User:Emptylord/Champion Blender

In an ideal world, every champion's theme and abilities would be a cohesive experience. Unfortunately, Riot sometimes misses the mark - especially during early seasons when they were releasing champions every 2 weeks.

To address these problematic champions, Riot has spent the last few years going back to the drawing board and updating the serious offenders (and some not so serious offenders). Riot's usual goal of these "visual gameplay updates" is to preserve the champion's original theme and focus on modernising their gameplay (they learned early that changing the champion's theme rarely goes down well, eh with Trundle and Karma?).

However, there are occasions where the champion's original theme doesn't match their kit but there's ultimately nothing wrong with the kit - e.g. Aatrox. So what was Riot to do? Create a new kit that better suits his original Valkyrie theme, or create a new character to better suit his blademaster abilities? Unfortunately for fans of either Aatrox, Riot went with "keep neither".

I would like to make clear that I do not think this was intentional - rather, I think his relaunch marks one of the biggest instance of Riot getting carried away and losing sight of the goal. Decisions snowballed and they got so caught up in excitement over the shiny new thing they'd made that they neglected to ever stop and take a step back.

While many of his former fans have requested a do-over (as was done for Kog'Maw, Rengar and LeBlanc), Aatrox's VGU poses a problem - his new experience is good. Those other reworks had objective problems that were worse than the problems the original kit had - but not Aatrox. While his new experience might not appeal to his previous fans - it has found new ones, and plenty of them. To revert this champion would ultimately put the game in the same situation it is now - lacking a champion that players previously enjoyed.

My solution? Release new champions to fill the voids of Aatrox's original kit and lore.

While the easiest solution would be to create a new character for his old kit and a new character for his old lore and do nothing to the live iteration - I am personally a fan of his original design with his banner-wings, and would rather see that champion get the kit it deserved. And the worst part? The kit the original Aatrox deserved was created during another VGU - and that champion is in a similar situation to Aatrox. Almost a year prior, Riot deleted another champion and replaced them with an entirely new one: Galio. Nothing about Galio's original gameplay or theme were preserved in his rework - leaving his fans, me included, a little bit sour. However, I could not deny (even at the time) that his new kit was hella fun - it just wasn't Galio. If Galio's new kit had been released on Aatrox - I think it would have felt like a Warwick/Sion-tier rework. Everything's still there (the delayed dash, the converging gusts of wind, the dramatic entrance, etc) - just all moved around and reconfigured.

Overview

1. Revert Aatrox to being The Valkyrie and give him Galio's kit. His banners are back and so is his belief that war is art, and that even if you have nothing you can still give your life.
2. Create a new character for Aatrox' VGU's kit. The character I came up with—one of the failed-Ascended—would even suit the VGU's existential personality, reckless abandon and self-hatred.
3. Create a new kit for Galio's VGU character.
4. Create a new character for his original kit. When thinking about what sort of character would suit the sustain/sacrifice kit - my mind immediately went to the Shadow Isles. From their, an image of the Lich King and Frostmourne immediately connected me to the Ruined King. The irony of releasing The Ruined King as an apology for the ruined rework just felt perfect, too.

Aatrox, Galio and 2 New Champions

Champion	Aatrox	Galio	Valanx	?
Title	The Deathbringer	The Colossus	The World Ender	The Ruined King
Race	Darkin (Exiled Aspect)	Construct (Petricite Statue)	Baccai (Defective Ascendant)	Spirit
Class	Warden	Warden	Enforcer	Juggernaut
Themes	Aatrox's original lore Pyrrhic victory Underdog/comebacks Effortless expression Dark valkyrie	Last stand Defensive line Magic-absorbing	Aatrox's new lore/kit Khepri/God of Rebirth Corrupted Purpose Angry/hateful Self-depracating	Eternal life Mourning Bringer of the Ruination Ruined King theme ironically chosen to revive pre-VGU Aatrox.
Weapon	Darkin Sword	Colossal Strength	Sand Magic (Bending)	Black Mist/Sword
Quotes	New quotes, including lines for the Darkin and Targon. He is no longer self-deprecating - he enjoys what he is. "Even those who have nothing can give their lives" is paramount to his theme.	No changes except if required to support his new abilities.	Aatrox's quotes, minus references to the Darkin and Targon, but retaining references to hating his creation, his creators and wishing for death.	Entirely new character
Innate	Overwhelming Odds Periodically deal bonus damage to enemies with more health.	Last Stand Interact with an allied or fallen turret to stand vigil for a short time, gaining new basic abilities.	Enfeeble Periodically Mutilate enemies, reducing healing and shielding.	Soulstone Fill your secondary bar to empower your Soulstone for 4 seconds, refreshing while in combat with non-minions. While empowered, gain AD, AS and Revival. Revival cannot happen again for some time.
Q	Blades of Torment Unleashes two blasts that damage enemies in a line and slow where the blasts converge.	Colossal Smash Empowers next attack do deal damage in a cone. Last Stand: After a wind-up, damages and stuns over a huge cone.	Dispatch Performs an acrobatic attack that cycles between 3 areas of effect.	March of the Ruined King March forward unstoppably, swinging your sword to damage nearby enemies.
W	Blood Thirst Charge to increase radius and effects. Release to taunt surrounding enemies and gain attack speed.	Idol of Demacia Charge to increase radius of effect, redirecting all damage within the area to himself and storing a percentage as grey health. On release, heal surrounding allies equal to grey health.	Entomb Traps an enemy within a sinkhole, punishing them if they don't escape.	Harvester of Sorrow Toggle between every third attack or damaging ability to deal bonus damage or restore health.
E	Blade Charge Steps back and then charges forward, skewering enemies.	?	Shift Quickly re-positions in a flurry of sand.	Siphon of Destruction Damage all enemies in a line. Hold to increase the area of effect. After holding for at least 1 second, enemies are slowed by 99%.
R	Dark Flight Takes to the skies and then dives to an ally's side, creating an area of undying.	Winds of War Summons a phalanx of soldiers that charge from one fountain to the other down the target lane, devastating enemies caught.	World Ender Takes flight, gaining bonus movement speed and attack damage. He will be revived if he dies during the buff.	The Ruination Grant surrounding allied champions 15 / 30 / 45% bonus attack speed for 15 seconds. Each time an empowered ally dies, other allies gain a stack of attack speed. Triggering Soulstone grants a stack to affected allies. Slain allies are revived as ghouls for X seconds.

Mundo, Olaf and Tryndamere

Champion	Dr. Mundo	Olaf	Tryndamere
Title	The Mad Doctor	The Berserker	The Barbarian King
Class	Juggernaut	Juggernaut	Skirmisher, Warden
Themes	Frankenstein's Monster Self-medicating Feels no pain Goes where he pleases	Berserker/furious Unstoppable Unkillable Olaf vs. the World	Warrior King Death before surrender Survivor Barbarian/savage
Appearance		Olaf is now a Frost Troll. He is leaner and stands more upright than Trundle. Olaf no longer wears a helmet. The Shaman who cursed him with a 'quiet death' is now a candidate for a future champion, a female frost troll. Olaf's is now considerably more spiritual as opposed to the Hollywood-viking, similar to the trolls of Warcraft. He now interacts and remarks about Kindred, specifically that he refuses to be 'put down like a dog' by Lamb.	Tryndamere is now appropriately dressed for the Freljord, a Warrior and a King - featuring leathers, fur, metal as well as a more ornate crown-helmet. His lore now depicts him as one of the many generals in Sejuani's warband, although a prominant one. The Battle for the Freljord now canonically ends with the death of Lissandra at the hands of the Ice Witch, who now openly rules the Frostguard territories. Without the Frostguard alliance and in light of the threat the Ice Witch poses, Ashe and Sejuani form an uneasy alliance.
Skins		Olaf now features a legacy 'Barbarian' skin, in which he is human, that functions as a Traditional skin. Forsaken Olaf is now part of the Scorched Earth theme. Glacial Olaf is now part of the Black Frost theme (what-if Olaf were corrupted by Black Ice).	Tryndamere's King skin is now his classic skin, and his classic skin is now a legacy 'Barbarian' skin.
Weapons	Medical saw	Thrown axes	Greatsword
Innate	Masochism Convert damage taken and health spent into bonus movement speed for a few seconds.	Berserk Gain attack speed proportional to missing health.	Overpower Deal bonus damage to movement-impaired enemies. Converts critical strike chance into bonus damage.
Q	Under The Knife Hefts back his saw, consuming health to increase the charge the ability's damage. Release to strike enemies in a line and slow them.	Reckless Swing Hurls one of his axes forward, damaging units hit before falling to the ground. Holds up to 2 charges. If it hits a large unit, it will lodge itself in their face and his next attack deals bonus damage. Retrieving an axe grants 1 charge.	Battle Fury Passively grants attack speed. Activate to double the passive bonus as well as gain Grey Health equal to a percentage of the damage he deals for 4 seconds. At the end of the duration, he recovers his Grey Health.
W	Substance Abuse Juices himself up for 5 seconds, increases his attack speed and dealing bonus physical damage. During this time, Mundo has reduced vision radius.	Vicious Strikes Toggle to have attacks consume health to deal bonus true damage.	Mocking Shout Reducing the attack damage of nearby enemies, as well as slowing those fleeing from him.
E	Explosive Temperament Breaks free of crowd control effects and becomes immune to them for a short time, during which he cannot attack but will damage and knock aside units he collides with.	Undertow Hurls both axes in opposing circular flight paths, dealing physical damage to enemies hit. Enemies hit where the axes converge take twice as much damage and are slowed.	Spinning Slash Dash a fixed distance in the target direction. The damage is modified by Bloodlust.
R	Experimental Treatment Consume a percentage of current health to restore a percentage of maximum health over the next few seconds.	Undying Rage Olaf cannot die for a duration, during which a percentage of all damage he deals is stored as grey health. At the end of the duration, Olaf immediately restores all his grey health.	King in the North Tryndamere inspires his team, preventing all nearby allies from being reduced below his current health percentage for a duration.

Sona, Seraphine and the Siren

Champion	Sona	Seraphine	Seraphine
Title	The Muse	The Socialite	The Enchantress
Class	Enchanter	Mage	Disruptor
Themes	The healing power of music Aura/proximity-based gameplay Building toward a crescendo	Seraphine's revolutionary interpretation Social-commentary of industry (anti-capitalism) Conscientious of the environment/indigenous Empathic/compassionate	Seraphine's exploitation interpretation Social-commentary of industry (pro-capitalism) False persona/social manipulation Telepathic/invades privacy
Appearance
Skins
Weapons	String instrument
Innate	Tempo - Sona is surrounded by a Melody that is interrupted only by silencing effects. Sona's attacks versus champions, turrets and epic monsters release a beat that restores 5 – 95 (based on level) (+10% AP) health to Sona and allied champions within her Melody, as well as granting Sona bonus attack speed based on Ability Haste, stacking up to 6 times.
Q	Power Chord - Valor: Sona's Melody grants 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 (+15% AP) bonus magic damage on attacks and non-periodic abilities to allied champions. Power Chord - Celerity: Sona's Melody grants 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50% bonus movement speed to allied champions.
W	Crescendo: For the next 3 seconds, the effects of Temp and Power Chord are doubled. For each unique allied champion tagged with Crescendo's Melody, the duration is extended by 0.5 seconds.
E	Staccato: Sona unleashes a concussive wave, dealing 40 / 80 / 120 / 160 / 200 (+50% AP) magic damage and briefly knocking back all enemies hit.
R	Aria of Perseverance: Sona shields surrounding allies from the next 250 / 500 / 750 (+100% AP) damage for 3 seconds. The shield decays down to 100 / 200 / 300 (+40% AP) over the duration.