Build Guide by Halipupu

Introduction

I've played about 200 games with Sona alone, most of them wins and I've seen many ways to build her and tried many of them myself. I solely started playing League of Legends, because I always wanted to try Sona, so I bought her at lvl 1 and I've played her ever since and I still play her every day.

In my opinion Sona is one of the most versatile characters on League of Legends. This build includes few ways to play her, for four different situations with different runes, items, masteries and summoner spells suited for the speficic game.

It's important to build suited for your current game and that's my goal on this build. It's my second Sona build and I made it to be pretty comphrehensive. I'll be editing it constantly so that someday it will be fully comphrehensive.

Update Log

5/16/2011

Updated items sequence on
-Build 2: changed item order.
-Build 3: removed Mejai's Soulstealer from Build 3 and added Rabadon's Deathcap, also made some changes to item sequence explanation on this specific build

Updated Item Choice section
-added new Tenacity stat items, Moonflair Spellblade and Eleisa's Miracle to possible item choices with an explanation

Updated Runes section
-colored rune names to be more readable

Pros / Cons

Pros:

+versatile buffs for many situations
+low cooldowns on skills
+good damage for a support when Q skill is used properly
+good mobility with E skill
+easy to get assists using auras
+mana friendly if not spamming non-stop
+good CC for a support (ulti)

Cons:

-very squishy in the beginning
-needs to farm some AP to heal efficiently, but she's poor farmer too
-poor solo laner
-can't hold lane alone
-extremely vulnerable to CC
-don't expect to get a positive score

Situational Sona Builds

Build 1

This is the balanced item build that will be suited for most of the games. It provides a decent amount of AP for epic heals (and damage) as well as some survivability so you will not die first, because as a support you will often be focused first.

Build 2

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This is full AP Sona for games where you own right from the beginning and never need to worry about dying. Many people don't like full AP Sona, because she can own better than your carries with her spammable heal Aria of Perseverance and Hymn of Valor that will hit two targets at once.
Full AP is also often underrestimated and I don't understand why if it's good for current situation. We had this game where we had no tank, but I got double kill in the first 8 minutes so I went full AP. I healed 500+ HP every four seconds allowing my team simply to kill them even though our tank was Karthus.

Build 3

Magic Resist build for those games where most of your opponents, or at least the ones dominating, are casters. Mercury's Treads provide you MR for the early game as well as some protection from stuns, silenced etc. Spirit Visage will be your CDR item and we all know how much it hurts, when that Veigar hits half of your HP with one hit, so healing increase on yourself is a very nice addition.

Build 4

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Survival mode on!
I totally hate it when the opposite team has Master Yi or Tryndamere that wipes out your whole team pretty much instantly before you can heal or ulti them. This build is made for extreme situations where you just can't have enough armor.

Summoner Spells

Recommended Summoner Spells:

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For Normal games I prefer Clarity over Clairvoyance, because you can play aggressivily and it may come in handy late game when ganking and your carry runs out of mana.

For your escape/ chase summoner spell I prefer Flash, because Sona has a speed buff, but if you wanna be super mobile then pick Ghost.

Other usable spells:

Teleport can be your best friend if you need to go back to lane fast. Cleanse is useful against teams with lots of CC, because Sona is very vulnerable to stuns, silences etc.

Questionable summoner spells:

These spells can be usable, but most often you will not need these. Ignite and Exhaust are better for your carries.

Useless spells:

Don't use these unless you're trolling. You already have a heal, you won't jungle and nobody uses Rally (I don't even have a clue what is does, never used it).

Masteries

Recommended masteries:

9-0-21 is pretty much basic for casters, you get better summoner spells from Utility tree.
0-9-21 is for more defensive build, you'll get more armor, magic resist and health regen.
3-6-21 is also usable with AP per level from Offensive, armor and mr from Defensive and same masteries from Utility as with other builds.

Runes

Here I will list my recommendations for runes in the preferable order.

Marks:
Greater Mark of Magic Penetration Magic penetration is good for all casters.

Seals:
Greater Seal of Replenishment/ Greater Seal of Scaling Mana Regeneration
Sona has stable 65 mana cost at all her skills (except for ultimate) so either one of these Seal runes will be good for her. Pick the ones you that suite your taste.

Glyphs:
Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power These are for nice base AP even if you had to run defensive build with not so much AP.
Greater Glyph of Ability Power Early game ownage with damage.
Greater Glyph of Cooldown Reduction / Greater Glyph of Scaling Cooldown Reduction Both of these are useful if you know you will not be buying all that many CDR items. You will get 6-9% cooldown reduction from your masteries depending on if you went offensive or defensive and all item builds provide some CDR, so you most likely won't need these.

Quintessences:
Greater Quintessence of Ability Power These are simply for early game ownage.
Greater Quintessence of Health You will be very squishy early game, so if you think you can't play enough carefully, then pick these. Late game these will be useless.
Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed Sona is pretty slow early game, but late game she will have her speed buff so it's up to you if you want to be super mobile.
Greater Quintessence of Magic Penetration for magic penetration if you really wanna do loads of damage.

Skills

Skill explanations:

Q: Hymn of Valor is your main source of damage. It will hit two closests targets prioritizing champions, but if you try to use it in the middle of minions, it WILL hit minions, not champions. This skill also gives you aura that buffs nearby allied champions attack damage and ability power.
AP Ratio: 0.7

Good:
+will chase enemies even if they flash if you casted it
+awesome damage early game
+hits 2 enemies
Bad:
-targeting problems (hitting minions instead of champions)


W: Aria of Perseverance heals closest ally with lowest HP and yourself. Aura also gives your allies a buff that increases armor and magic resistance. Early game it will be quite small, but late game it will be better Aegis of the Legion.
AP Ratio: 0.35

Good:
+lowest cooldown on heal in the game
+very mana friendly
+heals an ally and yourself
Bad:
-heals the ally with percentually lowest HP
-lowest heal power in the game
-you can't choose who you want to heal
-ridiculously low AP ratio



E: Song of Celerity buffs your speed for a slow time leaving an aura that increases your movement speed when you're playing this song. Early game this spell doesn't buff your speed significantly, but it helps you reach your lane faster and the combo with your passive can slow your enemies.

Good:
+capability to slow together with Power Chord
+late game nice speed bonus
+good survivability when twisted with Aria of Perseverance
+good for chasing
Bad:
-not too useful early game
-passive combo can be easily wasted if not careful

R: Crescendo is Sona's ulti which makes enemies dance. This is what makes her so nice in team fights: she can basically stun a group of enemies when Crescendo is placed right. It can be used to kill enemies or delay them while you're running away from enemies. Everything about Crescendo is awesome so I won't add Good/Bad section, but instead tips to using Sona's ulti.
AP ratio: 0.8

When to use Crescendo:
When you're running away from many enemies or saving a teammate.
When you're going to a teamfight use it to stun opposite team.
When you're chasing someone who would otherwise run away.
When your enemies are greedy and try to gank under turret, stun them under turret so it will hit them.
Don't use Crescendo:
For taking creeps just because you're quite bad farmer.
Kill stealing.



Passive: Power Chord triggers after 3 spell casts and it has 3 different effects in addition to the basic damage effect depending on what song Sona is playing.
Hymn of Valor: Double damage from Power Chord.
Aria of Perseverance: Reduces incoming damage.
Song of Celerity: Slows the enemy.

When used effectivily you will do either massive damage with your passive, or you can save an ally (or yourself) by reducing enemy's damage as well as use the slow effect for either chase or for escaping.

Build 1: Balanced

What to expect when using this item build?

Keyword:Synergy
This build gives you both survivability and good damage. You will be able to heal efficiently as well as hit like hell without dying instantly. You will get protection from magic if you build Banshee's Veil and Frozen Heart helps from your worst enemies like Tryndamere and Master Yi. Even if you skip either one you will get mana boost that will in synergy with Archangel's Staff boost your AP.

Item Sequence:

Starter items:

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I pick Meki Pendant for mana regen and 2 Health Potions to get Tear of the Goddess faster, but if you think you'll be too squishy without HP Quints you can go for Doran's Ring or if you are going mid.

Core Items:

Tear of the Goddess is your most important item so far, it will increase mana and later can be upgraded into Archangel's Staff whenever it is most convenient to do so.
Mejai's Soulstealer is your main base of AP and will stack everytime you use your auras even if you don't hit the enemy. I recommend building Mejai's Soulstealer before upgrading shoes to tier 2, but if you don't have enough coins you can simply get just Amplified Tome and maybe a couple of wards.

Mid game items:

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Boots give you precious cooldown reduction you will not be having if you picked AP per lvl glyphs and these survival items I chose because of the synergy they will have with Archangel's Staff. Both of these items give you nice amount of mana, that will boost your AP when you complete Archangel's Staff. You will not lack AP just because you bought survivability, you can heal well and do nice amount of damage.

Late Game items:

These are your AP boosting items that you should get after you know you will not die. Archangel's Staff will give awesome AP boost after stacking so long and your survival items providing mana will boost it even further.
Rabadon's Deathcap is your epic AP booster, but too bad most games won't last so long you'd get this, but if you go full AP it's a totally different thing.

This is one game I nearly had full balanced build. I had enough coins to complete Banshee's Veil when we won. It's not one of the most recents pictures, but I will add new ones when I play more.

Build 2: Epic AP Ownage

What to expect when using this item build?

Keywords: Epic heal, epic damage, epic ownage
Recently I've played a lot of games as full AP Sona and I like it more and more. This build is inspired by Chrispykreem's Sona build with some differences. There are some things you should consider when going full AP: your team has to be winning by the time you make the crucial choise to become full AP, because you'll be super squishy throughout the game and you need to know you will not be focused.
You can expect to heal massive amounts however and hit even more.

I use two different ways to build Epic AP Sona.

Item Sequence 1:

Starter Items:

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Core Items:

Mid Game Items:

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Instead of buying survival items, buy Rabadon's Deathcap before upgrading Tear of the Goddess into Archangel's Staff. If you think it will cost too much or if your Tear has stacked quite a lot, you can buy Needlessly Large Rod and then complete Archangel, then Rabadon. This build is based on the balanced build listed above, therefore at the point of having shoes, Mejai's and Tear you can choose what to build.

Late Game Items:

After getting Rabadon's Deathcap, finish your Archangel's Staff. Most often you will not get any further unless you're seriously slaughtering the opposite team. You will have insane amount of AP (about 700-800) if you have stacks in your Mejai, and that's when Lich Bane comes into question. Not only does it work in synergy with Archangel's Staff, it gives you movement speed and a very nice passive that deals 100% of your AP as attack damage. Imagine combining this with Power Chord (with Hymn of Valor on and you're unstoppable, godlike, legendary, legendary...

Ultra Late Game:

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If you ever reach this far (I've never reached this far), you will have awesome heals, awesome damage and not so awesome cooldown reduction. That's why there's Morello's Evil Tome that gives a huge amount of 20% cooldown reduction, AP and mana regen.

One game I had 750 ap, I healed about 550-600 every 4 seconds with full 40% CDR. We had no tank (actually Karthus was tank, lol) and a team full of squishies. I got double kill when their Sion was too greedily chasing after Miss Fortune I was laning with. Then I ended up owning the rest of the game.

Many people don't like AP Sona and nag about you killing (even if you don't steal), but they're just envious because you can own like hell ;P

Item Sequence 2:

Starter Items:

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Core Items:

I've recently used this build a lot more than the other than that actually gives you a choice to choose if you go full AP or not. If you pick this way you're probably pretty ******* sure about going full AP (even though it's not too late to pick survival items later). Why I pick these items, it's because you get high AP earlier than with the other core items. You can start owning hence getting more coins and build Mejai's Soulstealer later. And if we compare the prices, Needlessly Large Rod costs 1600g where as Tear and Mejai together cost over 1900g.
Together with this start I usually skill my Aria of Perseverance to lvl3, then max out Hymn of Valor for early game epic damage.

Mid Game Items:

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Depending on if you need to chase, complete either Rabadon's Deathcap or shoes. If you don't have enough coins for Rabadon, buy Tear of the Goddess. Yet again, if you want CDR, pick Ionian Boots of Lucidity, if you don't mind 6,5 second cooldowns, pick Sorcerer's Shoes for magic penetration and even higher damage.
I changed item order by this point for the way you can either complete Rabadon's Deathcap or Archangels by buying Blasting Wand before completing either.

Late Game Items:

Since you'll be getting Tear of the Goddess pretty late depending on if you took if before shoes and Rabadon or after, you can let it stack some mana and get that Mejai's Soulstealer and let it stack. Rest of the item build is the same as before.

Here's a recent game I ran with this item build, I almost got a triple kill, but the third kill was a bit too late. BTW, before this point we were the losing side, but it pretty much changed the game when we aced with me killing 3 of them :D

Build 3: Resistance

What to expect when using this item build?

Keyword: magic resistance
This item build is for those teams where LeBlanc or Malzahar owns your whole team pretty much alone and you just can't stack enough magic resist to stay alive. Rarely ever you need to go this far, but this build is more for recommendations, not a build u should use as it is even though it works. However this build can be suited for ranked games with minor changes.

Item Sequence:

Starter items:

or

Core Items:

Mid Game Items:

Catalyst the Protector

Here's the deal: if you are getting owned early, don't buy Mejai's Soulstealer, buy Cataclyst the Protector to help you farm longer. That's why I don't include Mejais into this build, but you can buy it if you want.
I prefer buying Kindlegem for more HP and some CDR, before upgrading Catalyst into Banshee's Veil, because it's quite cheap and without Ionian Boots of Lucidity you will lack cooldown reduction.

Late Game Items:

You can choose which to complete first, Spirit Visage or Banshee's Veil - both are quite inexpensive at this point. One of the main reasons I chose Spirit Visage is because it's quite cheap and if you run this build, you must be having hard time with opposite team's casters so you probably won't have too many coins to waste. It also boosts up your healing on yourself, therefore helping with your low heals, because this build lacks some AP until late game.
If you get enough coins, complete Archangel's Staff, then build Abyssal Mask if the game lasts long enough. It will be last finishing touch to your complete magic resist build, providing you some AP as well (as a debuff to the opposite team).
However, it's not much use to buy Abyssal Mask if your team doesn't have any other casters than you, that's why I included it last.

Ultra Late Game

If game ever goes this far, you might get somehow the coins for a Rabadon's Deathcap for that AP you lack. Rarely ever does the game last 60-70mins, so you can also take Rabadon's Deathcap in place of Abyssal Mask if your team doesn't have any other casters than you.

This build will give you epic magic resist, but leaves you vulnerable to physical attacks. The good thing is that it's quite affordable.

Build 4: Heavily Armored Songstress

What to expect when using this item build?

Keyword:armor
You will be having massive armor and some magic resist, but you will lack ability power, therefore your heals nor your damage will be all that high.

Item Sequence:

Starter Items:

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Start with either Doran's Ring or Sapphire Crystal for early Glacial Shroud or Tear of the Goddess, however you will lack in mana regen if you pick Sapphire Crystal, so buy Mana Potion if you do. If you wish to, you can start with basic Meki Pendant and Health Potions.

Core Items:

Mid game Items:

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I chose Boots of Swiftness for this build for faster movement, but most often Ionian Boots of Lucidity are the way to go. However I believe pretty much any boots (except for Berserker's Grieves) are suited here. Ninja Tabi would be the way to go for a melee, but since Sona is ranged it's no use getting dodge shoes.
By mid game you should have completed Frozen Heart whereas you can still go for balanced build from this point without any other survival items. If you have coins and you want, you can buy Mejai's Soulstealer.
Why do we buy Blasting Wand? Because from this item you can either upgrade your Tear to Archangel's Staff or you can get yourself Rylai's Crystal Scepter.

Late Game Items:

Pick Giant's Belt for HP when you get some coins, because you won't have much HP even if you have armor, you're still squishy. Then you choose either to complete Rylai's Crystal Scepter of Archangel's Staff if Tear of the Goddess has stacked enough.
I personally underrestime Rylai's Crystal Scepter but I included in this build, because it gives you HP and AP you will lack with build and it gives you a slow effect to your Hymn of Valor which can be useful if your chasing/escaping fast movers like Master Yi.
Instead of Rylai's, you can get Randuin's Omen if you think you don't want AP.
Guardian Angel is your epic survival item, which is kinda affordable. I included it last, because I like Frozen Heart's synergy with Archangel and rarely ever you need to build yourself a tank item like this. However it can be quite nice surprise when they focus you first and you end up reviving and healing your allies :)

Item Choices

Why these items?

My builds aren't so called "aura-support" builds, because all of Sona's skills have auras that will take care of that. Instead I have focused on the synergy of mana giving survival items in combination with Archangel's Staff.

Why Mejai's Soulstealer?

Due to a comment concerning the usability of Mejai's Soulstealer I feel the need to explain why I include this item in my build.
1. It's extremely easy to get stacks, because all your auras give assists.
2. Even if you lose stacks, you will get them back very easily.
3. It's a cheap item that has potentional to massively increase your AP. Even if you get 5 stacks, which is easy, you will get 60 AP at the cost of 1235 coins. Early game you will be having 3-6 stacks and even if you keep dying early game, which usually happens, you will still keep stacks some stacks. It seems it's not much, but later on you'll be getting 8+ stacks which is a nice boost of AP with so low cost.
4. If you are doing bad, you don't have to get Mejai, BUT there have been many times when I bought Mejai, I had a score of 0-3 or even 1-6 early game due to my lane partner suiciding (or the other team was simply just better), but later on we miraculously turned the game acing the opposite team. This is when you get awesome stacks, therefore giving your team a better chance to turn the game completely around.
5. All other AP items are too expensive early game and you will need AP.

Here's an example of the games where I had negative score. Looks bad doesn't it?
The truth is, we were completely losing the game, they pushed top with Cho Gath losing vs 2. Me and Teemo lost our lane, because they ganked us under turret with four people. I had a score of 1-6, no stacks in Mejai. But then we suddenly owned them under our Inner Mid Turret, killed four of them. I got 4 stacks there, then we did it again acing them this time. That's 9 stacks, but I died then...
Eventually I had 11 stacks when they surrendered. My point here is that even if you die, you will get your stacks back, so temporarily losing some AP doesn't matter if you can get it back easily.
You don't have to get Mejai's early game, but if you buy survival first you lack healing power and damage, but it's really up to you when to buy it.

Other Good Item Choices:

Usually I go for balanced build which gives my enough cooldown reduction already, so I don't really need this. However it might be good for your team.
Shurelya's Reverie Gives a nice HP and mana regen, but you'll be having plenty of mana after lvl12 so it's not really a problem and your heals cover up for HP regen. You'll also most likely have enough cooldown reduction, but the active skill from this item is quite nice.
If you thought of building Banshee's Veil, but decided you don't need magic resist, this is a very nice item that also works in synergy with Archangel's Staff.
If you insist on taking some aura items and your team is full of casters, it's a good item in that case. Spellvamp goes to waste however, because you have a heal and only one damage skill.
This one is a cheap AP item for matches where your opponent has CC, BUT you didn't pick Mercury's Treads. If you did, NEVER buy this item, because Tenacity does not stack, meaning you will get only one Tenacity bonus even if you bought all of them. I've yet to use this, but when I do I will consider the possibility of adding it to one of my builds.
This is pretty much the same as Philosopher's Stone which I personally don't prefer taking, but considering the CC reduction this item gives for a cheap price of 1200g, it can be bought especially on Ranked Games.

Why not Aegis of the Legion?

Aegis is only good early game, late game Sona's Aria of Perseverance will give a better buff than this item. If your team insists on this item, let your tank buy it. There are builds that concentrate on making Sona's aura's stronger with this item, but I personally think it's waste of coins for Sona who needs AP and gear more than your average support (for example Janna and Soraka).
It's complete bullsh*t to say support doesn't need gear.

Laning Partners and Enemies

Good Laning Partners:

- Garen
- Jarvan IV
- Lee Sin
- Ezreal
- Miss Fortune
- Caitlyn

Most AD carries are a good combo with Sona, but especially Ezreal and Miss Fortune are quite nice, or just most of the Miss Fortune players I've laned with are awesome. :D
Durable melee's that can go in first when farming are also good laning partners. Especially Sona+Garen seems to work well, it's like a knight protecting the princess that hits with chords from behind. Also Sona's and Jarvan's ulties together can own.

Bad Laning Partners:

- Evelynn
- Twitch
- Alistar
- Fiddlesticks

All roamers are bad laning partners, because you can't hold a lane alone.
Also most squishy casters a bad combo with Sona as well as other supports.
Tanks who are melee and have no damage are also a terrible combo with Sona - I still got nightmares about laning with Alistar.
Don't lane with characters that have stealth, it's pretty much like laning alone 1v2, because they can only see you and will target you if you try to farm. I tried laning with Evelynn and most recently Twitch: we lost turret in 8 minutes and died 6 times all together.

Your worst enemies:

- Tryndamere
- Caitlyn
- Shaco
- Evelynn
- Urgot
- LeBlanc
- Nocturne

In my opinion Tryndamere is 1# enemy for Sona. His ulti is just... RRRRRAAAAAAH!
Caitlyn and Urgot have the longest ranges in game and hit really much to poor squishy Sona, especially early game. If you see you have Caitlyn on the opposite lane, prepare for turret hugging early game.
Stealthers like Shaco and Evelynn can also be a pain in the ***. Shaco can backstab you to death and Sona is really vulnerable to stuns like Evelynn's.
Mages who have silence and high damage like Leblanc can kill you in an instant before you can build up proper dedenses.
Nocturne's ulti and damage as well as FEAR can get you owned, but other than that Frozen Heart will counter him well enough.
Also some skilled Master Yi's can be troublesome.

Relatively Harmless Enemies:

- Janna
- Soraka

Mainly other supports are pretty harmless except for Nidalee, which can be a pain in the *** with those spears. Don't underestimate other Sona's however.

Farming

Mid Lane:

If nobody else goes, you can go mid, but only vs other casters. Remember that Kassadin might seem harmless early game, but after lvl6 he can own your *** with blink. If you go mid, your starting item should be Doran's Ring for more damage and HP. You will be getting all creeps to yourself so doesn't matter if you have to pay 400 coins more to get Tear of the Goddess.

Side Lane:

I prefer laning with partner, but be careful who you lane with. I mentioned in the section above who are terrible laning partners, but it's not always about heroes. If your lane partner is suicidal there's not much you can do. The reason why I take 2 health potions early game is because I prefer sparing mana for spamming Hymn of Valor and therefore harrassing opposite team.
Recently my bf has been nagging me about not picking heal as first skill, but it's just complete waste because you shouldn't be harassing too much until both your Q and W are at least lvl2.

Some notes about farming:

Sona is quite poor farmer, but her Hymn of Valor can kill two creeps easily later when it's maxed out. Early game you should remember, that creeps give less coins - therefore you can let your carry (who should be laning with you) take most of creeps.
Even if you tried taking all creeps, it's impossible with Sona's early game attack speed, so your lane partner should get loads of last hits if he has any skill at all.
Mid game, after lvl8, you can go jungle wraiths and wolves if you pushed your turret by this point (or the enemies pushed yours), but don't steal them if your jungler needs them. Someone might question me at this point "WHHYYYYY you go steal creeps", but I actually do it with other supports too, like Soraka. I can't get enough of wondering what my teammates think when I go take some creeps in the jungle :D
Late game you really don't need to take last hits much unless you need some coins fast, because you should be getting plenty of assists in teamfights therefore giving you nice amount of coins.

Gameplay

Early Game

You should harass the opposite team and try take some creeps, leaving most to your carry anyway. Don't let your teammate suicide and blame you for not healing, because your heal early game SUCKS.
If you picked Clarity, use it at lvl 3 and the next time at lvl6, but only if you need to use it. There's a trick to luring enemies to your turret when you have so low mana they think you can't do anything about them coming onto you, but then you use Clarity, own them under your turret and kill them. Last time I did this, this greedy Sion ran after Miss Fortune and I got a double kill. Also our Miss Fortune didn't die though she had so low HP.
Don't go back until you have enough coins:

955coins for Tear of the Goddess and Boots of Speed.
1390coins for Tear of the Goddess, Boots of Speed and Amplifying Tome
2190coins for Tear of the Goddess, Boots of Speed and Mejai's Soulstealer

or 1950coins for Boots of Speed and Needlessly Large Rod

At this point you should be around level 6-8. I usually stay up to 2000+ gold to get Mejai's instantly, but sometimes you die earlier and have to go back before you have enough coins to buy everything you wanted.

Mid Game

Keep on farming on your lane unless it got pushed or you pushed the turret, then you can go assist your team on ganks/pushing more turrets. After lvl8 it's safe to take wraiths and wolves in the jungle for some coins, because you'll be wanting those last 700-1000 coins for tier 2 shoes as fast as possible.
I advice to buy Mejai's Soulstealer quite soon, because usually after level 10 or at least by level 12, the ganking starts and you want to be getting those stacks as soon as possible.
Mid game you make the crucial choice what item build you want to follow, because most Sona builds have the exact same beginning. At this point you can choose to get survivability or AP, depending on how is it going.

Late Game

If the game lasts long enough you should complete your Archangel's Staff for AP boost. If you build AP you should be doing high damage and if you went for basic build, at this point you will still do nice damage, because of the synergy.
Late Game you should always stick up with your team, don't solo (except for jungling if you really need coins). Stay with your allies and assist them the best you can, never go alone because you will be focused.
At this point you have so much mana you can spam your skills without a worry from running out mana. Always do this while pushing too, because your Power Chord hits turrets and hits them hard.

Regardless of winning or losing, you don't usually have a positive score. That says nothing about how good you were: supports get focused often, because you are a crucial member to the team in team fights. If you managed to stay on positive score, that's just a bonus.

Tips

-whenever you're traveling spam Song of Celerity for constant speed burst, it will also stack your Tear of the Goddess/ Archangel's Staff
-when chasing Flash+ Hymn of Valor can kill an enemy you thought got away
-use Power Chord on turrets in combination with Hymn of Valor
-use Power Chord with Song of Celerity to slow enemies for couple of seconds
-don't move alone, you will be focused
-NEVER face check
-be careful with teams that have either Twitch, Shaco or Evelynn, because you will the one they are hunting for, so someone should always have an oracle

Summary

Sona can be build in many ways and here I have listed just a few of them, that I like better. All of these builds work like they are, but all of them can be altered to your own liking. First thing to do is however to build suitable for your current match and that was my goal on this build, to provide versatile item builds for different situations.

I hope my guide to be quite comphrehensive, but I know it lacks aura-support, but I have a good reason for that:
Sona already has her own skill auras, she really doesn't need to be build aura support. Heal her is ****py without proper AP and there's simply no good reason why your team shouldn't have 5 people fighting instead on 4 fighting and one dying, because your support has no gear.

However, I might add aura support to this build later, but as I mentioned earlier, it's up to you how you want to play, this is a GUIDE after all, not a rule on how to play her. I will add more games I played with these builds in this section later, but here are couple:

Here's the stats on probably most epic game with Sona I've ever had. Got a triple kill and dominated hard as our AP carry didn't have too good of a start.
Please leave a comment if you have something to ask - I'm open for critisism. Vote if you liked (or disliked) and please say why you thought so.
Thank you for reading!