The latest League of Legends champion has been revealed in the form of Rell. While the buildup to the Iron Maiden hasn't quite been on the level of Seraphine, Riot Games has still given the usual preview of her abilities and backstory.
Rell is a sixteen-year-old Noxian exile who rides on a steed made from iron, seeking vengeance against those who had wronged her and others. Born with the ability to manipulate metal, she was sent to a boarding school in order to train her, but suffered years of abuse before destroying the academy and hunting down faculty members.
Here's the rundown of her abilities as per Riot:
- Passive - Break the Mold: Rell attacks very slowly, but temporarily steals a portion of her target’s Armor and Magic Resist to deal bonus damage based on the amount stolen. Additionally, Rell can siphon resistances from multiple different foes to grow extremely tanky.
- Q - Shattering Strike: Rell stabs forward with her lance, breaking any shields and damaging all enemies hit (damage decreases after the first target). If Rell has an ally bound with E - Attract and Repel, she and that ally recover health for each champion hit by this ability.
- W1 - Ferromancy: Crash Down: (Can only cast while mounted) Rell leaps into the sky and transforms her mount into heavy armor, gaining a huge shield that lasts until destroyed or remounting. Upon landing, she knocks up all enemies around her. Rell can cast E - Attract and Repel and R - Magnet Storm during the transformation. Rell has increased durability, low movement speed, and a movement speed cap while in armored form. After the transformation, this ability changes to Ferromancy: Mount Up.
- W2 - Ferromancy: Mount Up: (Can only cast while in armored form) Rell rushes forward and transforms her armor into a mount, gaining a burst of movement speed. During her next attack, she charges her target to deal bonus damage and flip them over her shoulder. Rell has increased movement speed while mounted. After the transformation, this ability changes to Ferromancy: Crash Down.
- E - Attract and Repel: Rell magnetically binds a piece of her armor to a target allied champion, granting them bonus Armor and Magic Resist while nearby. Rell can recast this spell to break the bind and stun all enemies around and between her and her bound ally.
- R - Magnet Storm: Rell erupts in magnetic fury, yanking nearby enemies toward her. She then creates a gravitational field around her, pulling nearby enemies in for a few seconds. The field doesn't interrupt her enemies’ other actions.
Rell becomes the second Noxian champ released this year, following Samira, the Desert Rose. It appears that the Iron Maiden will fulfill a tanky support role that can engage easily and also counter the ongoing tank meta. Of course, this will all be speculation until her kit numbers are finalized. Riot has confirmed that she will arrive with League of Legends Patch 10.25 which is scheduled for December 9.
With Preseason 2021 still being a period of transition for many players, now is a good time for Riot to release new champs. This period will see a lot of frequent balance changes — more so than usual due to the item rework — in order to prepare the game for the upcoming professional season. As for where Rell will fit in with all this is yet to be seen, especially with Samira and Seraphine also making their debuts in the professional game next year.
League of Legends is available on PC.
Source: Riot Games