Xerath vs Sona Counter Pick

Sona brings the smaller health pool by a wide margin, 550 base and 2,097 at level 18 against Xerath’s 596 and 2,398, and still wins the matchup, leaving him at 42.1% across 411 support games logged on patch 16.13.1.

Sustain and cooldowns explain the gap. Aria of Perseverance heals Sona and a wounded ally while leaving an aura behind, and Accelerando, the first half of Power Chord, grants permanent non-ultimate ability haste as she uses her abilities well, so her healing cadence speeds up over the course of a game while Xerath’s poke stays on fixed timers. Song of Celerity hands nearby allies bonus move speed, which directly lowers the hit rate of Arcanopulse and Eye of Destruction. Hymn of Valor sends bolts at two nearby enemies with priority on champions and monsters, so she keeps wave presence without giving up position.

Damage types remove his usual leverage too. Both sides deal magic damage, so a single magic resist purchase on the enemy bot side answers him and his own carry’s opponent at once, and Sona’s 550 attack range edges his 525. Crescendo stuns and forces enemies to dance, the natural punish for Rite of the Arcane pinning Xerath in place mid-channel. His remaining edges are 340 move speed against 325 and Mana Surge refunding mana on attacks. Difficulty runs 8 against 4. Kit: Sona.