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Champion Concept: Kalras, the Lance of Noxus

Zero Shingetsu·11/22/2017, 6:36:14 PM·3 votes·350 views

#BACKGROUND Kalras is among Noxus' elite warriors. Riding into battle astride his loyal steed, Astrella, he engaged in many fierce battles with Demacian general Ageron. While mounted, his jousting skills are second to none and he strikes a terrifying visage, trampling through foes without fear as he bloodies his lance. On foot, Kalras is a dogged fighter who refuses to give ground, switching to a halberd as his weapon of choice. His base movement is quite slow (300) but Astrella makes up for this. Gameplay wise, Kalras is a dangerous brawler who gets stronger as the battle rages around him. While mounted, Kalras can run down foes and outmaneuver ganks, making him dangerous to lane against. His trading power is diminished only by his slightly awkward turning mechanic, which forces him to really commit when he decides to go all in. While dismounted, Kalras is difficult to move. He becomes sturdier and has a number of soft crowd control options that help him hold important ground.

#STATS Kalras is a two-mode champion. He uses Mana as a resource, but doesn't have a great deal of it. Kalras has high attack damage and armor, but his stats are modified based on whether or not he's mounted. His HP is above average – slightly low for a bruiser – and his magic resist leaves something to be desired.

#ABILITIES

Universal Abilities

>##Passive – Man of War >As champions and minions on either side take damage around Kalras, Kalras gains bonus AD (+0.2 AD for every instance of damage taken by minions, +2 AD for every instance of damage taken by champions other than himself), up to 40/80/100 bonus AD. This bonus wears off rapidly over time when no enemy champions are within the radius of Kalras' effect.

>##R – Dismount/Call Astrella >No Cost >Cooldown: 15/13/10 seconds >Kalras begins the game with his ultimate, but is later able to purchase one of two passive upgrades (beginning at level 6) by leveling his ultimate. While mounted, Kalras gains +80 movement speed and +10% bonus AD. However, while mounted, Kalras' turns have an animation; turning around 180 degrees takes about 0.8 seconds, while turning 90 degrees takes about 0.4 seconds. More narrow turns than this have no animation. Turning 90 or 180 degrees reduces the movement bonus to 60 and 40 respectively, building up back up to 80 at a rate of 20 per second.

>While dismounted, Kalras instead gains +25% Armor and Magic Resist and is attack range is increased to 150 units. Kalras gains an additonal 20% Tenacity while dismounted as well.

##Mounted Abilities >##Q – Horsekick >60/70/80/90/100 Mana >Cooldown: 20/18/16/14/12 seconds >Enemies behind Kalras in a small arc are knocked away, taking 80/100/120/140/160 (+50% AD) damage. Enemies within the closer half of the area of effect suffer an additional (+25% AD) as true damage and are stunned for 1 second. This ability is quick-cast regardless of settings. It can be double-tapped to swiftly spin Kalras around 180 degrees, ignoring his usual turning mechanics.

>##W – Black Rider >100/110/120/130/140 Mana Cooldown: 16/15/14/13/12 seconds The first cast causes Astrella to rear back, inflicting Fear on all enemies within a moderate radius for 0.8 seconds. After 1 second, Astrella slams down on the target area (small area within a small radius), inflicting 100/130/160/190/210 (+60% AD) damage, plus an additional (1.5% AD)% of current health, to enemies within the area of effect and knocking them up for 0.5 seconds. Using Black Rider will abort Couch Lance.

>##E – Couch Lance/Pierce >80 Mana >Cooldown: 16 seconds >The first cast lowers Kalras' lance and starts a forward charge, granting +10% movement speed building to +50% by the end of the charge. During this charge, Kalras' control of his movement is extremely limited, similar to Sion's ultimate, and he takes 50% more damage from all sources. Kalras pushes enemies he collides with to the side, dealing 20/30/40/50/60 (+15% AD) damage. One time during the charge, Kalras may recast to strike enemies in an extremely short arc to his front. These enemies are stunned for 2 seconds and dealt an additional 80/110/150/200/260 (+30% AD) (+100% Movement Speed) damage. This second cast has +5 bonus Lethality and doubles Kalras' Lethality.

##Dismounted Abilities >##Q – Stand Firm >No Cost >Cooldown: 15 seconds Kalras lowers his halberd in front of him for up to 5 seconds (may be recast to end the effect early), gaining +15% Armor and Magic Resist and becoming immune to stuns, slows and displacement. During this time, enemies who approach an arc (moderate distance, narrow width) in front of Kalras are knocked by a short distance and take 40/50/60/70/80 (+30% AD) damage. This effect can happen every 1.5 seconds. While channeling, Kalras' direction is fixed.

>##W – Liver Slice >No Cost >Cooldown: 14/13/12/11/10 seconds Kalras swings his halberd in an arc, dealing 20/30/40/50/60 (+30% AD) damage to enemies caught within the radius. Champions caught in the area of effect also lose (50% bonus AD) Mana (energy champions lose 10 Energy instead). Those affected are pushed back just beyond the edge of the effect radius and slowed by 40% for 2 seconds.

>##E – Warlord's Reach >No Cost >Cooldown: 20/18/16/14/12 seconds >Kalras stops, raiding his halberd in front of him. For 1 second, he is immune to damage. If an enemy hits him with an auto attack during this time, Kalras will hook the enemy. Pressing E again will lift the enemy and slam them down just behind Kalras. Failing to do so within 1 second of the hook will fling the enemy directly away a moderate distance. In either case, the target takes 80/100/120/140/160 (+40% AD) damage when they land and are silenced for 1 second.

##Ultimate Upgrades These are purchased from level 6, like a normal ultimate. You choose your path at level 6 and are locked into it for the rest of the game. >##Plate Barding >Astrella gains heavy plate armor, granting Kalras +100/300/500 (+300% Armor) (+150% Magic Resist) Health while mounted.

>##Conqueror's Greaves >Kalras gains +10/20/30 movement speed while dismounted and can move through units, both while mounted and unmounted. When he passes an enemy unit, they are slowed by 20/30/40% for 1.5 seconds. The duration is doubled if Kalras is dismounted.

#STRATEGIES

  • Use Couch Lance to charge past the enemy teamfight, then Horsekick or dismount and Liver Slice to force the enemy team to fight yours. Marching towards them with Stand Firm active will help tighten the noose on the enemy squishies, making it difficult for them to escape.
  • Horsekick can be used to escape when you're fleeing a gank, or to quickly spin around and get out of a trade you're losing. In laning phase, the important part is deciding when to use it. Use it for tax free poke, and you risk a speedy jungler catching you with your hooves on the ground.
  • Black Rider is great for trading, but not so good for escapes. The fear isn't reliable enough to let you build up speed to escape with Couch Lance, so it's best used to soften up an enemy when you're pretty sure you're going in. In team fights, however, its use becomes more prevalent as you're able to whittle down a specific opponent while applying fight-wide fear for your allies to capitalize on.
  • Couch Lance is a great tool for starting fights, but only if you land Pierce or intend to dismount and start throwing enemies. Be careful when using it, however, as an enemy team with a lot of burst damage might tear you apart before you get close enough to do some damage. Plate Barding can help alleviate this later in the game.
  • With Conqueror's Greaves, a dismounted Kalras becomes an oppression machine. With Boots of Swiftness, Kalras is still reasonably mobile enough to trample enemies in teamfights. This makes them easier to line up with Stand Firm or catch with a Liver Slice, and when coupled with Kalras' already ample dismounted crowd control, he can really dominate the field in teamfights.
  • Kalras is tougher and requires no mana while dismounted. Take advantage of this to protect dragon and baron attempts for your team, hold your tower when one or two extra enemies come to push you, or protect a narrow jungle pass while your team escapes an ambush.
  • With Kalras' dismounted toughness and zone control, you can outlast most opponents in a solo lane by making good use of Liver Slice and Stand Firm. Keep them at bay and whittle down their mana reserves, and you can almost guarantee they'll have to go to shop before you (unless they decided to play Farmville).
  • Call Astrella has a long enough cooldown, that you have to meaningfully plan ahead when you mount or dismount. If you go into a fight and dismount to apply CC, expect that you're not getting out anytime soon.
  • Ghost is a great call for Kalras. From speeding his Couch Lance charge to procing Conqueror's Greaves, or simply escaping a bad dismount decision, having that extra speed on this fairly slow champion would be a huge help.
  • Unlike similar abilities such as Sion's ultimate, Couch Lance can't be cancelled unless you use Black Rider. Be careful about going in too deep. That said, at the right distance, Couch Lance can be a great way to tower dive, as you'll run right past the tower's attack range if you start close enough.

######PS: My layout work is horrible.

2 Comments

DrFiveMinusMinus11/23/2017, 5:21:32 AM1 votes

Hi! Just wanted to give you a little feedback on this champion.

First of all, I like the mounted/dismounted dynamic. It essentially allows him to preform dual roles as a tank and fighter.

Second of all, Kalras seems far more at home in the jungle than top lane. Despite a mediocre clear, his ganks are practically unavoidable: Couch Lance > Flash > Black Rider > Horsekick is a very reliable 3.5 second CC chain that deals an absurd amount of damage.

Compared to mounted form, however, unmounted just seems lackluster. Warlord's Reach requires your opponent to attack you, which makes it an unreliable tool for chasing. Stand Firm, while the CC immunity is nice, is an involuntary knockback, and i think SKT Bang has taught us quite enough about knockbacks and their perils.

And now, it's time for me to talk about the two abilities I hate. (sorry!)

Man of War is the one part of Kalras' kit that makes him actually look like a top laner. It gives more AD than Darius' passive at level 1, and has an easier condition to fulfill. This ability lets you zone the enemy laner off the first 3-4 waves, and the amount of base AD it gives goes incredibly well with the FREE LETHALITY he gets from his E. Overall, this ability is the second most most anti-fun part of his kit.

The award for the MOST annoying ability goes to Liver Slice. Now, let's be generous and say that Kalras has no bonus AD from items or runes at level 3. That's still 20 mana taken away from the enemy laner. And did I mention it costs nothing? The reason there aren't more abilities like this in the game is that it works by denying the enemy's ability to play the game, which isn't fun for anyone.

So, my only suggestions for this champion are: Focus his identity a bit more. Is he a jungler, or a laner? Replace his passive and dismounted W. Give the unmounted form more effective tools for a variety of situations. Possibly give his E>W>Q combo a bit more counterplay.

I really hope this helps. I hope to see any updates you make to this and any future champions!

(edit: formatting)