How to win lane as Sion against Karma · 52.18% win rate over 5,479 Emerald+ games · Updated 2026-07-27
| Stage | Favoured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Karma | Karma's Q poke is free and safe at level 1 — your W-shield isn't up yet and charging Q in the open just lets her walk back, so hold your ground and last-hit. |
| Level 2 | Even / skill | Both have their key tools: your W-shield soaks her Q but her Focused Resolve tether can break your charge — dodge the tether before committing. |
| Level 3 | Sion | Your full kit is online and Karma has no dash; a charged Q from brush or a minion angle stuns her in place for a free E armor-shred combo she cannot escape. |
| Levels 4-5 | Sion | Your HP starts to compound and your W-shield makes her Q burst feel like nothing — pressure the wave and force her to spend Mantra reactively rather than aggressively. |
| Level 6 | Karma | Mantra-RQ delivers a dramatically longer root that chains into full Q poke — respect her biggest spike, hold W to absorb the burst and avoid standing in root angles. |
| First item | Sion | Heartsteel begins stacking hard and Karma literally lacks the burst damage to threaten your HP pool; charge Q confidently and punish her every time she steps up to poke. |
| Two+ items | Sion | An 8,000-HP Sion with a zombie passive is a nightmare for a poke enchanter — keep shoving and force her to answer your R engages with utility alone. |
At level 1 you have no W-shield and Karma's Q costs her almost nothing — she will walk up, Q-poke you, and step back behind the wave before you can begin charging. Accept it. Last-hit at Q range and do not start charging your Q in the open where she simply walks back. The moment you hit level 2 your W-shield changes the equation: pop it preemptively before she steps up to Q, soak the burst for free, and look for a charged Q angle through a minion gap or from brush. Her Focused Resolve tether at level 2 is her only real tool — sidestep it or break LoS quickly, because a completed root chains into a full Mantra-RQ spike that hurts badly.
The full Sion vs Karma 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? Karma vs Sion guide →
All Sion top lane matchups →