Champion Rework: Yorick, the Death Merchant

Yorick, the Death Merchant

In celebration of Riot's upcoming rework of the dated gravedigger, I thought it would be fun to brainstorm a potential design of my own. Using recent rework articles as a point of reference, I came up with a fresh take on the now-dated champion.

I thought a lot about the "power fantasy" of playing a gravedigger, a minion master and so on. Compared to the direction and depth League has developed with their newer champions, these stereotypical concepts come off as either one-dimensional or a little too arbitrary. Would a player fresh off the heels of a cosmic, egotistical dragon, or an artistic (see: psychopathic) gunslinger feel excited to play a dude digging up graves for ghouls? Ehhhhh.

Yet, there's potential in the foundation of Yorick that begs for some expansion. I decided to dig a bit deeper (heh) to see what could be done about providing Yorick with depth while retaining the essence of what made him enjoyable to those who currently play him. All seven of them.

To put it simply, I imagined Yorick as a shady peddler with a suspiciously eloquent demeanor. While slipping away from a group of scoundrels after a deal gone wrong on the shores of the Shadow Isles, he has a grave encounter with Karthus. Desperate, but still of his wits, he makes a "deal with the devil" to collect the souls of slain travelers in exchange for his life. Karthus plays into the offer, but as a binding clause, he curses Yorick into a being of both of life and death - able to freely act, breath, eat and feel, but with bindings to dark magic.

Abilities

Passive: Black Market

Enemy large minions, monsters and champions that are slain near Yorick drop a Soul Coin. Unspent coins empower Yorick to safeguard his funds, providing him with damage reduction for each coin held up to a maximum of 6. Spending 4 coins at the shop allows Yorick to hire a single undead bodyguard that will stay with him until it or Yorick is slain, or if a new one is hired.

Brock: A tough, slow brute that reduces incoming damage by a flat percentage. Pastor: A fragile, slow caster that occasionally emits a shield onto an allied champion. Seizer: A fragile, quick rogue that deals stacking bonus physical damage with each strike.

Bodyguards have a leash range, regenerate health out of combat and will prioritize attacking champions in combat with Yorick. If a bodyguard is slain, they will go into stasis for a period of time before dissolving into the earth. Yorick can use this time to visit their body, paying half their original cost to revive them at half their maximum health.

Q: Shovel Strike/Shovel Might

Passive: Upon attacking an enemy champion or monster, Yorick strikes twice in quick succession on a set cooldown. The first strike reduces his target’s armor for a few seconds while the second strike deals bonus physical damage. If Yorick lands both strikes in succession, the cooldown of this ability is reduced.

Active: Yorick can manually activate this ability to shovel the ground and project a clump of earth forward, dealing physical damage and slowing targets in an area in front of him. This ability triggers the cooldown of Shovel Strike.

W: Grasping Earth

Yorick curses the earth in a large target area for a set time. Every few seconds, a small area within the zone will indicate a warning of approaching demise. The area will then erupt with the clawing grip of the undead, dealing flat magic damage and slowing targets above. If an enemy champion or monster is struck, Yorick is healed for a percentage of his maximum health. This ability prioritizes enemies that have been recently struck by Yorick's abilities.

E: Paralyzing Leech

Yorick targets a nearby location and after a brief delay, a monstrous leech is summoned. It travels in a straight line along a chosen direction, increasing speed over the course of its path or until it reaches a wall. If the leech collides with an enemy, it stuns them and deals magic damage over time. Otherwise, it leaves behind a slime trail for a short period that briefly stuns enemies on contact.

R: Curse of the Death Merchant

Yorick succumbs to his evil curse, transforming and empowering him and his bodyguard for a short duration. During this time, he and his bodyguard have increased maximum health, movement speed and tenacity. Each bodyguard also gains an additional quality during this time:

Brock: Emits a toxic miasma, dealing magic damage over time to enemies around him. Pastor: Increase the potency and frequency in which he casts shields. Seizer: Attacks decay his target's armor with each strike up to a maximum amount.

I thought I'd throw this concept out there to gather your thoughts. Many key stats and numbers were left out intentionally as this is purely a proof of concept for a core design. If I see that people like this concept, I'll happily post my analysis on what his laning phase, skirmishing and teamfights would be like. I'll also draw up some pictures for ya'll. Thanks for your time!!