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By GamGem ResearchLast updated 18 Oct 2026

Sona Support Build, Runes and Counters · Patch 26.20

Maven of the Strings

Patch 26.20 · Stats from the 26.18 Master+ sample (2,736 games).

Sona, Maven of the Strings, plays three auras — Hymn of Valor, Aria of Perseverance and Song of Celerity — and Crescendo stuns everyone it reaches, making them dance. Summon Aery was close to universal among counted Master+ Sonas, and Echoes of Helia led her most-bought path. Janna, Senna and Leona beat her most often. Blitzcrank and Seraphine she did better against.

SupportMage

Patch 26.18 · Support · Ranked Solo/Duo · Master+ · EUW · KR · NA · 2,736 games · Preview sample

League of LegendsPatch 26.18SupportRanked Solo/DuoMaster+EUW · KR · NA2,736 gamesPreview sample

Role snapshot (Support)

ATier

Win Rate: 51.1%
Pick Rate: 4.2%
Ban Rate: 1.5%

2,736

Games

High

Confidence

Most common path

122 games

58.2%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Heal

Highest win rate path

61 games

77.0%Win Rate

Start

Flash

Heal

Runes

Patch 26.18

This exact page: taken in 20.1% of games·54.1% win rate over 549 games.

Primary

Sorcery

Summon Aery

Your attacks and abilities send Aery to a target, damaging enemies or shielding allies.

Manaflow Band

Hitting an enemy champion with an ability permanently increases your maximum mana by 25, up to 250 mana. After reaching 250 bonus mana, restore 1% of your missing mana every 5 seconds.

Celerity

All Move Speed bonuses are 7% more effective on you and gain 1% Move Speed.

Gathering Storm

Gain increasing amounts of AD or AP, adaptive over the course of the game.

Secondary

Precision

Presence of Mind

Restore a small amount of mana or energy when damaging an enemy champion. Takedowns restore mana or energy.

Legend: Haste

Takedowns on enemies grant permanent Basic Ability Haste.

Shards

Ability Haste
Move Speed
Health

Other keystones taken

Electrocute1.7% taken · 45.7% win46 games
Arcane Comet1.4% taken · 39.5% win38 games
Unsealed Spellbook1.1% taken · 51.7% win29 games

Tree pairs

Sorcery + Precision38.1% taken · 51.2% win1,043 games
Sorcery + Inspiration36.1% taken · 52.0% win989 games
Sorcery + Resolve21.5% taken · 49.2% win587 games

Skill Order

Which ability to max first, and the level each point goes in — Sona's most common path.

Hymn of Valor

Sona plays the Hymn of Valor, sends out bolts of sound, dealing magic damage to two nearby enemies, prioritizing champions and monsters.

Cooldown 8s · 50/55/60/65/70 Mana

Aria of Perseverance

Sona plays the Aria of Perseverance, sending out protective melodies, healing Sona and a nearby wounded ally.

Cooldown 10s · 80/85/90/95/100 Mana

Song of Celerity

Sona plays the Song of Celerity, granting nearby allies bonus Move Speed.

Cooldown 14s · 65 Mana

Crescendo

Sona plays her ultimate chord, stunning enemy champions and forcing them to dance and dealing magic damage to them.

Cooldown 140/120/100s · 100 Mana

Max Order

QWE

Max Q first, then W, then E. Take R whenever available (6 / 11 / 16).

Level-up Order

QHymn of Valor
WAria of Perseverance
ESong of Celerity
RCrescendo

Ability	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
QHymn of Valor	Q			Q	Q		Q		Q
WAria of Perseverance		W						W		W		W	W
ESong of Celerity			E											E	E		E	E
RCrescendo						R					R					R

Matchup map (Support)

How Sona performs against enemy support laners

Levels 1 – 18 · Master+40%60%Sona's win rate

≥ 60%Very favorable

55 – 60%Favorable

50 – 55%Even

45 – 50%Unfavorable

40 – 45%Hard

< 40%Very hard

Conditional build matrix

Recommended items by enemy team composition

Master+ · Patch 26.18

Mythic / CoreFirst major item

Core 2Second item

Core 3Third item

BootsBoot slot

SituationalPick as needed

Scaling — minute 10–30

SonaSupport average

Gold

102030

Damage to champions

102030

Counter plan — how to beat Sona

Track the roam — it is strongest where the enemy jungler already is
Dodge the primary — its rotation is one skillshot; sidestep it and the rest is chip
Punish the cooldown — Sona is exposed while its rotation is down
Ward the flank — vision is what turns its best opening into a worse one
Respect the spike — Riot rates the kit 4/10, so a practised player gets more out of it than the average

Ability details

P
Power Chord
Accelerando: Sona gains non-Ultimate ability haste permanently for her basic abilities as she uses her abilities well, up to a cap. Beyond that cap, further successful uses reduce her ultimate's remaining cooldown instead.Power Chord: Every few spell casts, Sona's next attack will deal bonus magic damage in addition to an additional effect based on what basic Ability Sona last activated.
Passive — never cast
Q
Hymn of Valor
Sona plays the Hymn of Valor, sends out bolts of sound, dealing magic damage to two nearby enemies, prioritizing champions and monsters. Sona gains a temporary aura that grants allies tagged by the zone bonus damage on their next attack against enemies.
Cost 50/55/60/65/70 ManaCooldown 8sRange 825
W
Aria of Perseverance
Sona plays the Aria of Perseverance, sending out protective melodies, healing Sona and a nearby wounded ally. Sona gains a temporary aura that grants allies tagged by the zone a temporary shield.
Cost 80/85/90/95/100 ManaCooldown 10sRange 1000
E
Song of Celerity
Sona plays the Song of Celerity, granting nearby allies bonus Move Speed. Sona gains a temporary aura that grants allied champions tagged by the zone bonus Move Speed.
Cost 65 ManaCooldown 14sRange 430
R
Crescendo
Sona plays her ultimate chord, stunning enemy champions and forcing them to dance and dealing magic damage to them.
Cost 100 ManaCooldown 140/120/100sRange 900

Sona balance history

Riot's notes from patch 25.S1.1 to 26.20 change Sona in 1 patch. The latest is patch 25.08, published 2025-04-15.

Patch 25.082025-04-15
QHymn of Valor
- Bolt Damage50 / 80 / 110 / 140 / 170 (+ 40% AP)to50 / 85 / 120 / 155 / 190 (+ 40% AP)
Why, in Riot's words
We're giving Sona some easy to access baseline functionality buffs to give her some power across her core skills since she's been underperforming in general.

Sona skins (17)

Riot's data lists 17 looks for Sona with their own art, the base skin included and 60 chroma variants.

ARAM performance

EstimateB

Win Rate: 51.3%; ▼ 0.8%
Pick Rate: 2.7%; ▼ 0.2%
Ban Rate: 0.9%; ▼ 2.4%

Damage dealt: 109.0%
Damage taken: 103.8%
Healing: 97.7%
Shielding: 97.1%
Ability Haste: +21

Best ARAM build

Patch timeline

Riot’s notes

This champion’s win rate on each patch the preview sample spans, over its own games there. What actually changed each patch is in Riot’s own notes.

26.1954.2% over 759 games · small sample+1.0
26.1850.8% over 1,504 games+1.0
26.1746.5% over 458 games · small sample—

Sona's base stats against all 173 champions

Sona's base health of 550 is the 6th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others).
Sona's base attack damage of 49 is the 8th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 3 others).
Sona's health per level of 91 is the 12th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.

Stat	Sona	Rank	Median
Base health	550	=166th	620
Health per level	91	162nd	104
Base armor	26	=110th	30
Armor per level	4.2	=122nd	4.6
Base magic resist	30	=110th	32
Magic resist per level	1.3	=93rd	1.55
Base attack damage	49	=163rd	59
Base attack speed	0.644	=96th	0.656
Attack speed per level	2.3%	=94th	2.5%
Move speed	325	=154th	335
Attack range	550	=9th	175

Sona at level 1 and level 18

Sona reaches 2097 health at level 18 — 550 at level 1 plus 17 × 91, the 7th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20.
Sona reaches 1105 mana at level 18 — 340 at level 1 plus 17 × 45, the 60th-highest of 145 mana users on patch 26.20, shared with 4.
Sona reaches 97.4 armor at level 18 — 26 at level 1 plus 17 × 4.2, the 25th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 4.
Sona reaches 52.1 magic resist at level 18 — 30 at level 1 plus 17 × 1.3, the 34th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20, shared with 43.

Stat	Level 1	Per level	Level 18	Rank at 18
Health	550	+91	2097	167th of 173
Mana	340	+45	1105	=60th of 145
Armor	26	+4.2	97.4	=145th of 173
Magic resist	30	+1.3	52.1	=97th of 173

Riot Data Dragon 16.20.1. Growth curve: League of Legends Wiki — Champion statistic.

Riot's tips for Sona

Playing Sona

Make sure to tag your allies while Sona's auras are active, but avoid getting caught out by enemies.
Save Crescendo for the game-altering moment.
Well-timed uses of Aria of Perseverance will grant you maximum survivability.

Playing against Sona

Spread out when you see Sona so she can't make your entire team dance.
Kill Sona first, as she will heal up her team if left alone for too long.

Quick answers about Sona

How does Sona do against Janna?: Sona won 43.1% of 153 counted Master+ games against Janna. Janna is one of the opponents that beat Sona.
How does Sona do against Senna?: Sona won 44.7% of 141 counted Master+ games against Senna. Senna is one of the opponents that beat Sona.
How does Sona do against Leona?: Sona won 44.8% of 87 counted Master+ games against Leona. Leona is one of the opponents that beat Sona. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Sona do against Braum?: Sona won 34.2% of 38 counted Master+ games against Braum. Braum is one of the opponents that beat Sona. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Sona do against Blitzcrank?: Sona won 60.4% of 106 counted Master+ games against Blitzcrank. It is a matchup Sona wins more often than not.
How does Sona do against Seraphine?: Sona won 60.0% of 80 counted Master+ games against Seraphine. It is a matchup Sona wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Sona do against Soraka?: Sona won 59.2% of 76 counted Master+ games against Soraka. It is a matchup Sona wins more often than not. A small sample — read it as a lean, not a rule.
How does Sona do against Thresh?: Sona won 51.8% of 141 counted Master+ games against Thresh. It is close to even.
What class is Sona?: Riot classes Sona as Support and Mage. This site files the champion under Support.
How hard is Sona to play?: Riot rates Sona's difficulty 4 out of 10.
What resource does Sona use?: Sona's abilities spend Mana.
What is Sona's attack range?: 550 units — the 9th-highest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 36 others).
What are Sona's abilities?: Passive — Power Chord, Q — Hymn of Valor, W — Aria of Perseverance, E — Song of Celerity and R — Crescendo.
How many skins does Sona have?: Riot's data lists 17 skins with their own art, the base look included, plus 60 chroma variants.
How much health does Sona have at level 18?: 2097 — 550 at level 1 plus 17 × 91 per level, Riot's own values, before items and runes.
What is Sona's ultimate cooldown?: Crescendo (R): 140/120/100 seconds by rank, before ability haste, in Riot's Data Dragon 16.20.1.
When did Riot last change Sona?: Patch 25.08, published 15 April 2025 — the latest of 1 patch that change Sona in Riot's notes from 25.S1.1 to 26.20.

Sona at a glance

Sona, Maven of the Strings, is a Support and Mage champion in League of Legends. Riot rates the kit 4/10 for difficulty, 5/10 for attack, 2/10 for defense and 8/10 for magic. Sona spends Mana and has 17 skins with their own art. Sona's base health of 550 is the 6th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 2 others). Sona's base attack damage of 49 is the 8th-lowest of 173 champions on patch 26.20 (shared with 3 others).

Attack5/10
Defense2/10
Magic8/10
Difficulty4/10

Sona's story

Sona is Demacia's foremost virtuoso of the stringed etwahl, speaking only through her graceful chords and vibrant arias. This genteel manner has endeared her to the highborn, though others suspect her spellbinding melodies to actually emanate magic—a Demacian taboo. Silent to outsiders but somehow understood by close companions, Sona plucks her harmonies not only to soothe injured allies, but also to strike down unsuspecting enemies.

— Riot Games, Data Dragon 16.20.1. League of Legends Universe

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Methodology

Data window: Preview sample — a one-time snapshot of 65,406 ranked games (Master+, EUW/KR/NA, patch 26.18), counted by GamGem while our Riot production key is under review. Figures will update daily once it is approved. Counted 26–27 Sept 2026; patches 26.18 (35,477) · 26.19 (18,580) · 26.17 (11,048) · 26.16 (293) · 26.15 (8); by server EUW 22,382 · KR 21,922 · NA 21,065 · EUNE 20 · TR 17. 642 games without a result — remakes ended by vote in their first minutes, and games recorded with no winner — were not counted.
Rank aggregation: Master, Grandmaster and Challenger, pooled — the three ladders the count read its players from. Splitting further leaves samples too small to separate a real effect from noise.
Role assignment: A champion is filed under every lane that holds at least a tenth of its counted games — the position the match itself reports, not the champion’s class. Its headline win rate is across all of them; each lane’s own win rate and games are counted too, and a lane’s tier list ranks by them.
Counters: The two champions in the same position on opposite teams, over that pairing’s own counted games — ranked on the edge pulled toward zero by its sample size, printed raw.
Minimum sample: None — no figure is hidden for being thin. Every rate prints its games, and the confidence band is its 95% margin: Very High within ±1.5 points, High ±2.5, Moderate ±3.1 (1,000 games), Low wider.
Why a build is not a cause: An item is counted when the match ENDS with it, so late items show long games and an item bought when already ahead shows games that were being won. Correlation is what a rate can show; it is not evidence that buying the item caused the win.
Where the numbers come from: Names, classes, abilities, items and runes are Riot Data Dragon. Win, pick and ban rates, builds, keystones, spells and matchups are counted by GamGem from Riot's ranked match records. An estimate, not a count: this panel is not in the preview sample, and is labelled so.

Sona on video

Sona: Champion Spotlight | Gameplay - League of Legends — League of LegendsLeague of Legends on YouTube · plays here

Published by League of Legends on YouTube, 20 September 2010.

16 years old. League of Legends has been patched since, so watch it for how the kit plays, not for numbers — the rest of this page is written for the current patch.

It plays in YouTube’s own player once you press play. Nothing is downloaded or re-hosted here, and nothing loads from YouTube until then.