Sion. One of the tankiest champions in the game that has lived in Top Lane for basically his entire existence, especially since his rework. His extreme tankiness makes him extremely difficult to kill, and the massive amount of crowd control that is offered in his kit makes him a safe, yet reliable Top Lane pick. Sion top has found a very good spot in the meta, due to how potent the Keystone Arcane Comet is on him combined with his E ability, Roar of the Slayer. This poke allows for Sion to be a strong lane bully, while still being a strong tank. Additionally, his ultimate ability, Unstoppable Onslaught, allows Sion to have pressure in other lanes even without Teleport being available.

But we aren’t going to be focusing on Sion Top Lane. Today, I’m going to be talking about Sion in the Mid Lane. If you haven’t heard, Sion Mid has actually been picked in competitive play: in Korea by Bdd on KZ, in Europe by Sencuz on MSF, and in many more situations. So, Sion Mid has received attention in most major regions, even if the pick seems a little unconventional. To figure out whether Sion is actually viable, we are going to look at the strengths of having Sion in the Mid Lane, what punishes the pick, and whether or not Mid Laners should be adding this champion to their arsenal!

Strengths of Sion mid

So what’s the point in picking Sion Mid Lane? Well, in looking at all of the times that Sion Mid has been picked this season, he is most often being picked against both Azir and Ryze. Now, part of this is probably because these are two premier Mid Lane picks currently in the meta, but another large factor is the fact that Sion actually matches up very advantageously against these two champions. Throughout 2018, Sion has a 66.7% win rate against Azir Mid and a 57.1% win rate against Ryze Mid. Considering these are two of the strongest picks in the Mid Lane at the moment, the fact that Sion has a positive win rate against both of these champions is definitely notable. These means that teams are able to rely on Sion and pick him against a strong opponent, which allows a team to get strong champions in other lanes.

Why is Sion strong against Azir and Ryze? One of the reasons is because of how absolutely tanky he is. Because of his extreme tankiness, and his ability to build Magic Resist immediately without falling behind on his build, the lane pressure that Azir and Ryze can usually establish is lost. Azir will not be able to poke or bully out the Sion, and Ryze will rarely be able to find an all-in scenario to kill the Sion player. A major reason why Sion is currently proving to be so advantageous against these two champions is because Sion is rushing the item Banner of Command. This item was recently buffed, and along with granting resistances and cooldown reduction, two stats Sion greatly benefits from, it also has an active that allows you to greatly empower a lane minion.

This buffed minion gets increased damage, health, resistances, and probably most importantly, is completely immune to magic damage. By rushing this item in Mid Lane, it makes it almost completely impossible for Azir and Ryze to kill the buffed up minion, allowing Sion to shove the wave for a long time, and get substantial tower damage. Additionally, Sion Mid usually picks up Abyssal Mask and Mercury Treads, and this much Magic Resist makes it impossible for the enemy Mid Laner to kill the Sion, and you have effectively negated their pressure and importance.

Another important reason why Sion is able to be effective in the Mid Lane is because of his ultimate and ability to take the Summoner Spell Teleport. Now, we can compare Sion to another champion Galio here. Galio is one of the staple Mid Lane picks in the game right now, as his ability to apply side lane pressure and the ability to have a tank in the Mid Lane are two important key features almost no other champions have. So, let’s compare to Sion. Like Galio, Sion is extremely tanky and can build full tank while still outputting respectable damage if they’re able to get on top of a carry. And although Sion’s ultimate ability is not as fast, or direct as Galio’s ultimate, Sion is still able to quickly get to a side lane and turn the fight in his favor. With Galio being near permaban status, teams might be looking for an effective replacement, and Sion might be a team's answer.

Punishing Sion Mid

After talking about how good Sion Mid is and how he is basically the next Orianna of the Mid Lane (not really), I’m going to pull it back to reality. First off, if you pick Sion Mid, you’re going to need to find damage from another lane, whether that be the Top Lane or the Jungler. By doing this, you’re putting a large exclamation point over your teammates head saying “Target Me!”. Basically, instead of drawing Jungle pressure Mid Lane, the enemy Jungler will most likely be looking to camp Top Lane, or find your squishy Jungler and punish them for it. Either way, your team is going to be suffering somewhere else, unless your Top Laner is extremely good at playing aggressive, squishy carries.

Another problem is that Sion, if he falls behind, is completely useless. Sion has next to zero wave clear, which means if the enemy team starts to group up and push, Sion is going to have a hard time doing anything at all. And, unless you have a Sivir ADC, your team is going to get permanently pushed in, which will lead to losing dragons, barons, and the game. Especially with the Banner of Command build, you’re looking to bully out your laner, and with your early game team composition, take an early Baron and use your cannon minion to finish the game quickly.

A final way why Sion mid is not the greatest is because of Patch 8.5. This next part would not have to be made if it wasn’t for 8.5, but 8.5 saw quite a few nerfs for Sion. Firstly, his E was bugfixed, which fixed the hitbox on his E ability. Whether this is actually a nerf or not is debatable, but his E is more accurate now, which means Sion will be hitting less E’s in general. Additionally, Banner of Command was nerfed so it’s not as good with the Baron buff, which makes snowballing games and ending before Sion becomes useless is harder. As well, Warmog's Armor got nerfed, albeit only slightly, but is still something to take note of.

Judgment: Busted or Bad?

Busted if Ahead, Bad if Behind

I know, a not direct answer. Trust me, I told myself going into this that I was going to choose one or the other but well… things just aren’t that simple. Let me explain my judgment. If you’re able to effectively bully the Mid Laner out and make their lane pressure useless, as well as win the game quickly through the use of Baron and the Banner of Command, then Sion is really good. The Sion mid pick can make the game feel impossible to win as a Mid Laner, as if your side lanes lose there is almost nothing you can do to make an impact in the Mid Lane against the tanky monster in front of you. Once Sion gets enough magic resist along with his Banner of Command, he and his minion are almost impossible to kill, and the game can quickly snowball and be over before you know it.

However, if Sion is not able to do what I just described, he is a horrible choice. His zero wave clear makes it extremely hard to come back. And like the opposite laner, if Sion’s side lanes fall behind, there is little he can do to make up for it in the Mid Lane. Yes, he has his ultimate to impact the lanes which is a massive plus, but in Mid Lane although Sion can bully out his opponent, he is never going to be able to kill them. Sion basically acts as a nullifier pick, which can both harm or hurt you depending on the situation. Picking Sion requires a certain team composition, and if certain requirements of a composition aren't meant like enough damage or wave clear, the composition is almost certainly going to fail. Because of this, Sion mid will never be a primary Mid Lane choice, but the odds of him remaining a fringe pick are quite high.

Like our content? Support us by getting our merchandise in our shop