[Rework Idea] Irelia: Captain of the Ionian Guard
EDIT: I CALLED THIS REWORK A YEAR AGO!!!!
This is a longer post, so I've divided it into sections. Hopefully it makes it easier to read ! Please enjoy I was really baked writing this
(I had a longer story written, but I decided to summarize and share the important bits instead)
Summarized Lore / Backstory
Irelia, the Captain of the Ionian Guard has been dispatched to an small island north of Ionia to investigate a sudden rash of mysterious disappearances. When Irelia and her soldiers arrived, the natives warned them about the Cursed Catacombs, but they paid no heed. The entire squad marched confidently into the dark depths, confident that no threat was too big for them to handle, especially with their legendary Captain leading them.
3 days had passed, and the natives gathered and prepared a ceremonial memorial for the fallen. During the entire history of the tribe, not a single soul had ever exited the Catacombs once they entered, and the fabled Ionian Guards were no exception. The Guard paid no heed when they were warned of the dangers within the Cursed Catacombs, and they had paid the ultimate price for their arrogance.
As the Cheiften prepared to light the pyre as homage to the fallen soldiers, a loud metallic ring echoed through the air. The natives scrambled to grab their weapons and setup at the mouth of the Catacombs. As they nervously waited, weapons trained, a lone figure exited the Catacomb.
An old, frail woman, with long white hair and wrinkled skin hobbled out of the cave. The onlookers were stunned: she was wearing the armour of the Captain of the Guard. This was indeed Irelia, but she appeared like she had aged a hundred years!
"The threat has been neutralized" she whispered hoarsely, and grabbed the torch from the Cheiften's hand. After lighting the pyre as a memorial to her fallen troops, Irelia turned her back and left without saying another word, leaving the Natives to ponder what horrors they had experienced in the Catacombs, what had caused the deaths of her troops, and the mysterious and unnatural aging of Irelia, the Captain of the Guard.
Why? Irelia is currently a BADASS female warrior, the only one in League aside from Leona. I wanted to preserve her badass and confident attitude, while changing her skillset to make greater use of her Telekinetic blades. As an old woman, Irelia now lacks the physical strength of her youth, so instead of fighting toe to toe vs melee opponents, she must now rely on her ranged abilities with greater emphasis on controlling her blades with her mind, as her weaker physical body makes her less suited to melee sword fighting.
This also introduces the first older woman into League.... and I think even as Irelia ages she will remain a badass and still be able to fight and defend Ionia from any threat, as Captain of the Guard. I've tried to change her from a diver to more of a ranged vanguard. She protects her allies, as is true for her nature/lore, and hopefully this new kit allows her to do that instead of just diving the backline. She is also the first RANGED SKIRMISHER/ VANGUARD in League. I know this is a SIGNIFICANT change in her playstyle, but I hope you will continue reading and offer any feedback/ thoughts.
Skills P: Telekinetic Blades: 4 blades are controlled by Irelia. Using an ability costs blades as a resource, and Attack Speed/CDR reduces the cooldown at which Irelia's blades return to her. Her basic abilities have no fixed cooldowns, but instead relies on her blades as a resource. Irelia cannot cast abilities if she lacks the blades to do so.
If Irelia has at least two blades, she automatically Bladesurfs, increasing her movement speed by 30% when out of combat for 5 seconds. (Irelia is now a ranged champion)
Q: Bladesurge (1 Blade): Send a blade to strike target enemy. If Bladesurge kills the target, the costs (mana and blade), as well as cooldown are completely refunded.
W: Ionian Will (1 Blade): Passive: Taking damage increases Irelia's resolve. Max resolve scales with Irelia's max HP. Active: Irelia sends a blade to revolve around target ally (or self), consuming all her resolve. Target gains a shield scaling with the amount of resolve consumed, and damages nearby enemies for 3 seconds.
E: Parallel Strike. (2 blades): Two blades slice in a converging arc, slowing all enemies hit and stunning enemies hit by both blades in the middle. .
I visualize it looking somewhat like this: https://youtu.be/8rCeejaaYlg?t=1m43s
R: Bladestorm. Irelia channels and disperses her blades, creating a whirling Maelstorm of destruction around her for 8 seconds. There is a safe zone in the eye of the storm where blades do not enter. Enemy champions hit take true damage. After channeling for 4 seconds, Irelia can move with her bladestorm.
I visualize as a mix of wc3 blademaster's ultimate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa3i0-MiEaM (he starts ulting at 8 seconds),
and Byakuya's Bankai (from bleach)
https://youtu.be/6AS04nXHI8k?t=13m25s
Conclusion
Irelia is the first ranged warrior to join the League. She sticks to her lore as a DEFENDER of the weak, serving as a strong vanguard / peeling tank who protects her backline from the enemy. Instead of being a diver/ assassin, her gameplay changes a to instead protect her allies. Her skill set encourages her to take damage, so she can channel that dmg into shields for herself or her allies. We also need an older woman in League, and who better than the badass Irelia?
Using the blades as a resource raises the skill ceiling a lot. Now she has many options, she can use her E twice in a row, or shield upto 4 allies. She has to carefully consider what skills she wants to use, as she has to manage two resources: mana and her blades. I dont think this makes her too op, since if she uses two stuns in a row, she will lack dmg after etc. The most damage she can do is probably Blade surge x 4 then ult.
However with the lack of her dash, it will be difficult to position the bladestorm to damage enemy squishies, but instead I envision her using it as a peeling mechanism for enemy tanks, as it does true damage.
Let me know what you think, its just an interesting take I had on her. Please provide any and all feedback.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day.
Here are some other ideas I had:
