Melicent, Conduit of the Swarm
Role: AP Tank, AP Fighter, Jungler
Inspiration: I wanted to create a Champion from a non-carry role (either a Support or Tank) and give them an Ultimate ability that allowed them to transform into a carry for a brief period of time.
General Design Philosophy: Melicent is a frontline tank with a good mix of engagement, damage over time and innate tankiness. Her core play pattern involves slowing enemies from range, speeding herself up to close the gap, then snaring them while emitting passive AoE damage and waiting for her allies to catch up to her. This relatively simple kit is offset by a massively game-changing Ultimate that requires the use of a unique resource system, preparation, foresight and an understanding of the mechanical skill needed to perform in a melee carry role.
Once Melicent has generated enough of her unique resource, she can opt to transform into an AP melee carry, which requires a short channel time. In this new form, she sheds her tankiness and team-wide disruption and instead opts for a suite of personal gap closers, AoE magic damage and a heavy dose of disruptive chaos. This juxtaposition between both physical forms and game roles creates a massive shift in gameplay for Melicent players. Most predominantly, it allows adept tank players to put their backpacks on and carry the team in short bursts, rather than relegating themselves to soaking damage and being the first one to die in team fights.
Risk Analysis: Very High. Melicent is a complex Champion who uses an all-new resource system. Her base kit is mostly intuitive and both easy to learn and execute on (a la Nautilus), but knowing when to transform and the associated game knowledge required to excel in two roles will undoubtedly be daunting to new players. Overall this kit will either live or die by its Ultimate, which is always a risky, albeit exciting proposition.
Appearance:
While the image below doesn't reflect much about Melicent's actual appearance, I wanted to highlight the "open air" cockpit of Melicent being strapped to her Mechapede, and her ability to control its front arms.
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Lore:
Since she was a child, Melicent has always been fascinated by insects. She didn’t quite care about them, so much as she desired to unlock their microscopic secrets in order to obtain a higher plane of personal power and enlightenment. They were simply the means to an end; an end she never could have imagined as a child. Melicent grew up in a backwater village of Zuan, picking the wings off of dragonflies just to learn how they managed to fly. This obsessive fascination quickly began to invade her every pore and sculpt the young girl into something ...odd. She was ruthless, but driven. Her passion for research was boundless and she stopped at nothing to discover the answers she sought, regardless of the moral ambiguities her studies sometimes carried.
_ It wasn’t long before Melicent was preparing to graduate from a leading Piltover institution with degrees in both biomechanics and entomology; the study of insects. As part of her final thesis, she constructed a massive machination she called the Mechapede. She announced that she would use her creation to explore the most dangerous environments in Runeterra, discovering insects, collecting samples and ultimately learning whatever hidden secrets they could offer her._
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Several years into her travels and studies, Melicent was struggling to make any meaningful breakthroughs. She knew the insects had secrets, but she found their silence maddening. It was then that she met Dahlia, a brilliant but somewhat naive botanist from Noxus. Dahlia hypothesized that Melicent could advance her studies through the use of a pollen-based attractant that Dahlia had been perfecting. She invited Melicent to her lab to show off her various spore and pollen samples, and it didn’t take long for the young entomologist to realize the kinds of revolutionary advances she could make with Dahlia’s help.
However, Mellicent soon betrayed her own desires by revealing to Dahlia that she intended to use her plants to intoxicate and ultimately perform horrific experiments on the insects she captured as a result. When the brilliant botanist refused to help Melicent with her dubious research, desperation struck and Melicent took drastic action. Without warning, she lunged at Dahlia, smashing her against a small table as diagrams and charts flew about the room.
Despite her best efforts, Dahlia was ultimately overpowered and sent flying into one of her experimental workstations. The corrosive and acidic toxins stored within the surrounding beakers doused the young botanist’s body, causing her to scream in terrible pain. Melicent grimaced in disdain over her actions, but her guilt was quickly overcome by an immense drive to begin her research. Melicent silently gathered up Dahlia’s work and left the lab, having no interest in watching the girl begin to mutate and wither away.
Within a few short days, Melicent’s prized Mechapede had received numerous upgrades, including a massive grenade launcher which she outfitted with a modified version of Dahlia’s pollen compound. With a grizzled brow of determination about her face, Melicent climbed aboard her Mechapede. It let out a piercing, mechanical shriek before beginning to slither and scuttle its way out of Piltover and into the dense, unknown jungles of the Howling Marsh. It was there, Melicent thought, where she would finally discover the secrets she was so desperate to find...
Trivia: Melicent’s name is Greek for “honey bee.” The root of her name, “Mel”, is an alliteration with her mechapede, and “ent” is a reference to her occupation as an ‘entomologist’.
Strengths: AoE slow, consistent damage threat, self-heal, innately tanky, ability to transform into a hyper carry briefly
Weaknesses: Unreliable initiations, use of Ultimate requires interactivity and set-up time, limited crowd control, ability to disrupt enemy team is largely tied to Ultimate
Plays Most Like...: 
Resource: None, in the case of her basic abilities. However, Melicent uses a secondary resource called “Swarm” which occupies her resource bar and is required to activate her Ultimate.
Auto Attack: Melicent's mechapede slashes in melee range with its scythe-like arm
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_6551_btn_zps5hhr9ojg.jpg Passive- Prized Specimens: Melicent's mechapede carries a canister on its back, which contains a swarm of killer insects. Melicent gains stacks of a buff called “Swarm” passively over time at a rate of 1 stack every 4 seconds. At 100 stacks, Melicent can cast her Ultimate ability. After casting her Ultimate or upon respawning, Millicent’s stacks are reset to 0.
Insects will occasionally fly around Summoner's Rift at a slow pace in patrolled fashions (similar to the Scuttle Crab), which Melicent can pick up to gain 5 stacks of Swarm. Casting Pollen Grenade on an insect draws it to Melicent automatically. Collecting insects also generates a flat amount of healing for Melicent over a period of 2 seconds, which scales with her level. Insects are more commonly found in the jungle; especially in the river. Design Philosophy: Melicent’s core inspiration and reason for existence revolves around her Ultimate, which I wanted to depend on active and interactive gameplay for Melicent, her team and her opponents. The minor healing component for collecting insects helps Melicent players sustain in the jungle when traveling between camps.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_10563_pas_zps54scmb36.jpg Q- Pollen Grenade (9 sec): Melicent fires a concussive grenade from her mechapede at a target location up to 1,200 units away with an impact diameter of 350 units, slowing affected enemies by 30/34/38/42/46% for 3 seconds and dealing minor magic damage to them over the duration. Affected enemies also receive a debuff called ‘Pollinated’, which lasts for 6 seconds. Rank-ups increase damage, slow value and lower cooldown. Design Philosophy: This ability functions similarly to Urgot’s Corrosive Charge but provides a slightly larger cast radius. This ability acts as a long range form of soft initiation and is moderately reliable in nature, assuming Melicent players can land their skillshots. Much like how Urgot players fish for their combo by initiating with Corrosive Charge, this ability is essential for enabling the rest of Melicent’s kit. Its cooldown is moderately long to provide windows of opportunity for the enemy team to react once they know Melicent has whiffed her only source of engagement.
W- Travel Mode/Battle Mode (5 sec): This is a toggleable ability with a short cooldown between each of the two toggle modes. In addition to their passive effects, each ability also features a secondary effect upon initial activation:
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_11564_pas_zpsnghdxbdp.jpg Travel Mode- Melicent's mechapede hunches over, placing more of its legs on the ground and gaining 24/28/32/36/40% bonus movement speed for 2 seconds. Following this, Melicent enjoys a flat 10/20/30/40/50 bonus movement speed while in Travel Mode.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_7788_pas_zpsqmtpeo6m.jpg Battle Mode- Melicent’s Mechapede stands mostly upright, gaining a damage-absorbing shield that scales with max health and a conversion of her current Swarm stacks (Swarm Stacks x.5/1/1.5/2/2.5). The shield lasts for 2.5 seconds. Simultaneously, the mechapede’s canister opens its vents, releasing a swarm of insects around Melicent at a diameter of 300 units. This deals minor AoE magic damage while Battle Mode is active, but causes her to lose one stack of Swarm every second. The AoE effect is disabled if/when Melicent runs out of Swarm stacks. Rank-ups increase bonus movement speed, damage dealt and shield value. Design Philosophy: Travel Mode’s active component is designed to allow her to catch up to enemies who she has managed to slow from range with her Pollen Grenade. The passive component simply allows her to stick to targets or move more quickly between jungle camps.
Battle Mode’s active component helps soften the retaliatory blows Melicent will surely suffer once she decides to set up shop and begin whittling down her prey, while simultaneously cementing her role as a frontline tank. The shield only lasts a moment to limit its power during extended fights or kiting scenarios, while the Swarm scaling gives Melicent players a reason to hold onto their stacks instead of blindly activating their Ultimate as soon as it’s available to cast.
As a Champion without mana costs, shutting down Melicent’s Swarm generation was vital in preventing players from keeping Battle Mode active indefinitely.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_14315_pas_zpsjfreqxx2.jpg E- Infestation (7 sec): Melicent releases a cone-shaped funnel of insects from her mechapede with a maximum range of 450, dealing magic damage to all targets in its path. Targets affected by Pollinate suffer 20% bonus damage and are snared in a web-like secretion for 1.25/1.5/1.75/2/2.25 seconds. In addition, Melicent receives a stack of Swarm for each pollinated target struck (tripled against enemy Champions). Rank-ups increase damage done and snare duration. Design Philosophy: This is the final note in Melicent’s intuitive Q/W/E combo (similar to Nautilus’ play patterns), and is designed to lock down fleeing enemies so that Melicent’s team can catch up and capitalize on her initiation. I intentionally chose a Snare effect to allow captured opponents the opportunity to retaliate against Melicent as she patiently waits for her team to follow up.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_11727_atc_zpscbjme0xl.jpg R- Release the Swarm (No cooldown, requires 100 stacks of Swarm): Melicent's mechapede becomes immobile and begins to channel. Over the next 2 seconds, Melicent remorselessly vents a mutagen into the canister of insects strapped to her mechapede's back, causing the insects to mutate into a brutish insectoid. The canister doors then open, freeing the creature. This channel cannot be interrupted, but Melicent takes full damage during her transition. As the creature emerges, Melicent slyly utters, “Release The Swarm!”
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For the next 20/25/30 seconds, Melicent gains direct control of the creature. The player in turn gains access to a new set of abilities and statistics, which act independently of any items Melicent possesses. These statistics scale with Ultimate rank. Practically speaking, this effect transforms Melicent into a completely different Champion.
Health: 1100/1500/1900 Health Regeneration: 0/0/0 Armor: 50/75/100 Magic Resistance: 40/70/100 Attack Damage: 100/125/150 Attack Speed: 1/1.25/1.5 Ability Power: 200/400/600 Movement Speed: 380/415/450 Cooldown Reduction: 0%
The mechapede remains at the location where Release the Swarm was activated, and retains Melicent's current health, armor and magic resistance. If the mechapede is destroyed while Release the Swarm is active, Melicent's connection to the creature becomes severed and it dies instantly.
Rank-ups increase base stats, base ability damage and duration of the Ultimate.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_1642_btn_zpsslugidqf.jpg RP- Mutagenic Claws: The creature's auto attacks deal 25/50/75 bonus magic damage and place a stacking debuff on its target, which increases the bonus damage dealt from subsequent auto attacks by 25%. This debuff lasts 3 seconds, stacks up to four times and refreshes its duration with each auto attack. Design Philosophy: Without the need for Swarm stacks, Melicent is now free to deal consistent magic damage to any target she can close the gap against, making her a legitimate and consistent damage threat while in her insectoid form.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_11410_pas_zps1wwjcl9r.jpg RQ- Insidious Rush (8 sec): The creature charges forward up to 650 units away, knocking aside enemy units in its path and creating a 70% AoE slow effect at the end of its travel path, which lasts for 2 seconds. Enemies knocked aside suffer minor magic damage while enemies affected by the slowing component suffer considerably more. Design Philosophy: This ability is specifically designed to closely mirror both the mechanics and the input of Melicent’s baseline Q ability. While the range is shortened, the speed and width of the skillshot are increased to provide more consistent engagement; with or without Melicent’s teammates.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_14794_pas_zpsqqh6evh3.jpg RW- Conduit of the Swarm (Passive, always active): The Swarm constantly swirls around the creature at 300 range, dealing magic damage over time to all enemies in range. Design Philosophy: Again, this ability was designed to mirror and merely enhance Melicent’s baseline ability. The damage this ability deals is roughly 50% more than its counterpart, Battle Mode. It also helps solidify Melicent’s new role as a volatile, albeit short-lived damage threat.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_17769_pas_zpsub9rc20b.jpg RE- Corrosive Screech (5 sec): The creature utters a terrible screech, spewing a corrosive acid in a cone up to 500 units away. This deals heavy magic damage and lowers the magic resistance of affected targets by 10/20/30% for 2.5 seconds. Design Philosophy: As Melicent’s Ultimate trades her innate tankiness and crowd control for increased speed and individual gap-closing prowess, she no longer needs to snare enemies in the hopes that her team can follow up with her; she’s strong enough to take care of things herself. This ability is similar to Cho’Gath’s Feral Scream and acts as Melicent’s primary AP nuke while in her Swarm form. The baked in MR shred helps compensate for her inability to use items like Void Staff while in this form.
http://i1298.photobucket.com/albums/ag47/Lutzburg/icons_11279_btn_zps2wzkvtmz.jpg RR- Volatile Experiment (no cooldown, can only be used once): The creature violently self destructs, causing a shockwave of insects and corrosive acid to disperse around it in a 500 range radius. This deals magic damage based on the missing health percentage of affected enemies. This ability can only be used once and is unavailable for the first 4 seconds after activating the Release the Swarm. Volatile Experiment triggers automatically after 20/25/30 seconds but will not trigger if the creature is killed prematurely by enemies.
Once the creature perishes, Melicent resumes piloting her mechapede after a short "revive" animation, during which she is still vulnerable to attack.
Design Philosophy: As its name implies, this is a volatile and chaotic ability that rewards Melicent players for embracing their newfound carry potential and truly diving the backlines to destroy a priority target. While in this form, Melicent is incredibly susceptible to crowd control, but even in a worst-case scenario, her initial volley of damage combined with the execute nature of her Ultimate should allow her to take at least one victim with her. This ability is unusable for the first few seconds after activation to prevent players from immediately executing their opponent at opportune times (See Quinn Ultimate, Sion Shield, Zyra Passive). A “self destruct” button also allows Melicent to return to her mechapede prematurely, should the need to tank stuff arise sooner than expected. Furthermore it allows her to move her primary form away from enemies who may be attempting to focus fire it down before her insect form can cause too much chaos.
Special thanks to EntropicScholar for the great suggestion to tweak Melicent's Ultimate!
If you liked this Champion, you can find over 70 more of my original concepts HERE!
