How to win lane as Karma against Sion · 45.59% win rate over 68 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | Mantra is up at level 1, so RQ Soulflare lands a real first-blood-threat poke before his Soul Furnace (W) shield exists to absorb it. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | His W comes online but he is still pushed off cooldowns and your Q poke trades with his — the lane is genuinely even in this window. |
| Level 3 | Sion | He now times a charged W shield to absorb your Q/RQ and detonates it for AoE back, so your poke stops translating into a lead. |
| Levels 4-5 | Sion | Your multi-Q peak gets eaten by the W shield while his Roar of the Slayer (E) slow and charged Q knockup punish every step-up. |
| Level 6 | Karma | His R is a long telegraphed charge you dodge on Inspire (E) speed; with no R cooldown to bleed and Gathering Fire ticking, you reset the lane. |
| First item | Sion | His first tank item makes your Q chip irrelevant while the W shield's value climbs, so he reclaims the trading math. |
| Two+ items | Sion | Two tank items plus the W shield blank your poke entirely, and his charged Q knockup into R kills your thin frame outright. |
Level 1 is your one clean window — Mantra is up immediately, so open with RQ Soulflare for a real chunk before his Soul Furnace (W) shield is even leveled to absorb it. The problem starts at 2-3: once W is online he times the shield to eat your Q and detonates it for AoE damage back, so your poke stops sticking on a tank. Respect his Roar of the Slayer (E) — it slows and shreds your MR to set up a charged Q knockup, so do not walk into Q range to throw a greedy poke.
The full Karma vs Sion report continues with the mid-game plan, the late-game and teamfight plan, every power spike to play around, and the win conditions for both sides — plus cooldown tracking and the live enemy-jungle tracker inside the app.
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Playing the other side? Sion vs Karma guide →
All Karma top lane matchups →