So the new Champion is a Bard...

To everyone mentioning Sona, I would just like to say that a Bard is not necessarily anything like a musician. They were known to be poets, and if you read the first page of the teaser, it seems it's a focus on stories and not music.

Keep in mind, one time they released a trailer telling all about how a new champion inspired and buffed his allies. Then what we actually got was Aatrox.

No. it's a moving fireplace. it's right there. It's a Mid Mage that will replace and , who'll be removed from the game.

The Great Caretaker #Caretaker yea it's a supp

The following is the case for this champion's being Ao Shin.

This is the "sneak peek" of Ao Shin from September of 2013.

"Legend holds that when Ionia faces its greatest crisis, Ao Shin will descend from the sky." This is consistent with the fact that the preview page expands on many of the "pending" crises in Runeterra: The Freljord is at war with itself, unaware that the Frostguard, under Lissandra, are growing in strength and poising to begin a great ice age. Demacia and Piltover, mascots of righteousness, are plagued by their counterparts, Noxus and Zaun, who embody their moral opposites, respectively. Noxus, in addition, is gaining power, even strong enough to nearly conquer Ionia even without the presence of the Master Tactician, Swain. Zaun is a melting pot of unchecked scientific experimentation.

Outside Runeterra's woes, the Shadow Isles are readying to march on Valoran, according to Hecarim: "This is just the beginning. No mortal army can withstand the might of the Shadow Isles." The Void is doing the same, according to Malzahar: "The land may melt, the sea may swell, the sky may fall, but They will come." Ionia is a land dedicated to spirituality and balance. Perhaps its "greatest crisis" wasn't the Noxian invasion, which ended as the description of says, but at the simultaneous incursion of horrific corruptions of nature onto Runeterra.

Ao is the family name of the mythological dragon kings, who rule water and weather. This tells us right away that this is a powerful, elegant being, above the concerns and rules of men.

That Ao Shin is "above the rules and concerns of men" could perhaps signal that he is a guardian of order in Runeterra, given that the new champion is a "caretaker". Ao Shin is prophesied to "descend from the sky", and the new champion's preview says, "those of us from the floating villages." Also, it is said that "Shin means many things," of which the examples "prosperity" and "rising storm" are given. If Ao Shin is a guardian of the natural order and harmony, then it would make sense that his name means "prosperity", and "rising storm" alludes to all the "pending" crises that Runeterra faces.

Lastly, I'll add the thought that Lee Sin, as he is portrayed in his Judgement, is an archetype of the identity and goal of Ionia. Lee Sin's discipline, purity, and sense of duty (found, albeit in different proportions, in others, including non-Ionians, such as , essentially anyone with a "good guy" lore) are the Ionia, the "good things" in all of Runeterra that Ao Shin will come forth to defend: the noble axioms of Demacia, the loyalty to strength in Noxus, the tireless, inspired search for knowledge in Zaun, the dedication to order and beneficience with technology in Piltover, the search for purity and truth in Ionia, the harmonious brotherhood of the Avarosan, the willful invincibility of the Winter's Claw, the militaristically readied and vigilant Ursine, the will to power and might of Shurima, the industriousness and cheerfulness of Bandle City, and the diplomacy and refrain from bloodshed that defines the League.

Also, I think there are symbols around SR, and aside from their relation to the champion preview, a guy said this in the comments:

I am thinking/hoping this is AoShin I think this because the last symbol is many places on the map. I have also seen these symbols light up and glow at certain times. Going back to Aoshin do a little research on them and you will find riot said AoShin will move around the map differently. I am thinking that you will use the symbols on the map to move around. Also the title from when logged into league is The Wonder Above. I don't know what else that could mean.

I was going to say that I don't think it'll be Ao Shin, but now I'm hyped.

reeto pls

Is he a bard or is Bard just his name?

If he IS a bard, I am curious to see how he will be different from Sona. The concepts seem similar.

Edit: If he is a story telling god, I hope he's voiced by Morgan Freeman

I jungle and support main so if this guy turns out to be either I'll be good :P.

He almost no doubt has to do with Mount Targon. is the only support item from the trio without a lore related event. Freljord and Shurima already had their turns ( ))

Typo.

The new champion is a Barn.

" We laugh at fools, cheer heroes, and curse villains until the fire burns down to embers."

Shakespeare, the Champion.

THIS! IS! ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND! Okay, technically Elizabethan-Jacobean. But still.

I think people are getting the whole "Sona vibe" from a gameplay perspective. When I think of a Bard in terms of games, I think of someone who provides buffs for the team and maybe debuffs the enemy.

This may certainly not be the case - and I highly doubt Riot will make two music themed champions - and I really hope the new Champ is astral themed (based on the whole constellation thing going on in the story), or has a strange design, almost like Oracle from DOTA 2.

But really, there's not enough info on the new champ yet. Can't wait to see what shows up!

A while back before Kalista was officially revealed, on the BR forums there was some talk and interaction with a figure known as "the fabulista". A fabulista or fabulist is a person who composes or relates fables, much like a bard. Perhaps the fabulsita and this "bard" are the same.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red. Who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead.

I like bards, bards are cool.

There are some other things to consider in this teaser. Here are some quotes directly from the teaser.

"Look toward the Frozen Watcher": The watchers are ancient Freljordian Species, The only one we know of now is .

"A Cloud of Smoldering destruction hangs in the night Sky. This Is the Fall of Shurima": With the release of Azir, basically the whole lore of all the Shuriman champions has changed. But i think this might have to do with either or . (Possibly & ) .

"The Shattered Crown is a kings reward for defying the shadows embrace": This possibly has to do with Noxus and Demacia. Sion does wear the Shattered Crown of Jarvan I on his jaw. This might have to do with & .

These are things that i noticed. They Are Just My Theories! With this new Champion's release. These may be other champs he might have lore relations or in-game taunts or jokes.

Hope you Enjoyed!

ALSO!!!!

The Teaser Symbol of "Bard" Shows a Circle with three mini circles within it. and the mini circles are connected with a triangle. Maybe this tells that "Bard" is a connection between the Nations also mentioned in the teaser. This is the **Freljord, Shurima, & Noxus/Demacia. **I am not quite sure but i thin kthese are the Largest Nations in Valoran.

Hope you enjoyed!

As a broke college kid I would really love to know how the hell I can fill my stomach with these boring stories I have to read. I tried eating the books but it didn't work.

Hope it will be a Watcher...

it is a jg type pokemon

I hope it's a support! As a support main I would love to have this unique bard champion in my pool.

King of Masks, confirmed.

http://i.imgur.com/BwmKAUJ.jpg "I ever tell you about the time Keith made sushi? Yeah, his mom took him to a sushi place for his birthday and he didn't want to go, but he turned out he LOVED it, man. But it's like 10 bucks a su-sho in one of them places, so Keith figures, "Hey, how hard can it be to roll up some raw food in seaweed," right? As it turns out, it's hard. Now, they say that experience is the best teacher, and experience taught Keith that if you ever eat three pounds of raw chicken, it kills you. Now luckily, Keith's brain went into self-defense mode and started shutting organs down to head the chicken off at the pass, and the doctors were able to get 'em out before his heart stopped. But to this day, Keith has no sensation in his right foot, and doesn't recognize his own brother Paul no more."

I was hoping the champ itself would be the 'The Wonder Above', some kind of Godlike champ from the heavens :(

If the new champion is in fact a musician then i wanna see a freddy mercury or john lennon skin, if he is a poet i wanna see an edgar allen poe skin. hehehehe ALSO WHEN DO WE GET AO SHIN?! IS LONELY

ANYBODY ELSE NOTICE THIS, I THINK IM ONE OF THE FIRST. in the constellation animation thing that league has bout the bard there is a symbol at the end that represents it. And i noticed this right next to blue buff and gromp. Its the same symbol! (attached photo) CHECK IT OUT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK :D

Yeah this is kinda weird, we already have a bard type support already. I wish we had an evil version of sona with a cursed violin that causes debuffs to enemies.

The new champion is a support, a support tank. My logic is riot selects it's PBE members by the type of champion they are going to make next, I was picked a few days ago, I've only been playing supports and tanks. I'm just adding two and two here, but I feel pretty strongly that this new champion is some sort of support, or tank.

{quoted}

I jungle and support main so if this guy turns out to be either I'll be good :P.

He almost no doubt has to do with Mount Targon. is the only support item from the trio without a lore related event. Freljord and Shurima already had their turns ( ))

Targon's Embrace is usually for the Tank type supports.

But isn't it odd to include the "Watchers" from the freljord and the "Shurima" at the same time? The Freljord represents cold and winter, while Shurima represents summer and warmth. Additionally we can infer that the Shadow Isles are representing Autumn. I personally think that this new "Bard" guy will relate to Spring and like lively colours.