The Next Battlecast Skin

Hello Everybody!

So, I am here to talk about the next possible Battlecast skin. With the release of Battlecast ALPHA Skarner (don't get it wrong) and Battlecast Kog'maw, we are to a point to where we could have a complete Battlecast team (Cho'gath top, Skarner jungle, Viktor mid, Kog'maw ADC, and Vel'koz support (there is also Urgot and Xerath, but I think they need a bit of an update to that specific skin)).

Essentially, Riot could stop right here, and say "Good job everyone! We completed a skin line!", and leave it at that. Although, knowing Riot, everyone should expect that this is nowhere near the end of the Battlecast line.

As of right now, there is only one other suspected skin to come out, and it is hinted in Creator Viktor's recall animation, of which is depicted in this graphic here:

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130906013237/leagueoflegends/images/b/b1/Viktor_Recall.png

This shouldn't be news to anyone (uness you've been living under a rock, or just simply not paying attention to the world around you). Down in the bottom right is supposedly the next addition to the Battlecast line, and everyone seems to think that this new skin refers to Anivia, due to this graphic here:

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m83kuqiHv41rxv753o1_400.jpg

On this list, we have the annotations: XER; URG; SKA; MAW; and ANV. Battlecast Xerath and Urgot came out before Battlcast PRIME Cho'gath (again, don't get it wrong), and thus, those were easy to point to. In the splash art for Cho, we can plainly see Urgot, and Skarner, thus, ever since that skin came out, EVERYONE knew that Skarner would eventually get his Battlcast skin. The MAW was quite easy to derive, and was soon confirmed in Creator Viktor's splash art. Although Riot didn't seem to stick to the original concept (which showed Kog with supposedly three turrets on his back instead of one), they still released the skin.

The last annotation on the list is the only one that hasn't been filled, and since it has ANV, everyone suspects it is Anivia. I would like to explain as to why I think the next skin actually won't go to Anivia, but a new champion entirely. Before I go any further, I would like to state that all of this is just my opinion, and a simple theory I have made up. Please do not take any of this as fact or truth.

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First point I would like to make is that the Battlecast line has yet to receive an official support. Yes, Vel'koz makes quite a decent support, but he was not designed for it. He was intentionally designed to go in the mid lane. Same goes for Anivia. Yes, she can make an OK support (one of my real life friends actually really likes to play Anivia support), but was never intentionally designed for it. Thus, it would only make sense for Riot to complete the Battlecast line with an official support champion.

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Next point I would like to look at is Riot's thinking towards the Battlecast line. The entire purpose of the Battlecast line is to turn beasts of Runeterra into hulking, unstoppable machines, and so far, each champ that has gotten a Battlecast skin can make sense and potentially work if they were turned into a robot.

Lets look at (I think) the first Battlecast skin to come out: Urgot. Just on his own, Urgot is a walking war machine. His entire kit is mechanical on its own: heat seeking missiles, poisonous gas, and a very complex mechanism that can make him switch places with someone. Its almost too easy to make a Battlecast skin for him.

Next is Xerath: this guy is a bit harder to understand his inner workings as a robot, but it still makes sense. Each shard of (I guess) armor on him can potentially be some sort of energy producer, creating an electromagnetic field which allows him to hover. All of the abilities could be considered high energy lasers (or something along those lines) that allows him to deal the damage he needs to do.

Next is Cho'gath. I honestly don't think I need to go into why Cho would make sense as a robot, because this picture describes it all for me:

http://forums.euw.leagueoflegends.com/board/attachment.php?attachmentid=95271&d=1343907441

Then we have Vel'koz. Just as a champion in general, Vel can most easily be related to Xerath if you're needing to explain him to someone who might be new to him. Possibly another electromagnetic field which allows him to hover; rockets, lasers, and even a jet pack to get to safety. The entire skin just simply makes sense!

And finally, we have the two newest additions to the Battlecast line, both of which, I feel, are great examples of the concept of beasts being turned into machines. In fact, Skarner and Kog'maw make more sense as machines then they do as creatures. A chain to hook onto enemies for Skarner, artillery cannons for Kog'maw, an internal self destruct, a shield that can be applied at will. I mean come on, its almost too easy to make these guys robots.

I don't think Anivia is getting the next Battlecast skin because she doesn't make sense as a robot. A bird type champion certainly makes sense, but a Pheonix? And a cryopheonix at that? Her passive alone trumps the entire thing. How can a robot instantly turn into a small little egg, and revive itself after pretty much getting destroyed. It simply does not make sense.

Also, her wall is odd as well. Anivia literally makes terrain, changes the map to her liking, and since her wall is made of ice, it melts! How can a robot instantly make a wall from nowhere, and then have it melt? You could say that she calls down some metal walls, then heats them up so much that the metal melts, but then, why would she intentionally melt them if they weren't in her way, and giving her a potential advantage?

I will say that her other abilities would make sense coming from a robot: a long range floating grenade that deals damage and stuns enemies, a shard of heated metal that would do more damage if hits an enemy that is (technically) already on fire, and an ultimate that calls down a hail storm of artillery. However, all of the other champion's abilities are somehow connected to their inner mechanics. What I mean by this is that they all have a method to "make" their abilities. Send out a missile or a laser, apply a shield, turn up the volume to 1 million, it all makes sense. Anivia simply makes things happen out of thin air by using magic. Robots are not capable of this.

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There is one last point I would like to make before I close this out; and it involves Battlecast Vel'koz's splash art.

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140214194213/leagueoflegends/images/thumb/0/05/Vel'Koz_BattlecastSkin.jpg/613x460x2-Vel'Koz_BattlecastSkin.png

Now, I'm not sure if any of you can see it, but if you look slightly above and to the right of Viktor, there is a very dim silhouette of what looks to be a bird like addition to the Battlecast line. Also, we should take a look back at the graphic I mentioned earlier:

http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/841/2024/original.jpg

At the bottom left of this picture is that same exact silhouette. From the graphic, it looks like the head is positioned at the bottom of the picture, but if we look back at Vel'koz's splash art, we find out that the bottom is really the bottom of this robot, essentially stating that whatever this bird is, it doesn't have a head. So far, every other Battlecast skin really looks like the original champion, just in robot form. Why would Riot remove Anivia's head to make her a robot? Yes, it is some sort of bird champ, and we have the ANV annotation, but whatever that champ is, it really doesn't look like Anivia.

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My conclusion is that this is actually a new support beast like champion, one that can fully complete the entire Battlecast line. What will it be capable of, I have no clue. It could be focused on poke, cc, healing, anything but diving, for it does not look very robust.

I do apologize for the VERY long post, but, tell me what you think!

TL;DR I believe Anivia is not the next champion to get a Battlecast skin, and instead, I believe it will be some sort of beast like support champion, to fully complete the Battlecast line.