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Sion Guide

Ability numbers checked on patch 26.21 · Strategy reviewed: October 2026

Sion splash art for this Sion guide

Sion plays the top lane as the Undead Juggernaut charge-pick tank on patch 26.22. Decimating Smash winds up a huge axe swing that stuns and deals massive damage at full charge. Soul Furnace shields Sion plus deals damage per auto hit; recast consumes stacked damage for a damage shield burst. Roar of the Slayer fires a cone that slows and reduces enemy Armor. Unstoppable Onslaught makes Sion charge forward at high speed; the first enemy hit is knocked up.

Sion’s Data Dragon file lists him under Tank and Fighter tags, 5 out of 10 difficulty rating, 175 melee auto range, and Mana as the pool. His Glory in Death passive revives Sion for a brief duration on death as an uncontrolled zombie-form; he gains massive Attack Speed and can attack during the revive window.

Abilities and role

Sion’s lane plan on patch 26.22 is the Top lane solo-queue charge-pick tank. The Unstoppable Onslaught cross-map charge covers teamfight engages from fog of war; his Glory in Death zombie-form revive post-death contributes 10 seconds of unblockable damage.

Glory in Death (Passive)

On death, Sion revives as an uncontrolled zombie-form for 10 seconds. During the revive, Sion gains massive Attack Speed plus Movement Speed and his autos deal percent-current-HP damage. For what it’s worth, Glory in Death is Sion’s primary teamfight-swing engine; a committed death during a 5v5 engage still contributes 10 seconds of zombie-DPS onto the enemy team.

Decimating Smash (Q)

Sion winds up a huge axe swing for up to 2 seconds. At full charge, the swing stuns the first enemy hit for 1.75 seconds plus deals massive damage. 10 to 6 second cooldown, 40 mana. The Q is Sion’s primary CC chain tool; a committed full-charge Q against the enemy top-laner stuns them for the all-in Soul Furnace plus auto chain.

Soul Furnace (W)

Sion shields himself plus deals damage per basic auto hit against nearby enemies. Recast within 5 seconds consumes stacked damage for a damage shield burst (bonus damage based on stored). 15 to 11 second cooldown, 60 mana. The W is Sion’s primary trade tool; a committed Soul Furnace during an all-in trade stacks damage from the enemy top-laner’s all-in burst.

Roar of the Slayer (E)

Sion fires a cone that slows and reduces enemy Armor. 12 to 8 second cooldown, 50 mana. The E is Sion’s primary setup tool; a committed Roar of the Slayer during an all-in trade reduces the enemy top-laner’s Armor for the follow-up Decimating Smash full-charge.

Unstoppable Onslaught (R)

Sion charges forward at high speed in a target direction. The first enemy hit is knocked up for 1.5 seconds plus takes massive damage. 140 to 60 second cooldown, 100 mana. The R is Sion’s primary cross-map engage tool; a committed Unstoppable Onslaught from fog of war onto the enemy ADC during an all-in teamfight ends the fight before enemies see the charge.

Build and item spikes

Sion’s lane start pairs Doran’s Shield with 2 Potions. First item is Heartsteel for the stacking HP-slam burst that pays off during committed Decimating Smash full-charge stuns.

Slot two picks Unending Despair for the AoE pulse-plus-heal that triggers inside committed Soul Furnace channels. Slot three flexes to Thornmail against AD-heavy comps for the Grievous Wounds reflect, Spirit Visage against AP drafts for the MR plus self-healing multiplier, or Warmog’s Armor for the giant HP buffer that amps Heartsteel stacks. Full first-through-sixth-item path lives on our LoL items database.

How to play by game stage

Pre-6 Sion plays Decimating Smash wave-clear with Soul Furnace trade shields. Weave Roar of the Slayer Armor-shred cone during committed trade windows. First solo kill opens at level 6 with Unstoppable Onslaught cross-map charge plus Decimating Smash full-charge stun chain.

Mid game (7-13): R Unstoppable Onslaught from the top lane onto the dragon pit lands cross-map engages.

Late game (14+): Sion fights with the ally frontline. Glory in Death zombie-form post-death contributes 10 seconds of zombie-DPS. A Thornmail fourth item amps the Grievous Wounds reflect against AD-heavy comps.

Who counters Sion

Sion’s weakness list on 26.22 centers on specific archetypes. Mobile dash top-laners who dodge Decimating Smash full-charge (Fiora Riposte, Camille E, Jax Leap Strike). Scaling top-laners who out-farm his early-game threat (Nasus, Kayle, Karthus). Percent-max-HP damage dealers (Vayne, Fiora, Kog’Maw) shred his massive HP pool.

  • Mobile tops: Fiora, Camille, Jax. Each dodge Decimating Smash full-charge.
  • Scaling tops: Nasus, Kayle, Karthus. Each out-scale Sion past minute 25.
  • Percent-HP dealers: Vayne, Fiora, Kog’Maw. Each shred Sion’s massive HP pool with percent-max-HP triggers.

Deeper matchup notes with ability-level timings for every Sion opponent land on the Sion counters page.

ARAM notes

On Howling Abyss, Sion’s kit shifts into stacked-fight engage. Heartsteel opens for the stacking HP-slam burst during long bridge standoffs. Unending Despair arrives second for the AoE pulse-plus-heal inside committed Soul Furnace channels. Spirit Visage lands third against AP-heavy enemy comps for the MR plus self-healing multiplier. R Unstoppable Onslaught across the bridge choke commits a full-charge engage onto the enemy backline for an all-in ally burst payoff.

Sion ARAM pairs well with hyper-carry ally ADCs (Jinx, Kog’Maw, Vayne) that convert his R charge-engage into guaranteed hyper-scaling payoffs. The Sion ARAM build page carries the full item path and matchup table.

Sion skins

Skins: 10 · Newest: Hextech Sion (2026)

Theme-wise, the lineup includes Blackfrost, Barbarian, Lumberjack, Hextech and multiple event drops. Three stand out for full VFX reworks on R Unstoppable Onslaught animation.

  • Blackfrost Sion (1820 RP legendary): dark-ice theme with reworked voiceover plus ice-shard Decimating Smash and frost-charge R.
  • Barbarian Sion (520 RP): barbarian-event theme with reworked warpaint Decimating Smash and tribal-charge R.
  • Hextech Sion (10 Hextech Gemstones): hextech-crystal theme with reworked crystal-shard Soul Furnace and gem-charge R.

See All Sion skins and prices for the full catalogue with RP tags and release years.

FAQ

Is Sion easy to learn?

5/10 and the gentle unkillable tank. His R Unstoppable Onslaught is a global charge; new players R from base (walk-through-waves takes 20 seconds), mains R from the river for a 2000-unit fog-charge gank. His passive revives Sion at 0 HP for a 10-second zombie form — do not panic-flash at 50 HP, you lose the revive window.