League of Legends Reveals New Champion

Riot Games has wasted no time in revealing another champion shortly after Senna’s release by [...]

Riot Games has wasted no time in revealing another champion shortly after Senna's release by confirming that its next playable character will be someone named Aphelios. The champion, like Diana, is a member of the Lunari faction that comes from Mount Targon and is fueled by the power of the moon. A backstory for the champion explained Aphelios' origins and presented the champion as a unique combination of lunar magic and weapon expertise, though the champion's abilities have not yet been revealed.

Aphelios seems to technically be two people in one, according to the champion's biography found on League's Universe page. Two twins, one Aphelios and the other Alune, were "children of destiny" among the Lunari people and were both gifted. The former practiced with a wide array of weapons, specifically moonstone blades, while his sister was a seer who could use her powers to illuminate pathways and other hidden things.

Their story climaxed in a fight where the mute Aphelios was filled with Alune's magic after the seer's power was unlocked, thus turning him into a vessel of the moon's power. The two still fight for the Lunari against the Solari people which means this champion will be aligned against those like Leona.

"Together, they would be the weapon the Lunari needed, bound by pain and sacrifice," Riot's bio for the champion explained. "Only apart could they be together—their souls brushing across the veil, distant, yet impossibly close, converging into something they could not understand."

Though it was confirmed in the last Champion Roadmap that this champion would be a marksman, the bio also refers to Aphelios as an assassin as well. It says the champion's skills as an assassin have been "given reach by Alune's magic" which appears to be the way that the seemingly melee character will be able to survive as a marksman now that his blades are now an "arsenal of mystical weapons."

According to Twitter user Spideraxe who frequently shares accurate information about League features and developments, the new champion's gameplay design comes from Riot Stashu and Riot CertainlyT. The former designed Qiyana and reworked champions like Evelynn while the latter is known for champion designs that are sometimes controversial for being fun to play as while a pain to play against. Riot CertainlyT designed champions like Thresh, Darius, and Zoe and had numerous successful reworks for champions like Mordekaiser, Warwick, and Akali.

Riot is expected to reveal more details about its newest champion soon, so expect the abilities to be unveiled next.

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