Sion vs Graves — Top Lane Matchup Guide

How to win lane as Sion against Graves · 52.98% win rate (7,645 Emerald+ games, lolalytics, sampled July 2026) · Matchup data reviewed on patch 26.15

Verdict: The numbers lean slightly Sion (52.98% win rate), even though Graves pressures 3 of the 7 stage windows — convert your windows below and the stats swing your way.

At a glance

Bait his key tool — charge Q on the Quickdraw cooldown and out-HP the lane.

Track: Graves's E — Quickdraw (16–12s cooldown). His dash + armor stacks. Engage when it's down.

Do

  • Charge Q in fog / brush angles
  • E-shred his step-up
  • W-shield to trade for free

Don't

  • Channel Q in the open
  • Waste W shield-burst early
  • Die without zombie value

Runes & build vs Graves

Start
Doran's Shield + Health Potion
First back
Core component + boots (≈1300g)
First item
Heartsteel (W + passive love HP)
Then
Warmog's Armor / Thornmail
Boots
Plated Steelcaps
Runes
Grasp of the Undying (Resolve): Demolish, Second Wind, Overgrowth · Precision: Triumph, Legend: Haste · Shards: Health Scaling, Adaptive Force, Health

Favour timeline — the windows in Sion's game plan

Read from Sion's seat: which stage windows this plan plays for against Graves.

This is Sion's own plan; across 7,645 pooled games the lane is leaning Sion.

StageFavouredWhy
Level 1SionGraves has no Quickdraw at Level 1 — a clean charged Q knockup into E armor-shred is free and sets a lead he cannot reverse with a dash he doesn't have yet.
Level 2Even / skillQuickdraw is up and dodges your charge — 16s at rank 1, but his autos cut it down, so trade only in the beat after he burns it.
Level 3GravesQuickdraw armor stacking and free kite angles mean your charge telegraph is a liability; he punishes every slow channel with a full shotgun burst.
Levels 4-5GravesHe kites your W-shield detonation freely in the open lane and his Quickdraw CD is short — freeze the wave and stop giving him open-terrain commit opportunities.
Level 6Even / skillYour R Unstoppable Onslaught opens an engage and escape threat, but Collateral Damage matches it as a punish — only all-in when Quickdraw is explicitly down.
First itemGravesHis first item burst outpaces your unfinished Heartsteel stack pool; defer extended trades until the item gap closes on your side.
Two+ itemsSionTwo-item Heartsteel Sion: your HP total and W-shield value outscale his buckshot output entirely — splitpush, force 1v1s, and your Passive zombie denies him clean exits.

How to beat Graves as Sion: the early game

At Level 1 you are the aggressor — Graves has no Quickdraw yet and your charged Q telegraph is the scariest thing on the map. Walk up along the wave edge, start charging Q as he last-hits, and release the full knockup the moment he steps in range; a Level 1 knockup into E armor-shred sets a lead he cannot erase. Level 2 becomes a coin flip: he now has Quickdraw and can dodge your charge by dashing through you, so only commit to a trade if he wastes the dash on a creep or tries to poke with his W smoke. By Level 3 his Quickdraw cooldown is short enough and his armor is stacking — the window where you freely charge your Q has closed, and you need to respect that he will dodge it and return a full shotgun burst while you are standing still.

Hardest and easiest matchups for Sion in top lane

Pooled Emerald+ win rates from Sion's side, sampled July 2026.

Hardest

Easiest

Read the rest of this matchup

The full Sion vs Graves 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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Common questions

Who wins Sion vs Graves in top lane?

Sion, slightly — a 52.98% win rate edge over 7,645 games; execution can flip it.

Is Sion vs Graves a skill matchup?

Mostly — Sion has a small statistical edge (52.98% win rate), but execution decides this lane far more than the pick does.

Does Sion counter Graves?

Not a hard counter — Sion has a slight edge (52.98% win rate), and play quality decides the rest.

What runes does Sion take vs Graves?

Sion takes Grasp of the Undying on the Resolve tree with Demolish, Second Wind and Overgrowth, and Precision secondary (Triumph and Legend: Haste) vs Graves.

What should Sion build vs Graves?

Start Doran's Shield + Health Potion and back for Core component + boots (≈1300g). Build Heartsteel (W + passive love HP) first, then Warmog's Armor / Thornmail, with Plated Steelcaps.

Related guides

Playing the other side? Graves vs Sion guide →
All Sion top lane matchups →

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