Control the rhythm of the match with Sona, a support champion who uses an etwahl sending harmonies to support her allies, but also striking down her unsuspecting enemies. Sona is an exceptional contributor for team fights, bringing an array of AoE spells with their effects. Learn to become the Maven of the Strings and unlock the full potential of Sona.

Abilities

Power Chord (Passive)

Sona's passive gives her the ability to deal bonus damage and apply an additional effect depending on the melody she last cast. This makes Sona unique as a support because it gives you the option of deciding how you will play out your passive. Each of her basic abilities provides an additional effect. All her spells are AoE and empower her and all allied champions who enter its radius. Be mindful that her passive can be consumed on any auto-attack against anything.

Hymn of Valor (Q)

Sona's (Q) is her poke damage spell, the cool thing about this spell is that it deals damage to the two nearest enemies, prioritizing champions. This makes her early poke damage strong since it doesn't require any skill shot. Capitalize on your (Q) to poke down the enemy team. Her aura is good in providing additional bonus magic damage with her passive being straight out damage. Sona may be a squishy champion, but her (Q) alone offers a lot in the early game.

Aria of Perseverance (W)

Sona's (W) is her healing spell with the aura giving a shield to her and any allied champion who enters her aura. Be careful not to overuse this spell in the early game because it does cost a lot of mana, and will leave you without mana pretty quickly. In the early game, Aria of Perseverance (W) is also not the strongest, so use it strategically, if you get ganked, engaged on, etc. The passive on Aria of Perseverance (W) is reducing the target enemy champion's damage output by 25%. It is your version of exhaust, which gives you a lot of utility for choosing summoner spells. My advice is to always have your (W's) power chord ready to use since you have the potential to reduce the enemy's carry damage. During the mid to late game, Sona's passive will come up a lot more quickly, allowing you to possibly spam Aria of Perseverance's power chord.

Song of Celerity (E)

Song of Celerity (E) gives bonus movement speed to Sona and her allies who enter her aura. This is a very simple spell with the passive reducing its target's movement speed by 40%, good for chasing down enemy stragglers or making a nice escape. During team fights, Sona's (E) can help in dodging enemy spells and provide movement speed towards your team, especially your carry in avoiding the enemy's team carry. Sona is about analyzing the situation and using her AoE spells to the team's benefit, which is why her passive is important. Do you need the extra damage? Should you reduce the target enemy's damage? Should you reduce the target enemy's movement speed? capitalize on that passive to possibly change the tempo of the team fight.

Crescendo (R)

Sona's (R) is a stun that can catch the enemy's off guard. It is a good follow up ultimate, but it's also a good disengage ultimate, disrupting the enemy's team initiation. Because this spell is one-directional, you can miss if the enemy team predicts the ultimate, which is why it's best to wait until someone starts the team fight. At level 6 Sona's starts getting stronger, Crescendo (R) also reduces the cooldown on all of Sona's basic abilities, giving her the power spike in almost spamming her spells.

Summoner Spells

For summoner spells I take flash as a primary escape summoner spell, this allows you to escape potential ganks or mistakes.

Ignite is a good summoner spell because it adds extra pressure in the lane. Sona is a good poke champion and ignite can be the outcome of a skirmish or following it up for a kill.

I only use Exhaust when you are against hard assassins that can easily dive into the backline. The damage reduction and added slow makes it an exceptional summoner spell to survive potential ganks by Zed, Kayn, Draven, etc.

Rune Pages

Summon Aery is your typical to go rune page for Sona it provides good early poke damage. Summon Aery is a good choice because of Sona's abilities, and the power spike it has as the game progresses benefitting from items that increase healing and shields. Be mindful that Aery can also proc off auto attacks, which may not be the best choice in team fights. Sona's early game is tough, her mana pool is low, and her spells are expensive to cast.

Manaflow is a good option because it increases mana and eventually providing mana regen, two stats that Sona will love you for. When going over the third rune selection both Absolute focus and Transcendence are good choices. Absolute Focus gives good lane pressure and early poke damage, and Transcendence gives a 10% CDR very good choice for mid to late games. I am a fan favorite of Scorch because it helps Sona's early game poke by assisting your ADC in helping with damage during the lane phase.

Guardian rune page is good against champions with strong engage like Blitzcrank, Leona, Thresh, etc. The cool thing about guardian is the shield that is provided, with Sona being a squishy champion the guardian rune page gives her the ability to stay in lane longer. Guardian also has the same range as Sona's aura, so it makes it very easy to calculate how close you can be to your allied champion. You still want to capitalize on your poke damage, shield bash is a good rune to choose from since it increases your next basic attack when you gain a shield which can be procced from guardian or your (W).

Again, Sona's survivability is low, yet she excels being in the lane as her AoE spells provide excellent support. Bone plating gives her that extra survivability, especially in the early game. Lastly, revitalize, I like this rune because it increases your healing and shield by 5% and an additional 10% on low targets. This is a cool rune because it affects Sona's Aria of Perseverance (W) along with items such as Locket of the Iron Solari.

Inspiration is by far one of my favorites because it provides utility, which I believe benefits Sona a lot more. Magical footwear is nice to have because you can focus the extra 300 gold on completing an item quicker. If you have an excellent team, each takedown will make your boots come sooner. If you don't mind spending the extra 300 gold, biscuit delivery is good with sustain in the lane and permanently increasing Sona's mana while restoring health and mana, the downside you only create 3 biscuits in the first 6 minutes of the game. Lastly, cosmic insight is a powerful rune because it gives CDR and Sona benefits from CDR.

Itemization

Boots are very situational, so look at the enemy team and decide which will be strongest to have.

Boots of Mobility > Movement Speed

Provides the fastest movement speed outside of combat and pair well with Sona’s Song of Celerity (E). Out of combat gives Sona the movement speed to ward efficiently and be able to turn around quickly.

Mercury Threads > Tenacity/AP Resist

If the enemy team has a lot of CC or AP, go for Merc Threads. These boots offer +25 magic resist along with reducing stuns, slows, taunts, fear, silences, bling and immobilizes by 30%.

Ninja Tabi > Armor/DMG Reduction

If the enemy team has a lot of assassins or AD heavy, Ninja Tabi is a wonderful choice. These boots offer +20 armor while blocking 12% from basic attacks.

Boots of Swiftness > Slow Resist

This is very situational because many champions slow but are mages, assassins, tanks, etc. These boots only reduce slow effects by 25%, really think if these boots will be an excellent choice or not.

Sona benefits from so many items, and again it depends on the comp you are up against, so use your best judgment when building items. You wouldn’t run armor against a mage and vice versa.

Athene’s Unholy Grail > Damage/Utility/CDR/Sustain

Athene’s Holy Grail is a powerful item on Sona, almost as it was meant for her, and many items help Sona, especially with her abilities being AoE. Athene’s Unholy Grail gains Blood Charges from 35% of the premitigation damage dealt. Healing or shielding will consume these blood charges and heal your target. This is a cool item because the burst of healing can be very helpful. Its other passive provides Sona with extra 5 ability power for every +25% base mana regen. Disabling Harmony allows you to benefit from the extra ability to power through items.

Redemption > CDR/HP+Mana Regen/ Sustain

Redemption has a unique active spell that heals allies and damages enemies in an area. The extra HP, mana regen offers great sustain, but its effect of 10% extra healing and shielding synergizes well with Summon Aery, Aria of Perseverance (W) and Locket of the Iron Solary.

Ardent Censer > Damage/Utility/CDR

Ardent Censer's unique passive is that whenever someone is healed or shielded, it gives them attack speed while it gives Sona extra on-hit-magic damage. The beauty of Ardent Censer is that because Sona's abilities are AoE she can provide this effect to all her allies, and with her reduce cd on abilities, she is constantly reapplying the effect, making this a powerful item on Sona.

Mikael’s Crucible > Survivability/CDR/Uility

Mikael’s Crucible is your in-game item version of cleanse. This is a good item if you are up against hard CC comps, most of the time you will save this item if you carry gets CC. Mikael’s grants bonus movement speed for 2s after cleansing someone. The increased mana and HP regeneration along with the 20% heal and shield power is good synergy with Sona.

Locket of the Iron Solari > Utility/Survivability

Locket of the Iron Solari gives you an additional 30 armor and 60 magic resist increasing your overall survivability while having an active ability to provide a shield to you and your allies. This is a good item to increase survivability, with Sona being near her team because of her AoE spells, this item can come in handy during team fights.

Seraph’s Embrace > Damage/Uility/Mana

Seraph’s Embrace is an item that has been showing up on Sona more often now. It offers Sona a lot more mana, and mana sustain, along with extra CDR, with an active ability of a large shield. Overall, this item is very strong on Sona because it provides the stats she relies on.

Lich Bane > Damage

Lich Bane is mostly picked up by AP carry’s, though it works wonderfully on Sona. This item is situational because you will trade off utility items for a damage item. Building Lich Bane is not cheap. Think about how you would play out with this item and help your team. If you are ahead, that might be a good sign, but other than that it is best to stick with support items.

Zeke’s Convergence > Survivability/Utility

Zeke’s Convergence provides additional armor, so it is good against an AD heavy team. The cool ability about Zeke’s Convergence is that when you cast your ultimate, you summon a storm around you slowing nearby enemies by 20%, while your ally’s attack burns them for 30% bonus magic damage (only one ally can be linked). The additional effect is; slowing a burning target deals magic damage while slowing them by 40% instead. This is a powerful item, that can prevent escapes while slowing and doing additional damage to secure kills.

Morellonomicon > Damage/Utility

This item is a good counter against those that have a lot of sustain especially when you are up against support champions like Soraka and Yuumi. The grievous wounds that Morellonomicon is good against these types of champions. The item itself offers significate AP and some magic penetration. Generally, you leave Morellonomicon or Mortal Reminder to your carries, but that is if they get those items.

Twin Shadows > Damage/Utility

I love Twin Shadows because it offers damage, CDR, movement speed, slow, and vision. Sona is a fairly squishy champion, so using Twin Shadows to scout enemies is great in avoiding to face check. Twin Shadows can also slow enemies a good item to set up kills.

Zhonya’s Hourglass > Damage/Survivability

Zhonya’s Hourglass is a good item to prevent a bursty assassin to grab a kill against you. Giving up a support item for Zhonya’s Hourglass can be a good strategic play because Sona excels in staying in team fights for as long as she can. This item can be a determining factor in winning team fights.

Banshee’s Veil > Damage/Survivability

While Zhonya’s Hourglass can save you from bursty assassins, Banshee’s Veil can save you from hard engage champions like Malphite or Blitzcrank. CC is a strong component in the game and being able to survive through it will make you come out on top. Banshee’s Veil is also good against mages since it blocks one spell, so use your best judgment if this is the item you need to better support your team.

My Go-To Item Build

When I play Sona, I build to benefit the team, and choose items that have a strong team fight presence. Shards of True Ice will always be an item for Sona no matter what because you have the responsibility of making sure your team has vision of the map. Boots will depend on the matchup, but most of the time I go with Boots of mobility. My first item will be Ardent Censer it is a powerful item on Sona because it works perfectly on her, with her spells being AoE it is constantly activating the effect of Ardent Censer.

Athene's Unholy Grail is a good healing item, when a team fight breaks out, you will most likely start with your ultimate followed by your (Q) this is already building up stacks on Athene's Unholy Grail increasing the healing of your (W) at the same time the extra AP from its unique passive is good extra damage on Sona. Redemption has great stats on top of increasing the effects of healing and shields, which you benefit with your Aery, and your (W), but also Locket, which is our last item. Locket of the Iron Solari is my form of extra tankiness, though the AoE shield is great on team fights on top of your (W), Aery, and the unique passive of increase effects on shields. Combining all of this, with constant spamming of abilities, allows these items to synergize very well together.

I may change some items out, for example, changing Redemption for Zeke's Convergence when the enemy team has heavy AD. It will be up to you to decide what items will benefit the team depending on the comp you are up against. So, really think about the situation you may be in and tailor your items around that. These items work very well with each other, and I find they work great against most matchups.

The Early Game

At the beginning of the game, you want to take Hymn of Valor (Q) first. You can cast it three times on base to activate Power Chord, giving the next basic attack to do bonus damage, which can help leash your jungler quicker. Sona’s laning phase is safe, focus on using Hymn of Valor (Q) to poke down the opposing enemies from range, and only use Aria of Perseverance (W) when you need to. Aria of Perseverance (W) has a high mana cost, so don’t freely use it, the slow on Song of Celerity's (E) Power Chord might stop a gank from the enemy jungle, it also grants movement speed to you and your ally (s).

What I love about Sona is her Aria of Perseverance’s (W) Power Chord, which is like a scaling Exhaust. The Power Chord might change the rhythm of the fight. Even having summoner spells like Barrier or Ignite and using Sona’s (W) Power Chord can make her viable during skirmishes and teamfights.

You can use Hymn of Valor (Q) to grant your lane partner bonus damage, though I am not a big fan of using it to push lane because of the potential of being ganked. At level 6, is where Sona power spike happens, her Crescendo (R) is powerful, though be careful of missing, if the enemy team is good, they can dodge a predictable Crescendo (R).

Ward your brush and keep vision of the drake pit. Pay attention to scuttle and try to help your jungler kill it to keep vision on the dragon. Though keep in mind of blast cone and champions that can go through walls to get to dragon, it is just as important to ward dragon pit to have that vision.

Mid–Late Game

Once the laning phase is over, you want to prioritize warding around objectives such as Baron Nashor and Dragon. Only go into the enemy jungle if you are traveling with your team, or if you are ahead, remember you are very squishy and most likely won’t survive a 1v1. Pay attention to the map and only ward enemy side if it’s safe to do so. This can allow yourself and your team to get important picks during objectives.

At this point in the game shift your focus on maintaining your team alive prioritizing your healing. Aria of Perseverance's (W) Power Chord is good during the mid to late game, which you can use on the enemy's carry. Good placement will allow you to land Crescendo (R), so wait until your team engages to follow up or when the enemy team engages to disrupt their engage. Disrupting engages such as Katarina’s Death Locust or Lee Sin’s Sonic Wave allows you to capitalize on their engage to catch them off-guard,

Take advantage of the power that Aria of Perseverance (W) has, at this point you will spam this ability a lot, along with the support from Ardent Censer. Your other abilities are still good in providing extra damage from Hymn of Valor (Q) and movement speed from Song of Celerity (E), so don’t be afraid of using those abilities too.

Always have at least one or two vision wards to deny enemy vision. This is especially important during objectives such as Baron, Dragon, and Elder Dragon.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this Sona guide. She is one of my favorite supports in the game because of how flexible her kit is. Her unique way of supporting is fun, especially in the late game when her ability cooldowns are low. The most fun has to be her ultimate, the power it has to change the tempo of the fight is incredible. I love how easily she benefits from a lot of support items and the fact that she can provide support to all her teammates makes her support to have in your team.