darius. This has been one of Sion's hardest matchups since the rework. It's not impossible to win this matchup though. Try to freeze your lane and look for when he tries to pull you and dodge it. You can win short trades with the help of your W but watch out for his all-in.
Take Grasp of the Undying or Glacial Augment and put 3 points in W first then max Q. 3 points in W is great here because it gives you enough shield to win short trades and burst him with the shield damage.
Sion's shield can be his highest damage ability, don't be afraid to use it offensively in many cases. Rush armor and health and ask for ganks. Darius is easy to gank because he has no mobility outside of summoner spells and you should be freezing your lane.
Be careful to not let Darius land everything on you and your jungler and win the 1v2.
Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser is very strong against Sion. Mordekaiser will essentially win every trade and rush Liandry's to shred your giant health pool.
Try to freeze and ask for jungle ganks, watch out for when he hits 6 though as he will turn the 1v2 into a 1v1. Get some early magic resist and health, if you survive the laning phase you will be able to make a large impact on the map.
You can dodge his ult if you press R at the exact time he uses it. You CANNOT ult outside of his ult though.
Yorick
If you ever get caught in Yorick's cage you will either take a lot of damage or die.
Yorick hard counters champions that do not have dashes. He will generally try to use his cage after his E. If he misses his cage and his E you can look to take a short trade but watch out for his ghouls, their damage adds up fast.
You can use your E on his ult to throw it far away. Buy armor and health and max Q or W.
Olaf
Olaf is an insane early game champion. He will constantly throw axes at you and try to all in you at level 2-3.
Once he is level 6 it gets even worse when he ults and is immune to all of your CC making you near useless.
If you can survive laning phase you will scale better. Take Grasp and get armor and health items and max Q or W.
Trundle
Trundle is the ultimate tank counter. His ultimate will steal all of your tank stats turning you into a squishy champion and him into a super tank. He has a lot of sustain in the laning phase and will steal your AD with his Q.
He can interrupt both your ult and your Q with his pillar (your Q will be put on a 2 second cooldown).
Fortunately Trundle is not very good or popular top lane right now but if you get matched against him play safe and ask for ganks. Max Q or W and rush health and armor items. If he ults you, run, you have no chance of beating him during him ult.
Aatrox
Aatrox is one of those matchups that is heavily reliant on skill and how strong Aatrox is in the meta. His passive is really strong against you (doing max health bonus damage on his first auto attack). His Q can be really annoying and his W is hard to avoid as Sion because you have very little mobility. To avoid his W, try to stand behind minions, it is hard to dodge if you are out in the open (similar to something like Illaoi E). Aatrox is a very cooldown dependent champion and from my experience, most Aatrox players spam their abilities on cooldown pretty much. You can use this to your advantage by waiting for him to use his Q and W, then fight him. If the Aatrox is good though, he will probably manage his cooldowns better, giving you fewer options. If he is able to cancel your Q, it's not a huge deal because your Q goes to a 2-second cooldown when interrupted and most people do not know that. As with any matchup that has a lot of healing in lane, you are going to want to rush Bramble Vest to reduce his healing then later upgrade into Thornmail (2nd or 3rd item).
Renekton
Renekton is a tough matchup for tanks. His empowered W (if his bar is red) will destroy shields then apply the damage and stun.
This is rough for Sion as the shield is so crucial for trades. The best thing to do against him now is to always have an eye on his fury bar and get a feel for when he wants to engage on you.
If you think he is going to all-in then save your shield till after he uses his empowered W.
Garen
The recent rework to Garen makes it easier for him to apply Conqueror stacks. He should be stronger against tanks making this matchup even worse. He now has more tools to beat you, the only benefit for Sion is Garen will not be rewarded as much for buying Black Cleaver with the rework.
Jax
Jax is not a problem in laning phase. You can cancel his dash with your Q stun. You can win most short trades but he will look to all-in you. He will win any all-in 1v1. He is going to be a threat late game if gets fed in lane. Do whatever you can to stop or avoid his snowball. He will shred you later on and near oneshot your ADCs. If he does get fed, look for when he tries to jump on your ADC and peel for him.
Neeko
Neeko is rarely seen toplane but when she is picked top she is very annoying. Her snare seems to last forever and it's very hard to dodge cause it's fast and goes through minions. You can tank most of her damage however. You will likely be more useful mid game when you group with your team. If she builds the AD on-hit build you should build items like Plated Steelcaps and Bramblevest, otherwise build magic resist items. The AD on-hit build is much less popular now though so you shouldn't have to worry about it.
Akali
Akali is an annoying matchup. She is very mobile and has her shroud which makes it very hard to fight back. Fortunately she is very squishy so if you ever land a Q on her you will win a trade. You can max W if you think she is going to oneshot you. She can use her E to follow your ult if you decide to try to run away with it. Just look for her to make mistakes and capitalize off it.
Yasuo
Yasuo top lane is pretty rare. While he is annoying by dashing all over the place, he is pretty weak early. His Windwall blocks your E but it will not block a minion that you throw at him. Most Yasuo's will play very aggressive making them susceptible to ganks. He is almost definitely going to push you under tower. Take advantage of this and create a freeze by leaving 3 or 4 enemy caster minions just in front of your tower but not under tower. He will have to walk all the way up to CS and he won't be able to dash away. This will make him very vulnerable to ganks. Watch out for late game Yasuo. No matter how bad he plays early game he will shred you later on in the game. Don't fight him 1v1 once he gets 100% crit. Late game you want to get a Randuin's Omen to counter his crit damage.
Irelia
Most Irelia players are not good enough to pull her off to her full potential. A very good Irelia can easily destroy you in lane but this is very rare in low-mid elos. She is going to be annoying, dashing all over the place and healing. If she misses her E or R you should win the fight. If her W is up she will use it to tank your Q, if you see her standing still with W while your Q is channeling charge it all the way. She will be cc'd for a while which will let you win the trade even though she blocked most of your Q damage. The best way to deal with an Irelia is to freeze the wave under your tower, this way she will be unable to CS or Q your minions without walking far up and being vulnerable to ganks, she will not be able to dash to any minions to escape because they are in front of her. A simple trick that can work against many Irelia players is to pay attention to the health of your minions, she is going to try to dash to the low health minions. You can charge your Q on your own low health minions forcing her to either get the minon(s) but get hit by your Q or she will miss the minion(s). I would recommend taking Grasp or Glacial Augment against Irelia and rushing Bramble Vest and Plated Steelcaps.
Nasus
Because you are a tank, Nasus is basically going to ignore you in lane and stack Q. Most Nasus players will get greedy for minions, use this to your advantage. Charge your Q near a minion you know he is trying to stack on. The best way to deal with Nasus is to freeze the wave under your tower and force him to walk all the way up to CS. If you freeze under tower your jungler will probably come gank and you can kill him. You can take any keystone against Nasus but I would recommend Grasp. Think about rushing a healing reduction item such as Bramble Vest then build Plated Steelcaps and a mythic item.
Maokai
Maokai is a very unpopular top laner right now so you will not see him often. He will beat you in mostly every way. His Q will cancel your Q, he can W to dodge your Q or E, his saplings do percent health, his passive gives him a ton of sustain. It is very difficult to come out of this lane with a lead. He will rarely have enough damage to kill you ever though without a gank. Just look to farm. Rush Abyssal Mask here.
Tryndamere
You need to be very careful in this matchup, especially early game. He's going to try to auto attack you then E away very often, even under your tower. Most Tryndamere players will E behind you while you channel your Q so you may need to let go of your Q earlier than normal if you notice him doing that. If you time it right you can cancel his spin/dash with your Q as long as you channeled for at least 1 second. You can't really beat him in a 1v1 but if your jungler comes you can likely kill him. If you are ever low-mid health under tower you have to be very cautious of tower dives. His ult gives him 5 seconds of invulnerability, which is plenty to dive you and kill you. If you are vulnerable under tower, you have to save your abilities for when he dives you. If he's bad he will use his dash right away, allowing you to just CC him under your tower. You can walk around your tower to try and evade his auto attacks and stall out his ult but if his E is up he'll dash through. If you really have to, you can ult away from him when he tries to dive, but I think it's better in most situations to ult him instead to CC him and setup your Q. Just make sure his E is not up before you use your abilities or it will be a waste.
Urgot
Urgot is pretty strong against tanks. His trades early game (if he knows what he's doing), are very strong. If he E's towards you just try to get away and wait out his W, if his Q ever lands on your don't stand near him or his W will fire at you. A good way to counter him is to plan ahead and charge your Q in time to cancel his E dash, this can shutdown his combo pretty hard as Urgot usually plans his whole combo around his E, especially his ult. Urgot has very low mobility, so he is very vulnerable to ganks. Freezing is always a good strategy against low mobility opponents as it forces them to walk all the way up to your tower to CS.
Vladimir
He's going to spam Q's on you nonstop. When he gets his empowered Q, run away. Try not to ult him or use your Q on him until he uses his pool. You can slow him with your E right before he pools to slow his pool down. Rush Abyssal Mask, once you get it, the matchup will become much easier. Vladimir is very vulnerable to ganks so freezing is a good way to setup ganks for your jungler.
Sett
Another annoying bruiser that is strong against tanks. You have to play around his W to win this matchup. His W is a very long cooldown and if he doesn't use it correctly he can easily die. Don't charge your Q right in front of him or he'll just E you and cancel it. Try not to take extended trades against him as he will usually win unless you play it well. You should just try to play safe in lane and wait for ganks if possible. Freezing against Sett is a really good idea, making him walk all the way up to farm and enabling jungle ganks. He's very easy to hit with your ult so you can setup ganks pretty well, just make sure to try and land your E first before you ult him. Also when your jungler comes you still have to be careful as Sett definitely has 1v2 outplay potential. Just try not to stand right next to your jungler so he can't AOE you both.
Tahm Kench
Tahm has been a threat in the top lane a few times but currently he is not great and easy to deal with. He is extremely susceptible to ganks. Freeze under your tower, let him push up and ask for a gank. He will be very easy to kill with your jungler. He does mostly magic damage so you can consider buying Mercury Treads and other magic resist items.
Camille
This can be a hard matchup depending on how good the Camille is. You do mixed damage as Sion so you are pretty good against her passive. Try to predict her E and land your E and/or Q where you think she is going to go. You can stop her E midway through with your Q. She is very weak when her E is down. Watch out for her ult, you CANNOT ult out of her ult.
Riven
Most Riven matchups are very easy but some good Riven players may outplay you. Riven only does one type of damage so she's very easy to itemize against. Get a Frozen Heart and Ninja Tabi and she won't be able to do much against you. If you are having a hard time against a good Riven you can max W first. Don't use your Q unless you are hidden or she has used all of her dashes. Keep track of when she uses her dashes and look to fight her while they are on cooldown.
Cho'Gath
Cho'gath is a little annoying and is a fairly difficult matchup for Sion. Bait his W and Q then use your E and Q while popping your W. If he misses his W and/or Q you should win the trade. Never use your Q right in front of him or he will cancel with his W or Q. Rush magic resist, any rune page or ability max will work here.
Dr. Mundo
Mundo is annoying and seems impossible to kill at times. He has way more sustain than you and has no mana costs. His Q does percent health as well. While he is annoying, he isn't impossible difficult to deal with. He will likely push to your tower non-stop. Use this to your advantage by freezing under your tower and waiting for a gank. He will be very easy to kill in a gank if he does not have R. If you plan on setting up a gank, try to break his passive a bit before so he won't have it for the gank. His passive is a long cooldown. It would be a good idea to rush Bramble Vest or Executioner's to reduce his healing.
Illaoi
This is a skill matchup that can slightly favor Illaoi. The key to winning this matchup is to dodge the E and if she does land it you need to fight her to stop her from attacking your spirit. Stand behind the spirit and aim your Q infront of it so if she tries to attack it she gets knocked up. When she gets her ult she can be a serious threat, if she does ult, try to wait to fight her until her ult is over. If your jungler comes when she's 6 she could easily 1v2 if you and your jungler are stacked ontop of each other and get hit by her E. Rush Bramble Vest to reduce her healing then later upgrade into Thornmail.
Fiora
Fiora is a champion that on paper should hard counter Sion. She does percent health true damage. While she will definitely counter you pretty hard lategame, you should have the edge in the laning phase. One trick that works 90% of the time against Fiora is to fully charge your Q. Basically, if you let go of your Q too early, she will Riposte it and stun you instead but if you hold it down and don't flinch she will almost always use her Riposte a little too early and get hit by the full chargeup of your Q. Once she realizes what's happening you will have to adapt and kind of play mind games with her on how long you channel your Q. At level 6 you really need to watch out, don't push up too far or she'll ult you and run you down. Also, try not to use your ult against her unless her Riposte is on cooldown unless to setup a gank. For items, Bramble Vest and Plated Steelcaps are Fiora's worst nightmare, they counter her incredibly hard. If they have a lot of auto attack focused champions you could also think about getting a Randuin's or Frozen Heart later as it works well against Fiora and other heavy auto attack champions.
Gragas
You won't run into lane Gragas very often, but if you do it's a pretty even matchup, maybe slightly favoring Gragas. If you charge your Q in front of him he'll easily just E into you and do his combo. Try to stand behind your minons when you Q so he can't just stun you every time. You can also cancel his dash your your Q (as long as you charged for at least 1 second). He is going to out sustain you in lain due to his passive so keep that in mind. This will end up being a boring matchup with neither dying unless jungle interferes.
Ekko
Sion does pretty well against assassins like Ekko. While he is annoying to deal with, he will very rarely do enough damage to be able to kill you. He is also a melee champion so after you does his combo you can fight back and usually win the trade. His ult can be a little annoying to deal with but you also have an opportunity to predict his ult and outplay him.
Jayce
A good Jayce is hard to deal with as Sion but most Jayce players are not good enough to abuse you. In most situations you can just slow him with your E and Q him when he tries to go up and poke you. If he jumps on you with hammer form he will try to cancel your Q with he hammer form E. This is fine as it puts your Q on a 2 second cooldown and if you can catch up to him you should be able to win the trade.
Karma
Karma is rarely good as a laner but when she is, she can be pretty stressful to play against. She will try to stand at max range with her W on you and poke you down. There's not a whole lot you can do in this matchup other than farm and wait for ganks. She likely won't be able to solo kill you so as long as you recall at good times you should be completely fine and scale well into the late game.
Galio
Galio has a couple ways to cancel your Q. You can win this matchup by just waiting for him to use his E and his W then using your E to slow him into your Q. His magic damage shield is a bit annoying cause your E and W do magic damage but your Q still does high physical damage so it's not a huge deal. He will look to roam with his ult pretty often when he's level 6, you should look to follow with your ult if you can, if not just push the minions to his tower and either recall or do good damage to his tower.
Jarvan IV
Jarvan is pretty decent against tanks. His passive auto attack is quite strong against Sion and his E->Q combo will easily cancel your Q. His ult can also easily stop your ult. To win this matchup you just need to wait for him to make a mistake. If he E->Q's on you and misses or doesn't cancel your Q then he has no way of escaping and will be very vulnerable. A small tip, although maybe not practical is that if you are ulting and Jarvan wall is right infront of you, cancel your ult. If you timed it right you will jump over his wall which can be useful if trying to escape or chase him.
Kennen
Kennen has good poke and a good stun. Be aware of the stacks of lightning on you, that's how you'll know if he's going to stun you. Just try to use your Q outside of his stun window. Use your E before or during his E to slow him down a good amount. If you're ever in danger and in his ult you can easily just ult away from him and get to safety.
Kled
If the Kled is good you might have a hard time but overall, this matchup isn't bad. Just try to poke him down as much as possible to dismount him. When he's dismounted, try to time your Q when he Q's so you can cancel his small dash and kill him. While he's dismounted his will be very easy to ult as he only has like 275 movespeed, just make sure he doesn't have his Q ready or he might be able to dodge.
Malphite
Malphite does pretty good poke damage and will try to stop you from farming and basically just annoy you by spamming Q's on you. Malphite runs out of mana very fast though so you should be able to stay in lane longer than him. Abyssal Mask is a good purchase if the enemy jungler in not a big AD threat. Malphite shouldn't be able to ever kill you unless you make a big mistake or get ganked. The enemy jungler will be the main threat in this matchup so just watch out for ganks.
Ornn
Ornn usually does pretty well in this matchup but he can't kill you unless you make a pretty big mistake. The junglers will be the deciding factor in this lane. Abyssal Mask can be a nice purchase to help you sustain against him in lane. Freezing the wave is a great strategy to beat Ornn, he'll have to walk all the way up to your tower to CS and he'll have no escape if your jungler comes to gank.
Rengar
If it's Rengar top lane, he will be jumping in and out of bushes nonstop. He's going to jump to low health minions to last hit them. Just aim your Q over your low health minions while he's in the bush, so he'll either miss the minion(s) or get hit by your Q for a lot of damage and CC. Your E is pretty effective against him as well, slowing him down enough to not let him get back in the bush right away. If he builds assassin, he shouldn't be able to oneshot you. If he goes tank or bruiser he'll be more of a threat. When he ults away, it's not worth trying to chase him, you won't catch him unless you have a teammate on him. If you can consistently Q him at the right times and time or shield correctly you should be able to win this matchup fairly easily. He's pretty hard to kill though so don't greed for kills, just farm up and you'll be fine.
Warwick
Warwick top is a rare cheese pick, usually picked by one-tricks. He does okay into Sion but Sion should be able to win. Just buy healing reduction ASAP. If he takes barrier, don't get baited by his low health, that's what he wants. Don't let him Q spam on you and if he does, punish him. If he doesn't start Doran's Ring or Corrupting Pot, he'll run out of mana fast. Once you get healing reduction he's pretty easy to deal with.
Shen
For a tank, Shen does very high damage, almost like a bruiser. His early game trades are very strong. If he's good, he'll use his Q right as his passive and Grasp are up to win short trades and slowly chip away at your health. Be aware of where his blade is, don't let him Q the blade through you as it will slow you and give him a lot more damage. When he's level 6, you need to shove minions to his tower nonstop, forcing him to miss a lot of minions if he wants to ult somewhere else. If you see him ulting, you can easily cancel it with your ult or your Q. Just be careful though, don't ult him if you're low as he'll just taunt you and kill you. He does counter your passive very hard with his W, just blocking all of your autos but this is not a huge deal as Sion passive isn't that useful in most situations anyways.
Poppy
Poppy has a very good laning phase and plays like a bruiser. She does very high damage for a tank and will try to bully you. Her abilities are for the most part, very close range so you can easily retaliate when she tries to bully you. Don't stand next to walls or she'll pin you against them and stun you. As long as you don't let her stun you, you should be okay. If you are smart about it, you could even bait her E by charging your Q, but I would only do that if you know you won't be stunned by it and you have minions to attack her. Her W does not stop your ult as it is not a dash so there's no need to worry about that.
Singed
This matchup might've been difficult if Abyssal Mask wasn't an item. Abyssal Mask was basically made for this situation. He's going to push you in a lot early game and you'll miss some CS. As soon as you get Abyssal Mask you will be able to sustain against him and keep up with his pushing. If he tries to proxy you (killing the wave behind your tower before it gets to the middle of the lane), just ignore him and don't miss the CS at your tower. Only try to kill him when your jungler is around, otherwise he'll just slow you and run away.
Sylas
Sylas, like all newer champions has a pretty crazy and overloaded kit. His heal is insane and he can dash out and stun you when you Q. An early Executioner's Calling is a great purchase to reduce his healing (don't upgrade it though). Just buy Abyssal Mask and wait for him to make a mistake and you'll be good. If he's ever in trouble he'll likely steal your ult and run away with it but that's fine as it's a long cooldown and I've seen a lot of Sylas players mess up Sion ult cause they don't know how to use it.
Wukong
Wukong has very good, short trades. The key is to wait till he uses his E then use your E into your Q. Whenever he charges on you make sure you activate your shield to absorb most of the damage from his combo. He's pretty scary in the early game so just play safe. Once you get some armor and health you should be able to fight him. After level 6 you have to be careful using your ult against him. He can easily just use his clone to block your ult so you should generally save your ult until him clone is down. Wukong is vulnerable to ganks so it would be a good idea to freeze the minions at your tower so he'll have to walk all the way up to farm. If your jungler comes it will be an easy kill.
Gangplank
Gangplank is not much of a threat in lane but he will outscale you. If he is good then you may actually have a bit of trouble in lane but most will GPs will be very easy to deal with. He will take minion aggro when he Q's you so if you can slow him with E or Q while he is tanking minions you will easily win a trade. If his orange is on cooldown he is easy to lockdown with CC and kill, especially with a jungler. I like to take Comet and max E against gp to poke him down hard and punish him when he tries to Q you.
Gnar
Gnar is a little annoying but not too much of a threat. If he is Mini Gnar, you should be able to 1v1 him pretty easily as long as you can catch him. The best way to kill Mini Gnar is to run up to him and charge your Q, most Gnars will instinctively jump away which allows you to let go of your Q as soon as he jumps and cancel it. This will leave him without an escape and could easily kill him. When he gets Mega Gnar, he can be a bit more of a threat. Just watch his rage bar and watch out for when he tries to engage on you. It's very easy to recognize Gnar's pattern and if you choose the right times to fight you will easily win this matchup.
Quinn
Quinn is annoying but she doesn't do that well against tanks. She'll poke you down a lot but you should be able to survive. Her E will cancel your Q so watch out for that. She is quite vulnerable so if she ever makes any mistakes you can easily punish her. Try to freeze against her so she'll have to walk up to your tower to farm. This will make her incredibly vulnerable to ganks as she has very few ways to escape.
Qiyana
Assassins, like Qiyana don't do well against tanks. She should never be able to do enough damage to completely oneshot you. She can avoid your Q pretty easily in a couple ways but she shouldn't be much of a threat. Just try to wait out her abilities then retaliate.
Rumble
He's going to shove you into tower a lot early game but he isn't very much of a threat. Get an Abyssal Mask to be able to sustain in lane and push the waves back to him. Rumble is extremely vulnerable to ganks so if you can, freezing is a good idea. You can easily just ult him when your jungle is near and he'll either have to flash or likely die.
Pantheon
Pretty easy to beat the reworked Pantheon. You are too tanky for him to kill you. He could win if he goes anti-tank runes/build and is good but otherwise it should be pretty easy and you will quickly outscale. Watch out for the first few levels though. You can also stop his W in midair before he reaches you if you time your Q right. Just try not to die early game and you will outscale him and be way more useful.
Swain
Swain seems to mostly be played bot lane these days. If you do end up facing him in lane he'll try to poke you down but he really doesn't do that much damage. His abilities have very short range so just fight back when you get the chance. Abyssal Mask is a good first item against him. Try not to Q right in front of him, it will allow him to get a from E and pull of on you. Swain is very vulnerable to ganks so, if possible try to setup your jungler by freezing your wave and setting up a good pink ward.
Heimerdinger
Only problem with Heimerdinger is the fact that he'll shove lanes to your tower nonstop. You need a mana item (Abyssal Mask) to keep up with him and shove your waves. You can actually throw his turrets with your E, allowing you to reposition them to better manage your waves. You can even throw his turrets towards your tower so your tower fires at it. He will not be much of a threat at all unless his jungler comes.
Lissandra
Lissandra will poke you down a lot but she really doesn't do enough damage to be a real threat. If she ever gets too close to you just use your E to slow her into your Q. If she tries to E away you can Q her and stun her so she can't take it if she's not quick enough. You could also ult her right when she takes her E. Overall, just don't let her bully you and always try to fight her (while still farming) and you should win this matchup.
Karthus
It's unlikely that you'll face a Karthus in lane but if you do, he'll be very easy to deal with. He is extremely immobile, use that to your advantage. Always look to fight him and get in his face. Don't let him farm, don't let him poke you. Level 6, just E him and ult him then Q and he'll either be dead or very close to it. He has no way to escape that combo unless he has flash.
Annie
Annie's stun is really the only threat she has. Just try to not use Q when her stun is ready and you'll be good. When she uses Tibbers you can actually E Tibbers to throw him away from you, just be careful to not throw him too far away from Annie or he'll teleport back to her.
Kayle
Kayle has a very weak laning phase, you must use this to your advantage or she will outscale you. Always look to E her into your Q for poke and trades. Don't let her farm for free. She is basically a melee champion pre-6. You might want to ask for ganks if she's pushing your lane as she's very vulnerable and Sion can setup ganks very well. Watch out for her level 6/11/16 power spikes.
Teemo
Very easy matchup for Sion. DON'T TAKE GRASP KEYSTONE, TAKE COMET OR UNSEALED SPELLBOOK INSTEAD. Start Doran's Ring and max E. Spam your E, throwing minions at him to poke him. If you are close enough, run up after you land E to Q him. There's not much he can do in this matchup. Rush Magic Resist items and health.
Viego
Viego is a really frustrating champion to deal with. His base kit isn't too crazy but his ability to become other champions is incredibly unbalanced. The fact that he does not use mana and that his auto attacks give him bonus healing from enemies that he lands his abilities on allows him to take nonstop aggressive trades and remain at high health over a long period of time. He WILL out sustain you in the laning phase. He also does %health bonus on hit damage so he will shred your health very easily. The best way to deal with him is to rush Bramble Vest to reduce his healing and Plated Steelcaps to further reduce his damage. I recommend starting with Corrupting Potion and taking Biscuits in runes so that you can sustain a bit more in the laning phase to and keep up with him. His early game is fairly weak too and if you and the jungler setup a couple ganks on him early you should be able to shut him down before he can start to ramp up. Like with all top lane matchups, if you can freeze the enemy wave a little outside your tower range then he will have to walk all the way up to farm minions, making him very vulnerable to ganks.
Gwen
Gwen is another new champion that is very annoying to deal with. She has a short cooldown dash that she can use to dodge your abilities and weave in and out of trades with you. She does really crazy on-hit damage and she really ramps up to try not to take long fights with her. If you can do consistent short trades you should be fine as long as she doesn't all in you. You really have to dodge her Q and her R if you really want to win the matchup. Rush some magic resist as she does mostly magic damage. If you freeze your wave against her she will have to run all the way up to farm making her very vulnerable to jungle ganks.
Anivia
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (slow/stun)
Ult (slow)
Negative:
Wall can cancel your ult but this usually won't be an issue with ally Anivias
Ashe
Good CC to enable Sion:
Auto Attacks (slow)
W volley (Slow)
Ult arrow (Stun)
Ahri
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (charm)
Bard
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (stun/slow)
Ult (statis)
Braum
Good CC to enable Sion:
Passive (stun)
Q (slow)
Ult (slow/knockup)
Elise
Good CC to enable Sion:
E human form (stun)
Irelia
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (stun)
Ult (slow)
Alistar
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (knockup/stun)
W (knockback/stun)
E (stun)
Amumu
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (stun)
R (stun)
Kennen
Good CC to enable Sion:
Passive (stun)
Ult (stun)
Neeko
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (root)
Ult (stun)
Nautilus
Good CC to enable Sion:
Just about everything he has is a good CC
Morgana
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (root)
Ult (slow/stun)
Orianna
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (slow/speed boost)
Ult (pull/stun)
Malphite
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (slow)
E (AA speed slow)
Ult (Stun/Knockup)
Lux
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (root)
E (slow)
Lulu
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (polymorph/speed boost)
Ult (Knockback)
Malzahar
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (silence)
Ult (suppression)
Rammus
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (knockback/slow)
E (taunt)
Ult (slow)
Jhin
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (snare)
E (slow)
Ult (slow)
Yasuo
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q: knockup
Sion can Knockup for Yasuo ult with Q or Ult
Wukong
Good CC to enable Sion:
Ult (Knockup)
Zyra
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (root)
Ult (knockup)
Zoe
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (sleep)
Warwick
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (fear)
Ult (suppression)
Zac
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (pull/slow)
E (knockup)
Ult (Knockback/slow)
Zilean
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (slow/speed boost)
Veigar
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (Cage/Stun)
Thresh
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (Hook)
E (pull)
Ult (Cage/Slow)
Skarner
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (slow/stun)
Ult (Suppression/Pull)
Nunu & Willump
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (knockback)
E (slow)
Ult (Slow)
Sejuani
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (knockback)
W (slow)
E (stun)
Ult (stun)
Rell
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (Knockup/Stun/Fling)
E (Stun)
Ult (AoE Pull)
Synergies
IdealStrongOkLowNone
Anivia
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (slow/stun)
Ult (slow)
Negative:
Wall can cancel your ult but this usually won't be an issue with ally Anivias
Ashe
Good CC to enable Sion:
Auto Attacks (slow)
W volley (Slow)
Ult arrow (Stun)
Ahri
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (charm)
Bard
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (stun/slow)
Ult (statis)
Braum
Good CC to enable Sion:
Passive (stun)
Q (slow)
Ult (slow/knockup)
Elise
Good CC to enable Sion:
E human form (stun)
Irelia
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (stun)
Ult (slow)
Alistar
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (knockup/stun)
W (knockback/stun)
E (stun)
Amumu
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (stun)
R (stun)
Kennen
Good CC to enable Sion:
Passive (stun)
Ult (stun)
Neeko
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (root)
Ult (stun)
Nautilus
Good CC to enable Sion:
Just about everything he has is a good CC
Morgana
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (root)
Ult (slow/stun)
Orianna
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (slow/speed boost)
Ult (pull/stun)
Malphite
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (slow)
E (AA speed slow)
Ult (Stun/Knockup)
Lux
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (root)
E (slow)
Lulu
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (polymorph/speed boost)
Ult (Knockback)
Malzahar
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (silence)
Ult (suppression)
Rammus
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (knockback/slow)
E (taunt)
Ult (slow)
Jhin
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (snare)
E (slow)
Ult (slow)
Yasuo
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q: knockup
Sion can Knockup for Yasuo ult with Q or Ult
Wukong
Good CC to enable Sion:
Ult (Knockup)
Zyra
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (root)
Ult (knockup)
Zoe
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (sleep)
Warwick
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (fear)
Ult (suppression)
Zac
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (pull/slow)
E (knockup)
Ult (Knockback/slow)
Zilean
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (slow/speed boost)
Veigar
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (Cage/Stun)
Thresh
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (Hook)
E (pull)
Ult (Cage/Slow)
Skarner
Good CC to enable Sion:
E (slow/stun)
Ult (Suppression/Pull)
Nunu & Willump
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (knockback)
E (slow)
Ult (Slow)
Sejuani
Good CC to enable Sion:
Q (knockback)
W (slow)
E (stun)
Ult (stun)
Rell
Good CC to enable Sion:
W (Knockup/Stun/Fling)
E (Stun)
Ult (AoE Pull)
Runes: Phase Rush (Speed Boost)
12
Sorcery
Phase Rush
Manaflow Band
Absolute Focus
Gathering Storm
Resolve
Demolish
Conditioning
Bonus:
+10% Attack Speed
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
Inspiration
First Strike
Magical Footwear
Minion Dematerializer
Approach Velocity
Resolve
Demolish
Conditioning
Bonus:
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+9 Adaptive (5.4 AD or 9 AP)
+6 Armor
I have been a Sion main since his rework, he has been my most played and favorite champion since season 5. In Season 6 I reached diamond with a 68% winrate on him over 169 games. I recently changed my name from Stinkee to WavFM on the site, so if you see any past comments from Stinkee, that's me.
Intro
Why Sion?
Sion is, in my opinion, the most versatile tank in League of Legends. He is able to adapt to each game in a way that is unmatched by any other. He can be played as a full on tank, a tanky bruiser, a splitpusher; many even play Sion as an AD assassin or bruiser including Thebausffs and Tilterella both, at one point, Challenger AD Sion mains and streamers.
He is always going to be a great tank who can fill the role that is needed for his team. He also has a very low pick and ban rate, making him a great champion to main or one-trick. Sion is very easy to learn but also has a lot of potential for skill expression, solidifying him as both a great champion for new players and for masters alike.
How to use the guide
Tanks, moreso than other roles must build items based on the factors unique to each game. Because of this, you should use this guide as a foundation to find your own way to play that works for you. Don't strictly follow a full build, instead, learn each of the item options and how to adapt to each game. The full builds I showcase are just examples and will not be ideal in every situation or game.
Innate: After being killed, Sion will reanimate with rapidly decaying Health. His attacks become very rapid, gaining 100% Lifesteal and deals bonus damage equal to [+10% target's max] All his abilities are replaced with Death Surge, which grants a burst of Movement Speed.
Active: Sion charges up a heavy blow for up to 2 seconds. When released, he deals physical damage to enemies hit (60% damage to minions) based on how long Sion charges and briefly slows them. If Sion charges for at least 1 second, enemies are knocked up and stunned for 1.25 to 2.25 seconds.
Passive: Sion gains 4 maximum Health whenever he kills a unit (15 for champion kills, assists, large minions and large monsters).
Active: Sion shields himself for 6 seconds. After 3 seconds, while the shield holds, Sion can reactivate to deal magic damage to nearby enemies. Max 400 bonus damage against minions and monsters.
Active: Sion fires a shockwave, dealing magic damage to the first enemy hit and knocking it back if it is not a champion (significantly increasing its range). Target's hit by the shockwave or the knocked back unit take the same damage and are slowed for 2.5 seconds and have their Armor reduced by 20% for 4 seconds.
Active: Sion charges in a direction for 8 seconds and can steer slowly towards the mouse cursor. While charging, Sion is immune to all Crowd Control. Reactivating will cancel Sion's charge early. When Sion collides with an enemy champion or wall, he deals physical damage and knocks up enemies in a small area for 0.75 seconds. Enemies in a larger area take the same damage and are slowed for 3 seconds.
The damage increases and the stun duration increases to 1.75 seconds as Sion charges further.
Matchups
View the Sion Matchups section under the "Tank Sion" build. Currently most matchups are focused on top and mid lane. Click "Show All" under the picture of Sion in the Threats & Synergies area to expand and see everything.
General Rule for Counters and Synergies
Counters:
In general, Sion is countered by high mobility, %hp damage, hard CC/skillshots, and bruisers. All of his abilities are very telegraphed, making them very easy to predict and dodge. Sion is a health stacking tank, making %hp very effective against him. Hard CC and skillshots are very effective against Sion because he has to charge up his Q, making him a vulnerable target.
Bruisers as a class in general are designed to do well against tanks, they do higher damage than tanks, usually have some form of %hp damage or armor shred, as well as having higher mobility at the cost of having less CC and defensive abilities than a tank.
Synergies:
Since Sion has very telegraphed but hard hitting abilities, he pairs very well with other champions that have easier to land/setup CC. His ult and Q are much easier to land on targets that are already CC'd. Champions like Nautilus with a ton of CC makes your job as Sion much, much easier.
Also, Sion is a great setup for other champions, such as Yasuo that need enemies to be CC'd for them, although Sion is not the best at this because his abilities are so telegraphed. Keep in mind, that too much CC on a team is a bad thing and makes items like Mercury's Treads and Quicksilver Sash more valuable.
Runes
RESOLVE
Grasp of the Undying is really the only viable keystone in this tree for top and mid lane. It does damage based on your max health, heals you, and gives you permanent health every time you proc it.
Demolish is another great rune for Sion. It also scales with your health allowing you to kill towers very fast as a tank! Shield Bash can be good on Sion as well for better trades in the top lane. If you want better trades in lane and massive shield damage late game take Shield Bash. If you think you can win your lane hard and hit the enemy tower for free often take Demolish.
Conditioning, Second Wind, and Bone Plating are all good on Sion and are completely situational. Conditioning is the best option outside of laning phase, if you are against an easy lane take it. Second Wind is good against poke lanes. Bone Plating is the based overall rune in this tier for trading, making it the best overall option in most situations. If you are unsure what to take in this tier just take Bone Plating.
Any option is viable in this tier but Overgrowth is usually the best rune option. It gives you permanent health when minions die near you. Sion is a health tank so this is always a great option on him. If you need help in the laning phase you can take Revitalize which will increase your shield strength. If the enemy has a ton of CC, think about taking Unflinching instead as it will help you deal with the CC.
Magical Footwear is a fairly viable option for the secondary tree. Even so, I only recommend taking it over something like Biscuit Delivery into very easy matchups.
INSPIRATION
Biscuit Delivery is a pretty great rune choice for Sion. Sion tends to run out of mana fast and has no form of health sustain so the extra sustain that the bicuits provide is really nice. They also increase your maximum mana. I would consider taking Magical Footwear instead (if inspiration is your secondary tree) if you believe you will have an easy lane. If Inspiration is your primary tree I would still take Biscuit Delivery in most situations.
Corrupting Potion is great in every scenario and works with any build. It provides amazing sustain and damage for the laning phase. If you are new to Sion I would always recommend starting Corrupting Potion. Use Corrupting Potion offensively to win trades.
Doran's Shield is a great start against poke and ranged champions. It will reduce their poke by a ton but also gives you no mana sustain so watch your mana when taking Doran's Shield.
BOOTS
Sion can go Plated Steelcaps, Boots of Swiftness, Mercury's Treads depending on each game. Look at the enemy team and your laner. If you are against a heavy AD team go Plated Steelcaps, if you are against a heavy AP or heavy CC team go Mercury's Treads. In most cases you will probably end up buying boots early to counter your laner. If you're against a heavy auto-attacker like Tryndamere, you'll want to get Plated Steelcaps very early to reduce the damage of his basic attacks. Boots of Swiftness is an option that can be taken in any game and is a solid option if you want more mobility instead of resistances.
MYTHIC ITEMS
Heartsteel: Heartsteel is the perfect mythic item for Sion and it should be your default purchase in most scenarios. It does a ton of damage and scales really well. It also gives Sion another way to infinitely stack health. The only big downside of this item is that it doesn't give resists and sometimes resists are just better. You could have 10,000 bonus health but it doesn't matter if someone has tons of percent health damage in their kit or in their items. That said, you can still get your resists from other items; just keep in mind that this item may not make you as tanky as you think in many cases.
Iceborn Gauntlet: Frostfire Gauntlet is an improved Iceborn Gauntlet from the previous seasons. This is a solid utility and brawling choice for Sion. The slowing field is large and is great for setting up Sion's Q - Decimating Smash. It also provides a decent chunk of armor which is borderline necessary in some matchups. If there are a lot of mobile champs on the enemy team or you just want to be able to stick to them and have an easier time landing your Q, this is a solid choice.
Jak'Sho, The Protean: Jak'Sho, the Protean is a pretty well-rounded item. It gives both armor and magic resist as well as health. Its passive is great for teamfights. This item can be great if you just need lots of resists in a specific game and/or you are teamfighting a lot. You could also buy this as your default mythic instead of Heartsteel if it's your preference but I personally find Heartsteel to be stronger in most scenarios.
LEGENDARY ITEMS
Sunfire Aegis: Sunfire is the perfect offensive tank item and now that it is a legendary item, you can easily buy it every game. You can even buy it first item if you need the armor and wave clear. The damage of Sunfire scales with your bonus health and as Sion you have a TON of bonus health, especially if you are buying Heartsteel as well. The only situation that I'd consider NOT buying Sunfire is if the enemy team is very heavily weighted towards magic damage and/or you just need to focus on defenses and peeling.
Thornmail: Thornmail is the default anti-healing tank item. ALWAYS get this item or just Bramble Vest if there is a good amount of healing on the enemy team. It makes a big difference, especially if you are the only one on your team with healing reduction. Rush Bramble Vest against champions like Nasus and Fiora, who look to heal/lifesteal a lot in lane. This REALLY helps you win trades and the lane as a whole.
Randuin's Omen: Randuin's Omen is the anti-crit and anti-auto attacker item. Great against crit adcs and top laners such as Tryndamere, Quinn, Gangplank, etc. The active is also very nice in teamfights, slowing all nearby enemies as well as their attack speed.
Frozen Heart: Frozen Heart is similar to Randuin's Omen in the way it is good against auto-attackers. Frozen Heart is better than Randuin's Omen against on-hit auto-attackers like Vayne, Kog'Maw, Irelia, etc. and worse against crit auto-attackers like most ADCs and top laners like Tryndamere.
Winter's Approach: This is an item that I have wanted them to make for a long time. A tear stacking tank item. This is a great option for Sion. Sion naturally has low mana and low mana regeneration while having high mana cost abilities like Soul Furnace. This means spamming your abilities will cause you to run out of mana VERY fast. This item is a nice a remedy to that issue. If you are like me and like to constantly pressure your opponent by spamming abilities, I highly recommend this item as a first or second purchase.
Gargoyle Stoneplate: Gargoyle Stoneplate has been reworked and is the best hybrid (armor + magic resist) tank item. The active gives you a shield based on BONUS HEALTH which is REALLY good on Sion because of his W - Soul Furnace passive. This item is the ultimate teamfight tankiness Legendary Item. If you want to survive in teamfights this is the best item for you IF the enemy team has fairly balanced physical and magic damage. This item also pairs really well with Spirit Visage or even Mikael's Blessing increasing your shield size by an additional 25% or 20% respectively.
Titanic Hydra: Titanic Hydra is a great item if you are fed and just want to do a ton of damage. It no longer has an active but does really solid cleave damage based on your MAX health. Titanic Hydra, paired with Sunfire Aegis gives you a lot of damage for a tank.
Spirit Visage: Spirit Visage is a solid Magic Resist choice. It now increases your healing AND shielding by 25% which will increase your W - Soul Furnace shield size by a significant amount as well as the Gargoyle Stoneplate and Sterak's Gage shields if you get either or both of those items.
Force of Nature: Force of Nature is another great Magic Resist choice if you are having trouble sticking onto the enemies. This item will give you a lot of movespeed and magic resist (ramping up when you are getting attacked). Force of Nature is really great against DOT mages because it will stack the passive much faster than other champions.
Anathema's Chains: Anathema's Chains is a situational item. This item works really well if there is one very fed enemy on the opposing side. However, it is not that great of an item in any other scenario. Don't buy this item every game. Do consider buying it if there's one fed hypercarry that will 1v9 the game on the enemy team. Think of a 15/1/0 Master Yi at 15 minutes, yeah you definitely should buy this item in that situation. But, imagine the enemy team has 15 kills and 1 death total but it's spread evenly between their entire team. All 5 enemies with 3 kills each. Anathema's Chains isn't going to be useful at all in that situation.
Abyssal Mask: Abyssal Mask is again, a really solid Magic Resist option. It was reworked and now, when you CC an enemy they will take 10% increased damage from ALL sources for 4 seconds. This is item is amazing for teamfights and will buff your teammates by a large amount. 10% damage increase on anyone that you Immobilize (Q stun or R) is huge for teamfights.
Warmog's Armor: Warmog's Armor is relatively unchanged in the preseason and is still a great option on Sion if you want the sustain and health. This is a great item if you need to match a splitpushing threat, allowing you to take short trades then heal up and stay in lane forever.
Sterak's Gage: Sterak's Gage is a solid damage/bruiser Sion item. It now gives you health regen when getting attacked OR attacking an enemy, based on your max health. It still has the shield against burst.
Hullbreaker: Hullbreaker was recently nerfed. I don't recommend buying this item anymore. There are just better items out there for Sion. If you want to do some damage and occasionally split push, I would just go a Titanic Hydra tank build instead.
Knight's Vow: Knight's Vow is a great mid or late game to support a fed carry. If your ADC/mid/Graves, Yi jg/etc is your win condition and your team does not already have a Knight's Vow, just buy this item and peel for them, it will win you the game.
Zeke's Convergence: Zeke's Convergence is another great mid or late game support item. It is similar to Knight's Vow but instead of protecting your carry, it will give them more damage when you CC enemies. I think this item is OKAY if you want to buff your super fed carries late game but it's not nearly as good as Knight's Vow for your team. I would only buy this item if your carry teammate is your team's win condition AND you already have Knight's Vow for them.
Mikael's Blessing: I'm currently testing Mikael's as an alternate (or additional) magic resist item. The mana regen could be very useful on Sion as he tends to have mana issues. Mikael's is also WAY cheaper than other MR items while still providing a significant, 50MR. It also has 15 ability haste, 100% base mana regen, and 20% heal and shield power (which would be great for Sion's W Soul Furnace). It is only 2300 gold and the only thing it is really lacking that the other magic resist options provides is health. Mikael's gives 0 health. But, it is so much cheaper and the unique active of being able to cleanse CC could be great if you have a fed hypercarry on your team that needs peel. This item also makes buying an early Faerie Charm viable for mana regen as you can upgrade it into Mikael's later. Overall, I definitely need to test it but it could potentially be a viable option for Sion (and other tanks), and another (maybe niche) alternative to the other MR items. Thanks to Heansuh in the comment section of this guide for the idea!
Tank
Why tank?
Building tank on Sion is the standard way to play him. His kit is designed to be played that way. His build can be very versatile and he can be played in any lane or jungle to an extent. He also has the option to buy 1 or 2 more damage focused items like Titanic Hydra or Sterak's Gage due to the insane AD ratio on his Q Decimating Smash. Your goal as a tank will differ from game to game. If your team needs an initiator, you can fill that role, otherwise you can try to peel your teammates.
Top Lane
Top lane is the most popular and usually the best lane to play tank Sion in. Tanks in general top lane should focus on surviving lane until they get enough gold to buy tank stats. The first few levels can be rough as you're not really a tank yet. Once you buy your first tank item or two, you should be able to brawl with most top laners and win. Tanks become really strong in the mid game when they get their first few couple of items. In the mid game you should look to help your teammates. You can either initiate for picks or teamfights or peel for your fed carry. Once the late game approaches, you may notice you will feel a bit weaker. Tanks aren't great late game because enemy carries (usually the ADC) have reached their power spikes. These carries take longer to come online which is why you are stronger than them until this point. Still, you can make a massive impact as a tank late game, you will just need to be more cautious and focus more on peeling than engaging, depending on the gamestate.
Mid Lane
Mid lane Sion is played basically the same as top Sion. One thing you can do mid that you can not do as top as much is roam with your ult. A great play you can make mid is to slow push 2-3 waves of minions then roam bot or top with your ult. Matchups mid are actually pretty great. Most mid laners are burst heavy but since you are a tank, you can absorb all of their damage and turn on them once their abilities are on cooldown. Against ranged matchups mid, look to E a minion at them then run up and W + Q and auto them for a great trade. You can afford to take Unsealed Spellbook or Glacial Augment against most matchups mid. This is because against ranged mid laners, you will not be able to proc your Grasp of the Undying very often. Against melee mids you can still take Grasp of course.
Lethality
Why lethality?
AD Sion is an incredibly fun and viable way to play Sion. Building lethality on Sion essentially turns him into an assassin. Sion's Q Decimating Smash has ridiculous AD scaling, allowing you to almost one shot enemies if you can get a full Q off. If your Q Decimating Smash doesn't kill them, they will be cc'd for a long time allowing you to use your other abilities to finish them off. While playing AD Sion you are going to want to camp in bushes a lot.
Some tips
Enemies CANNOT see when you are channeling your Q Decimating Smash from a bush UNLESS the bush is warded. This allows you to pull of some sneaky oneshots from bushes. Even when you die as AD Sion you will run down the enemies with your passive, possibly taking one or more enemies with you. Several Sion mains have managed to reach Challenger one tricking AD Sion, it's definitely viable but keep in mind, it is difficult to learn and master.
Support
Why support?
Support Sion is a viable pick but is not as popular as his other roles. While not many people play Support Sion, it can be quite good. Sion as a support is very aggressive, all of his abilities can potentially hit both enemy bot laners. Make use of the bot lane bushes to charge your Q Decimating Smash on the enemy both lane, they cannot see you charging it if the bush is not warded. He will not be as tanky as he would be top lane so you need to be more careful. Try to pair with an aggressive ADC and stomp the early game.
Some tips
Try to peel for your ADC lategame, don't ult too far away from the carries or they might die alone. If you secure an early lead use your lead to get vision in the enemy jungle and near dragon. You should not lose a single dragon early game if you win hard bot lane. Make sure dragon is always clear of wards and use wards in the enemy jungle to spot where the jungler is going. You can max either E Roar of the Slayer or Q Decimating Smash on Support Sion. Q Decimating Smash max is good if the enemy bot lane has low mobility and can easily get hit by Q. E Roar of the Slayer is good to max first against poke lanes and more mobile lanes. As Support Sion ALWAYS max W Soul Furnace second.
Keep in mind, the reason support Sion isn't picked very often is because of his W - Soul Furnace. As support you will barely get any stacks meaning you will be much, much easier to kill than mid/top/jungle Sion. It can still be a good pick, though it may require some more skill and effort than his other positions.
Jungle
Why Jungle?
Sion jungle has been buffed in patches 9.16 and 10.20. His Q Decimating Smash no longer does reduced damage to monsters and its base damage has been increased in the 9.16 patch. In the 10.20 patch his Q now does 150% damage to monsters, this is HUGE for jungle Sion and also decent for lane Sion. Sion Q, fully charged could potentially outdamage a smite now! These changes made Sion jungle viable again, improving his clear speed by a large amount.
Some tips
Sion's weaknesses in the jungle remain, he does not clear as fast as many junglers and his pre-6 ganks are not ideal without Predator. Sion jungle does scale much better than top lane Sion though. Sion's W - Soul Furnace passive stacks faster in the jungle than in top lane because you get extra stacks from large monsters. This rewards Sion for playing a farm-heavy jungle style.
For ganks you should make use of lane bushes and go for lane ganks. You can sneak into a bot or top lane bush (if it's not warded) and wait for the enemy to walk up and full charge your Q - Decimating Smash. After level 6 you can ult down the lane or through the river and jungle.
Jungle Sion can be played as tank or full AD. For the clear I recommend checking out Timothy Fly on youtube. He's a master tier Sion jungle main with several guide videos on jungle Sion. He focuses mostly on AD Sion but you could apply most of his tips for tank Sion.
Tips and Tricks
Glory in Death (Passive) Tips
Sion's passive Glory in Death can be used to "cheese" the enemy jungle camps level one. If you are on blue side you can go to the enemy raptors at level 1, make sure the area is clear. If the area is clear attack the raptors and get very low health, when you are about to die start running towards the red buff. When you die use your passive to steal the red buff, you WILL keep the red buff when you respawn, TP back to lane after you steal the buff. If you are on red side you can do the same thing but with the enemy blue buff. There are two ways of doing it on red side. You can get low on wolves then run over to blue buff and kill it with your passive. The other way to steal on red side is to attack the blue buff then attack the gromp, stand in between both to keep aggro. When you die kill blue buff with your passive then kill gromp with your passive. TP back to lane after killing blue buff.
Please note that killing the blue buff while in Sion passive is actually bugged right now and you WILL NOT keep the blue buff when you respawn, hopefully they will fix this issue soon.
LEVEL 1 RED BUFF AND RAPTORS STEAL
LEVEL 1 RED BUFF AND RAPTORS STEAL
Glory in Death is incredibly useful at level 1. It can actually be worth it to intentionally die in an invade to gain access to this overpowered level 1 ability. You can usually trade your life for 2 kills at level 1 with this. Just make sure you're in a good spot when you die or they will just run or Flash away.
All active items can be used while in Glory in Death. This is why a lot of lethality Sion mains will rush Prowler's Claw, to close the gap.
Decimating Smash (Q) Tips
Enemies CANNOT see Sion's Q Decimating Smash cast if Sion is hidden in a bush while charging. You can use this to great effect toplane by full charging Q's from the bushes while the enemy is trying to CS. If you do this enough, the enemy will be scared to walk near any bush without vision.
Sometimes going for the stun with Decimating Smash is not worth it or not possible. Flicking the Q (just tapping it or holding it for <1 second) is still a good source of damage and a decent slow.
If your Q doesn't look like it's going to hit, it's not always best to immediately cancel it. Decimating Smash is still a great zoning tool, preventing enemies from entering the area. This should really only be done if you have an ally with you who can take advantage of your zoning.
If you are hard CC'd while charging Q, it will only go on a 2-second cooldown. Most of your enemies will not know this and will not expect you to be able to charge a Q again shortly after they cancel it. Sometimes it's actually worth it to let them cancel it if they'll need to use an ability with a long cooldown to do so.
Decimating Smash is one of the most powerful abilities at level 1 in the right circumstances. It may be the single best ability in the entire game to counter a 5-man invade. If you expect an invade, tell your team to camp a bush with you. When the enemy team walks up, start full charging your Q. You can usually hit 3+ with the full charged Q at level 1, effectively Amumu ulting them at level 1 and ensuring that your team will win the skirmish.
Soul Furnace (W) Tips
For maximum efficiency of this ability when fighting always try to use the second part (the explosion) just before the shield is about to be destroyed by the enemy. This is a small thing but it really adds up when trading top lane.
If you need to quickly burst someone to execute them you can charge up Soul Furnace, when it's ready to pop, [flash] and press Unstoppable Onslaught and Soul Furnace again, then flick Decimating Smash. This combo does a lot of damage and catches enemies off guard. This is especially useful when the enemy is overstaying under tower. You may not even need to use Unstoppable Onslaught depending on how low they are.
Roar of the Slayer (E) Tips
Sion can buffer his E Roar of the Slayer into flash. Press E then flash instead of flash then E. This is much faster than flashing then E'ing and can make the difference in getting a kill or not.
Sion's E Roar of the Slayer no longer does increased damage when throwing a minion at an enemy. It now will apply the armor reduction though as an AOE, all enemies hit by the minion you throw will have their armor reduced. Try to throw a minion and hit multiple enemies during or before a teamfight to reduce their armor. If you manage to hit a few and your allies are nearby look to ult.
Unstoppable Onslaught (R) Tips
Sion's ult Unstoppable Onslaught can damage towers. You can use this to get a surprising amount of damage off (more if you are building AD). Keep in mind, you should not be ulting a tower unless you have minions near the enemy tower as allied minions lower the resistances of the tower by a significant amount. Your ult does more damage the further away you use it as well so consider walking back a bit before ulting a tower. The best use of this is when you are pushing for the end of the game. If you have minions on the enemy Nexus towers ult from just behind an enemy Inhibitor, aim for the middle in between the two towers. Instead of directly ramming into one tower cancel your ult in the center between the two towers. This will do damage to BOTH Nexus towers. This can easily do 700-800+ damage to both Nexus towers at the same time and much more if you are building AD.
Sion Ult Damages Towers
Sion can "jump" over player-made terrain such as Azir R Emperor's Divide, Anivia W Crystallize, Trundle E Pillar of Ice, Yorick W Dark Procession, and Jarvan IV R Cataclysm. To pull this off you have to use your ult as Sion Unstoppable Onslaught and run at the terrain. Right before you hit the terrain cancel your ult and you will jump over it. The interaction with Azir wall is the buggiest and may only work sometimes. The best way to jump over Azir R is to hop over AS he casts his ult. Here's a great video by Vandiril showcasing this trick:
Sion's R Unstoppable Onslaught makes him immune to CC while active but does not break any existing CC. This means abilities such as Nasus' Wither will make your ult start a lot slower.
Use Sion R to block the CC of an incoming gank instead of flashing. An example would be if you are getting ganked by an Elise and if she lands her Cocoon you know you will die. Instead of flashing her Cocoon, ult for the CC immunity and run to safety. Don't do this if your ult could be blocked by terrain or enemy champions. It's more important to use your ult than flash here because your ult is a way shorter cooldown and is generally less valuable than flash.
Sion's ult Unstoppable Onslaught is very easy to land if you land your E Roar of the Slayer first. Like stated before, if you can throw a minion from far away and hit someone you can look to ult. This is one of the best times for you to use your ult. Also, if you land your E and you took the Approach Velocity rune, you will gain movespeed, making it easier to land your ult.
Sion can ult through many areas that people may not know. An example of this is ulting from your base to Baron or Dragon. I would recommend going into the Practice Tool and practicing these ult paths. Many of these are very difficult to pull off and I would not recommend attempting them in a ranked game unless you are very comfortable. Here is another great video by Vandiril showing many of the paths you can take:
Sion's R Unstoppable Onslaught can essentially bounce off of many walls. You can use this to get some very unique angles on your ult. This is usually pretty inconsistent and you have to hit the right spots in the walls. Sometimes your ult will just end by hitting a spot in the wall while other times you will bounce off it and make a cool play. The best way to be consistent with this is to start parallel to a wall and slowly approach the wall at a 10-15 degree angle. If done correctly you will bounce off the wall! Keep in mind this does not work on every wall, in general it works with walls that bend slightly. A great example of this is right next to the bot lane tower where the wall starts to bend.
You can use the F-keys (f1,f2,f3,f4,f5) to move your camera WHILE in Sion's R Unstoppable Onslaught. You can use this to get a more reliable view of what is going on. This is great for when you are ulting down mid lane or bot lane for example so you can see where your ally is in relation to the enemy. The F-keys are organized by your scoreboard. F1 is always you, F2 is the next person on the scoreboard and so on. If I was ulting down mid and I was the top laner I could quickly press f3 to look at my mid laner if he is fighting. This is kinda tricky to get the hang of but it is pretty easy if ulting in a near straight line like down a lane.
Sion Ult F-Keys
General Tips
Before each game, look up your lane opponent's movement ability cooldowns. For example, if I'm Sion and I see Riven on the enemy team, I will look up the cooldown of her E and her Q (her dash abilities). This will allow me to have an estimate how long I have until she has dashes again. Doing this will help you land your crucial abilities like Decimating Smash and Unstoppable Onslaught.
Despite what many people think Sion is NOT a strong late game champion. Sion is strongest in the mid game. Use your mid game powerspike to make plays, you will be a lot stronger than most enemies at this point. The longer the game goes the harder it will get, their ADC and any Liandry's Torment build mage will shred you late game.
Another misconception is that Sion is an engage champion. While this is partially true, Sion is not a very reliable engage and serves best as a followup to another ally's engage. Sion's abilities are much more useful when an ally is able to CC the enemies first. Sion, for this reason pairs really well with engage tanks such as Sejuani. If a Sejuani ults for example, you can follow with your ult into Q and CC multiple enemies for several seconds, this should be enough to win a teamfight. With the help of another tank you can CC lock enemies for their entire lifetime.
Take a moment every game to see what your team needs. Do you need to engage or peel? If you have a fed ADC and he is dying easily stick to him like glue. If your ADC gets really fed and you do not have a tank support on your team look to buy Knight's Vow and other support items after your first couple items.
A simple way to surprise kill an enemy is to charge up your W Soul Furnace shield then E Roar of the Slayer + Flash and at the same time pop your W Soul Furnace and flick Q Decimating Smash for a surprising amount of burst damage. I have done this countless times to catch my opponent off guard. No one expects you to burst them like that. The best way to do this is when the enemy is low under tower and is overstaying for CS and XP. They will have very little time to react with this combo.
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