I consider Sona to be one of the most viable supports in the game right now. Despite multiple nerfs, she is still one of the most widely picked supports, along with Taric. She has a good amount of cc, huge poking damage for the laning phase, as well as the ability to support your team through buffs and heals.

I first tried out Sona when I was around level 25. She was free that week, and I was playing a game where our team was lacking a support. At that point, I didn't really play any supports (At the time, I play AP Soraka mid and had no other supports), so I picked up Sona. She is a champion that's fun to play. Despite having a higher skill cap than other supports, I learned her pretty quickly. (It's like the way how I've never managed to learn how to play Master Yi: I'm weird like that :P) After buying Sona (After a long period of delay from buying other champions), she has became one of my top support champions, along with Janna and Lux (Often played AP mid, but she's a good support too).
fillerThese are my Season 2 stats as Sona. Welp, might not be the best, but I don't always do that well. When I do do well though, my AD carry gets really fed. :D
Check out my other guides!
Lux: The Final Spark. A Comprehensive Guide.
Ezreal: A True Display of Skill. A Comprehensive Guide.

The support is often the underplayed, and undesirable role. However, the support plays a vital part in your team. How? A good support will be able to keep your AD carry alive, and fed. As we all know, a fed ADC wins games. In that sense, the support is the most important player on the team, along with the Jungler, but is seldom recognized. Both teams will be like "OMG THAT Ezreal IS SO FED QQ", but consider this: How did he get fed? It's either because he was laning against really, uhh, "bad" opponents, or he just had a good support that kept him alive and well.

As a support, you do not have damage output, like the other members of your team. You also do not have the tankiness of, well, tanks. However, you have a wide skill set, which can be used both offensively and defensively, as well as the game-changing cc in Crescendo. A good support will be able to survive team fights without getting hit, while still being able to support your team. That comes from the knowledge of positioning: A skill that is easy to learn, but very hard to master.

While other members of your teams are either farming, fighting enemies, or something else, you are probably roaming the map, placing those valuable sight wards all over the place. Those wards [b]save lives[/b]. Well, "If your opponent wants your head they'll come anyway" (Quote from M5), but having that extra vision allows you to be aware of when there might be trouble, and when to stay away from certain areas. Vision on vital buffs can also secure global objectives for your team.

Perhaps the undesirable part of playing a support is the lack of damage output (Hence why tanks are not popular in general), but they play a vital role in a team, and can secure victory in a game, if played correctly.

Pros +Easy to learn! +AoE spells! +A lot of poke! + Crescendo is an AoE stun! +Underestimated healing! +A speed boost! +Great for smartcasting! +/t /j. :P filler

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Cons -Positioning is hard to learn. -REALLY squishy. -No mana regen unlike Soraka. -Hard to master. -Mana-hungry early. -Role is hard to fill.

The above are standard runes that I find viable on support champions.

Greater Mark of Magic Penetration grants us a good amount of MPen. Why on a support, though? This is amazing for early game, as you will be using Hymn of Valor to poke A LOT. The bonus damage from Power Chord scales off Magic Damage as well. There aren't really any other good Marks left, either.

Greater Seal of Armor gives us a nice amount of armor, which is quite useful when in the laning phase, because you will more than likely be up against an AD carry. This allows you to survive their harasses, and survive longer in a team fight.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Magic Resist grants us late game MR, which, like Greater Seal of Armor, will keep us alive in a fight. You are one of the more vulnerable members of your team, and you won't be of any use as a support if you get melted instantly.

Greater Quintessence of Gold grants us some GP10 effects. This is vital for a support, as a large part of your income will go to sight wards and the sort. This stacks quite nicely with our other GP10 items, and should also allow you to build your items somewhat faster.
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These are some other runes that I find viable on Sona.

Greater Mark of Precision grants us both ArP and MPen. Why do we want the ArP? Early game, you will be poking with Hymn of Valor and Power Chord procs. The Power Chord requires you to use auto attacks, allowing us to deal extra damage. If you choose to build Lich Bane, it stacks well with Power Chord, and the damage bonus is physical. By using this rune, you will only be lacking around 4 MPen, while gaining 9 ArP. It is quite expensive though, at 820 apiece. If you can't afford this, Greater Mark of Magic Penetration is your best choice.

greater seal of vitality gives us a huge amount of health late-game, which is vital, considering how squishy Sona is. IMO, these runes are great, but I prefer to use greater seal of replenishment on supports, considering their mana usage.

Greater Glyph of Scaling Ability Power gives us some late-game AP. Since Sona is an AP champion, this will benefit us. This won't make much of a difference in a team fight though, so I still prefer my recommended Glyph for supporting.

Greater Quintessence of Movement Speed works nicely with the support role, because you will constantly be roaming, whether it is to catch up to teammates, or place that vital sight ward. Replace this with Greater Quintessence of Gold if you think you can survive without the extra gold.

Greater Quintessence of Ability Power gives us a good amount of flat AP. This is quite useful in the laning phase, as you will be able to harass your opponents with far more damage.

For me, Flash is absolutely necessary, I can't play without it. This is a multi-purpose spell, which can either be used offensively or defensively. Maybe you want to get in range for that Crescendo. Maybe you need to get to an ally for Aria of Perseverance. Maybe you just need to escape from a gank. And so on.

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This is rapidly becoming the spell of choice for support champions. Exhaust slows the target, and makes them deal less damage, like the way your Power Chord does, except even better. You can use this to chase down an enemy, or to save an ally from those last few hits.

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This is actually a pretty nice summoner spell, which adds to your healing abilities. However, this is usually carried by the AD carry, as allies nearby only receive 50% of the effect. If your partner wants you to take this, go ahead.

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This used to be the support spell of choice, but it just doesn't fit in with the current meta anymore. This can be used to scout the map, important objectives, or to prevent ganks. It's nice to have at higher elo play, but spells like Exhaust have replaced this.

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Consider CLG NA's 3 Teleport 1 Promote tactic. Well, it's great for pushing down towers, but honestly, don't use this unless you're in a ranked team. CLG's worked it out, it's worked well for them, so I thought I might include it in here.

After casting 3 spells, Sona's next attack deals 8 + (10 x level) extra magic damage. This enhanced attack has an additional effect depending on which spell was cast last. Additionally, Sona's auras persist for 1 seconds after deactivating. Sona's basic abilities also set off a .5 second cooldown to the other two basic abilties.

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Sona's passive allows us for aggressive laning phase. When paired with Hymn of Valor, this combo can take down quite a lot of the target's health, because the bonus damage is doubled. If Aria of Perseverance is active, this will act like a mini- Exhaust, because the target's damage output will be decreased. If Song of Celerity is active, this will slow them, allowing for easy chases and/or escapes.filler
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Sona plays the Hymn of Valor, granting nearby allied champions 4 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 20 bonus Damage and Ability Power. Additionally, casting this ability sends out bolts of sound, dealing 50 / 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 (+70% of ability power) magic damage to the nearest two enemy champions or monsters.

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This will be our main poking tool, and is your only spell other than your ultimate that does damage. I like to max this first. With this spell, you can deal significant damage to your laning opponents, harass your opponents hard while your partner farms, and provides an aura that gives nearby allies AD and AP. Usually, I sit in the bush, and when the enemy comes close to last-hit, I'll use this and Power Chord to scare them off. Otherwise, it's good for general damage and the aura effect, so I will usually keep the aura on. It hits the two closest targets, but it prioritizes champions.Note: I did not hit Ashe. Tristana did.
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Sona plays the Aria of Perseverance, granting nearby allied champions 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 / 15 bonus Armor and Magic Resist. Casting this ability sends out healing melodies, healing Sona and a nearby wounded ally for 40 / 60 / 80 / 100 / 120 (+25% of ability power). Additionally, both Sona and the healed champion will have the bonuses of this aura doubled for 3 seconds.

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This spell grants us the ability to heal nearby allies, and provide them with a defensive aura, much like Aegis of the Legion without the AD bonus. While this spell cannot compete with Soraka's Astral Blessing or Taric's Imbue, this spell costs far less mana, and has a shorter cooldown. Along with tear of goddess, you will be able to spam this often. This can only heal yourself and one allied champion at a time, depending on the health of the allies close to you. The spell will automatically target the one with the lowest health percentage. I will usually max this second, unless you are losing the lane quite badly.filler
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Sona plays the Song of Celerity, granting nearby allied champions 4 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 20 bonus Movement Speed. Additionally, casting this ability energizes nearby allies 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 / 14% additional movement speed for 1.5 seconds.

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This spell grants us extra Move speed, allowing us to get from point A to point B faster. This won't be used much early game. Usually, you can activate it while you're heading back to your lane (Stacking up your tear of goddess in the process), or just roaming and warding. The speed bonus is more than one might think. It's also really nice for chasing down targets, because the Power Chord bonus slows the target. Escaping from ganks with this active is also a good idea.filler
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Sona plays her ultimate chord, forcing enemy champions to dance (stun) for 1.5 seconds and take 150 / 250 / 350 (+80% of ability power) magic damage.

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This spell is the one that gives Sona a significant team fight presence. This is a skill-shot stun that can hit multiple targets. You'd usually want to aim for as many targets as possible, but prioritize the enemy's damage source, for example the AD carry. There really is no point using this on a Soraka when you could hit the enemy Vayne. This spell can change the outcome of a fight if used correctly. Alternately, you can also use this spell for escaping a bad situation. Crescendo, Song of Celerity, Power Chord, away you go.

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At level 1, I typically start out with Hymn of Valor. You can consider charging up Power Chord before you leave for your lane. The damage you deal with this combo is quite significant early game.

After that, I usually pick Aria of Perseverance, for healing effects. It's great for when you're taking heavy harass damage, and the aura gives us extra defense. Even if you aren't getting hit much, this is still a better choice than getting Song of Celerity.

At level 3, you have a few choices. Level up Hymn of Valor if you are doing well in your lane, so you can use this for better harassing, and further zone your opponents. Aria of Perseverance is a better choice if you are not doing so well in the lane, and is taking quite a lot of damage. Song of Celerity is still a -meh- choice at this level, only get it if your lane partner did NOT start Boots.

After that, you will want to level up your skills situationally, unlike other items that have a set skill sequence. Prioritize Hymn of Valor if you are doing well in lane, and favor a more aggressive playstyle, and take Aria of Perseverance if you are having trouble, and wants to play more passively. Get Crescendo whenever possible, as it is your strongest form of crowd control. Putting a level in Song of Celerity early is necessary, but you really don't have to level it up much until later, when you need to get from point A to point B faster.

This is my standard choice for starting a game as a support. This gives us some Mana Regen, which is nice for our mana consumption early game. This is the single cheapest non-consumable item that you can buy, meaning you'd enjoy the benefits while sparing plenty of gold for early game sight wards. Build this into philosopher's stone, which will be your first GP10 item.

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This is another good idea to start the game. You get extra speed, and this will make the early laning phase a lot safer. However, you do not have the luxury of increased Mana Regen, nor the extra money for more sight wards. In fact, you will only have enough for 1, or 2 if you max Wealth . I usually only get this on champions like support Lux, where you'd be building more AP items than aura items.

This item is amazing for early game CDR, which works along the ideas that Sona's spells are meant to be spammed. This allows us to use abilities more often, and will help us achieve that 40% cap early on.

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These boots give us a tremendous amount of MS if we are out of combat. As a support, you will be roaming and placing sight wards a LOT. Meaning, these boots will help you do that faster.

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*I consider the above boots to be the most viable on supports. Build situationally, and every pair of boots other than Berserker's Greaves work well on Sona.

IMO, this is the most important item you can get on Sona, and is the only item that I would buy regardless of situation. The item itself gives us nice Mana Regen and a tremendous amount of mana, increasing for every time we use abilities. Since Sona will spam spells quite a lot, her skill set synergizes with this item really well.

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This item builds from our early philosopher's stone. It gives us a nice amount of health, an abundance of regeneration stats, as well as an active that provides us with a huge boost in speed. Use this to chase targets after a fight, or escape from a lost cause. This is usually my first full item, unless I choose to get Aegis of the Legion.

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This item grants us a good amount of health and armor, not to mention an aura of increased Health regen and an Active shield for all allies nearby. While the shield itself isn't so big, using this on your whole team essentially means your team gains over 1000 in terms of effective health. I almost always get this right after Shurelya's Battlesong.

IMO, this is one of the most cost-efficient items in the game. For just a bit less than 2k gold, you get a decent amount of health, armor, and MR. We also get this aura, that gives nearby allies armor, MR, AS WELL AS AD! Maybe it's just 8, but this can mean a different outcome in a fight.

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zeke's herald

This item gives us health and CDR, as well as a Unique Aura effect which grants AS and Life Steal. As the current meta dictates ADC bot, and bruisers in top lane and/or jungle, this item would often benefit your team well. I typically get this item if my team is AD-heavy, after Locket of the Iron Solari.

zeke's herald

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Essentially the AP Counterpart of Zeke's herald, this item grants AP and spell-vamp, both to yourself and to your allies, through its Unique Aura effect. The spell vamp grants your teammates extra sustainability, and the bonus AP is nice to have. I like to get this item if you have an AP-heavy team, and if none of your teammates have this item.

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Since the nerfs to this item a while back, it is no longer as viable. However, it is still a nice choice for when your team is AP heavy. You'd likely get close enough to the enemy team to use the Aura when you use Crescendo, and it also gives a good amount of MR. Get this when your team is AP heavy, but be careful about your positioning when you use this.

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We would get this item if the enemy team has a fed champion who relies on AS. From this, we get a good amount of armor, a bit of CDR, as well as a Unique Passive that has a chance to slow your attacker down if you are hit with basic attacks. We can use the Unique Active effect for the same purpose as well. This is essentially an Exhaust, as it can effectively shut down a carry if used correctly.

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This item grants a massive amount of armor, and quite a lot of mana, as well as a whopping 20% CDR! We also have an Aura effect that reduces nearby enemies' AS, which works well in conjunction with Randuin's Omen. For its value, it's also quite cheap. I would recommend getting this if the opposing team is AD-heavy, or if you are in a situation where you would have to build Randuin's Omen over Locket of the Iron Solari.

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This item grants a significant amount of health, as well as an aura that gives Mana Regen and CDR. It's a nice item to have, and especially useful for just about any team composition, even more so if your team is more AP-orientated. This will usually be my replacement for Will of the Ancients if your team already has one.

This builds from our early Tear of the Goddess, and will provide us with effective AP for bonus damage output and healing effects. If I have enough gold after finishing all my other items, I will usually purchase this.

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This item scales quite well with our passive, and the "spammability" of Sona's spells. By late game, this can be used to destroy enemy structures quickly, as the bonus damage is physical, despite scaling off AP.

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This item is amazing. At less than 3k gold, you get a whopping 90 AP. Nothing under 3k gold will grant this much AP, except if you are stacking Will of the Ancients auras. This also provides us with a good 40 MR, a nice amount of CDR, as well as a massive supply of mana regeneration.

While you are not a significant source of damage on your team, I consider this snowballing item to be amazing on not just Sona, but any support that scales off AP.

First, you will be getting assists easily. This benefit is magnified on Sona, as you can gain assists simply by standing near your teammates so that they'd receive your aura. Under these circumstances, you will be gaining stacks very quickly.

As a support, you will be in the back of your team, granting them auras, healing effects, and stunning the opponents with Crescendo. As a support should be a good strategist, as well as having a good understanding on the concept of positioning, you should never be getting hit. You should not be killed by the enemy unless it is to save a teammate. If your opponent had any sense, they would not focus you when there are more prominent threats, which includes pretty much everyone else you may have on your team. Therefore, it's unlikely that you will have trouble maintaining your stacks.

Finally, if the opponents DO decide to focus you (A typical effect of purchasing a snowballing item), it's their loss. As a support, you do not have that much damage in team fights. Your team's damage output is entirely based on your teammates, and your job is to keep them alive. If you are being focused, it means your teammates are safe, and are (hopefully) destroying the enemy team.

If this item is stacked up, you gain a significant amount of AP, improving your abilities to support. This also works to mislead the enemy team, giving them a dilemma as to who to focus. If they decide to focus you because you have a fully stacked Mejai's Soulstealer, the rest of your team can finish them off. If they ignore you, well, your AP scalings are actually pretty darn high. 70% on Hymn of Valor, and 80% on Crescendo, not to mention you have Power Chord, and that you are capable of spamming your spells for maximum effect.

sight ward

This item is our basic source of map vision. When this item is placed, it remains in the said location for 3 full minutes, providing a circle of vision, or in other words, seeing through the fog of war. The circle can be blocked by terrain, such as walls and bushes. The ward can see inside of a bush only if it is inside the said bush. They cost 75 gold apiece, and you can keep up to 5 in each inventory slot you have. This does not reveal stealthed targets, and is invisible to the enemy team.
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This is an upgraded version of the basic sight ward, and reveals stealthed targets in the area, such as Noxious Traps, enemy sight wards and Vision Wards, and Evelynn. This item has the same vision radius of the normal sight ward, and can also be blocked by terrain.
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This item is a consumable item that allows the user to see invisible targets around them. At 400 gold each, this is the most expensive consumable item you can buy, but the effects remain until death. Meaning, it will stay for the entire game if you don't die. You can use this to clear out enemy sight wards. They take 3 auto attacks to destroy, and grant 25 gold each. This can also be used to break Noxious Traps, but they give no gold. Consider this a mobile Vision Ward.
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This summoner spell was once a favorite among supports. When used, this grants vision to an area for a few seconds, with the approximate range of a sight ward, and reveals targets in a brush. The range is global, meaning the user doesn't have to be anywhere close to get vision. This is especially useful to scout key objectives like Dragon and Baron Nashor.
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As a general rule, you want to place sight wards where you need vision, be it in a bush, a lane, around key buffs, you name it. However, you usually want to place it inside a bush, as it will provide more vision. For example, if a ward is placed directly beside a bush, half of its vision area is cut off by the bush. Usually, you want to cover as many "paths" as possible with a ward, to maximize its effects.
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Some of my favorite warding locations.
fillerPlacing wards in the Tri-Bush grants you some vision of the river, as well as junglers that may be approaching from the Blue Jungle.
fillerThis ward grants me vision of a portion of the Purple Jungle, the river, as well as the Dragon. The downside to this is that you can't see inside the pit, but this is enough vision for someone like Lux to steal it. I don't like to put it inside the pit, because you would not be getting vision of the river.
fillerThis ward grants us vision of part of our jungle. Notice that we have vision of the Wraith camp as well. Paired with the Tri-Bush ward, it is impossible for the enemy to invade without getting seen.
fillerYour jungler is now even safer than before.
fillerThis is a great ward for the mid lane. You can see if the enemy attempts to gank mid, or take the blue buff. Along with the Dragon ward and the Tribush ward, you will have the entire bottom half of the river covered.
fillerThis ward grants vision on the bottom half of the river, where you can see the enemy coming out of the Tribush as well as the River. You will have more time to escape if you put it here, as opposed to in the bush. It's not that far from the lane, either.
fillerWarding the side bushes will make laning even safer, since many supports like to sit in the bushes, waiting for an opportunity. This can also prevent junglers' lane ganks, as well as allow Vayne to easily land Condemn.
fillerThis ward gives you vision of the Purple Blue buff. It can tell you and your team if anyone is attempting to take it, as well as grant vision for that portion of the jungle.
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I will not go into the other half of the map, as all you have to do is mirror the locations anyway. :P

The role "support" essentially means you have to "support" your team. In the early-game, it's mainly your AD carry you have to worry about. You want to keep him alive in lane, let him farm up, and possibly get him a few kills. A fed AD carry typically wins games. How might one feed your AD carry? There are various methods.

1. KEEP THEM ALIVE.
This is perhaps the most important objective you have to fill as a support. There's no point in trying to get your partner fed if he's dying every 5 minutes. As Sona, you have multiple ways to do just that. First and foremost, you have a [b]healing[/b] ability. Aria of Perseverance has low cooldown and a relatively low mana cost, unlike other heals such as Astral Blessing and Primal Surge. The spell is very much spammable once you purchase Tear of the Goddess, as your mana supply will be huge. While the heal value isn't that high, you can use it often to make it up. Keep your AD carry as close to full health as possible, as you would never know when he'd need that extra 50 health.
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2. HELP YOUR AD CARRY EARN GOLD.
Essentially, getting a teammate fed is to allow them to have more gold than your opponents do, either through farming, objectives, or killing champions. As Sona, you can help them with all of the above methods. How, though? Don't worry if your partner doesn't know how to last-hit properly. All you have to do is to make sure that the opponent has less CS. Your damage early game with Hymn of Valor + Power Chord is quite high, and will usually cause opponents to back off, making them lose cs. I recommend sitting at the edge of the bush, and attack the enemy every time they get close. (Be more careful when the opponents have CC, or if they have your bush warded.)
Your passive aura from Hymn of Valor should make it a lot easier for your partner to last hit, and that will benefit him as well.
You can take down objectives quite quickly with your Power Chord, and the AD bonuses from Hymn of Valor.
Finally, you have many methods to kill an enemy champion. You can make them take serious damage with Hymn of Valor, and stun them with Crescendo. If the enemy decides to run, you can activate Song of Celerity to catch up to them, allowing for an easy kill.

This phase of the game will usually begin once a turret has been destroyed. It generally means that some players will begin roaming the map. During this time, you want to get the enemy's outer turret down as soon as possible. You are in a bigger risk of getting ganked during this time, so play with more caution.

1. DESTROY THE ENEMY'S TURRET.
This is your utmost objective throughout the game, because turrets win games. You can be up 30 kills, but if the opponent destroys your Nexus it's all over. If another turret in the game has been destroyed already, that adds to your need to gain that objective. The opponent in the said lane may begin to roam the map, making it more dangerous for you in lane. Make sure the rivers have vision with sight wards, and get the enemy tower down as soon as possible. Getting your AD carry a few kills in the duration is also a good idea.

2. CLEAR OUT ENEMY WARDS.
By this point in the game, you can begin to buy an Oracle's Elixir. This can be used to clear out enemy sight wards and other invisible units. As long as you're not dying much, you are not losing money. Important objectives such as Baron, Dragon, and the jungle buffs will usually be warded, so focus those places when you're clearing. Don't go anywhere without vision! The Oracle's Elixir costs 400 gold, so it's not cheap. Don't waste it!

3. ASSIST OTHER LANES.
At this time, your role not only goes to supporting your AD carry, it extends to the rest of your team. You will be roaming the map a lot by this time, so help out other lanes! Mostly the mid lane though, because the top lane is kind of far. Make your teams focus on taking down turrets rather than going for kills. As a support, you are the play-caller, and it is your duty to make sure the team knows what to do, and cooperate. At a lower-elo, that is not always possible, but just try your best. If there is a particular teammate that is harassing everyone, ignore them. It will make your life easier.

This is the point in the game where one team fight can determine the outcome of a game. With all the resources you've gained in the earlier phases, this is the part where they go to use. By now, you are supporting the entire team.

1. GAIN A VISION ADVANTAGE.
You still want to be clearing out enemy sight wards with your Oracle's Elixir, provided you didn't lose too many of them. You also should be placing those vital sight wards all over the map, and providing your team with vision, so you know what the enemy team is doing. If the entire enemy team can sneak up on you, you'd probably lose the game.

2. ENGAGE TEAM FIGHTS.
Sona is one of the supports that can do just that. Basically, you want to fire Crescendo when the enemy team is all clumped up. Sounds easy, right? Consider a few factors. First, you don't want to die to the opposing team before you get into range. Second, you want to make sure that your team can follow up quickly, as the stun isn't all that long. Finally, consider the health on your team. If your team mates are low on health from Baron, don't engage. You'll just waste the Baron buff.

3. SUPPORT YOUR TEAM.
During the fight, Sona has a multitude of spells for this purpose. While her damage and healing effects aren't *That* significant, the aura effects can be game changing. Constantly switching between Hymn of Valor and Aria of Perseverance will allow your team to receive the full benefits Sona has to offer. Usage of items will also help as well. Auras like Aegis of the Legion will allow your team to gain an advantage against the enemy team. Using Locket of the Iron Solari is a must during a fight, because it means your team gains around 1000 in effective health. After a fight, you can use Shurelya's Battlesong for chasing or disengaging.

Don't ask why, ask "WHY NOT".

True, we almost never see AP Sona mid. However, it's beneficial to know how to play Sona in the mid lane, especially if you're in ELO hell, IMO. True, this is very unconventional. It's like the way how we almost never see Zilean mid. However, you have to consider this: What if your mid laner is AFK? Provided your AD carry knows positioning well, he should be able to farm effectively under his tower, allowing you to take over the middle lane and not leave the enemy to free-farm. Even if you have a jungler like Cho'Gath or Fiddlesticks, it's better for them to keep jungling regardless because they don't have the second summoners for laning, and they will need to help the lanes more often to allow for a better chance to stay in the game.

Sona's AP ratios actually aren't half bad. 70% on Hymn of Valor and 80% on Crescendo, not to mention built-in sustain in Aria of Perseverance and a speed boost from Song of Celerity. These mechanics all benefit one in the laning phase, be it in a solo lane or a duo lane. I like to build AP Sona with a typical Karthus build, adding on a Lich Bane. Why those items, though?

As we will be spamming our spells often, CDR will benefit us a lot. You can also choose Sorcerer's Shoes for extra damage, but these boots works well with Tear of the Goddess allowing for easy stacking. This also works towards charging up that Power Chord as well.

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This item is picked very often on mages that focus on sustained damage as opposed to burst damage. What Sona has is the sustained damage. You don't have any burst, but you can cast your spells often for utmost effect. This allows us to survive longer in lane, and also stacks well with our later Archangel's Staff.

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This is the most widely purchased AP item, because of the incredible bonuses this gives. Dubbed the Infinity Edge of AP Casters, this item grants us 140 AP and a 30% bonus, the "best investment since Zhonya's Ring. Of course, you will see your damage skyrocket once you get this item.

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This works so well with Sona's playstyle of spell spamming. We can charge it up at a decent speed, and the AP bonuses will be quite significant as well because of all the mana we earn from Rod of Ages and Lich Bane. It's like how you might want to consider this item on Karthus, same idea.

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This item is amazing on any AP champion that uses auto attacks from time to time, such as Twisted Fate, Lux, and yes, Sona. This stacks with Power Chord because it is essentially an improved auto attack.

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Having fun in a Ranked game supporting, had a team fight in the enemy's jungle, and I somehow ended up with a Triple. xD

2012/12/03: Added in pictures!
2012/10/31: Fixed introduction (Hate the glitch). Updated Rune Set section.
2012/10/30: Updated runes, will edit text at a later date. (Hate typing on my phone :s)
2012/10/27: Guide published.

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-AP Sona, for when your mid laner is afk.
-ARAM Sona, when you just want to chill.
-AD Sona, for the LOLs.
-Coming up with a conclusion (I hate essays.)
-Laning opponents and partners list.