[Rework Champion Concept] Samuels and Estabaan, Host of the Shadow

A/N: Sorry in advance. Some of the abilities are pretty blocky in terms of text, but in order to explain them it was necessary. Hope you all enjoy, and any and all feedback is appreciated. Lore

A gunshot rang out in the crisp night air followed shortly by a cry of pain. Blood splattered across the worn cobblestones, shining in the moon's divine light as a lifeless body lay shattered upon the pavement. Shadow seeped in from the cracks and crevices, engulfing the body and the blood quickly. Within seconds, all evidence of the bloody corpse was gone. A lone figure walked away from the scene, longsword and blunderbuss held at his sides as his long coat flapped in the breeze.

"Stop!"

A singular voice, full of authority and anger, rang out across the abandoned village. The lone figure stopped, all his movements ceasing besides the gentle sway of his clothing. The owner of the voice, a veteran soldier by the name of Farren, wasted no time in his actions and quickly rushed forward, blade flashing as he slammed it through the murderer's chest. He waited. And waited. But there was no gurgling, no pained exhale as his life flashed before his eyes. Looking, up, Farren jumped back in fright. The man was staring at him blankly, blue eyes dull and expression mostly lifeless as his body melded into shadow and disappeared.

Farren's mouth opened for him to scream, but no sound came out. Instead, he felt his entire world go black as a blade of the same color plunged through his body and cleaved him in half. Silence fell upon the small village again, the rustling of the leaves in the wind the only sound to be heard.

A shadowy man took a step back from his handiwork, snapping his fingers as the darkness consumed the body of another unfortunate victim. In its place was the stranger from earlier, who looked up into the face of an ancient and powerful being without so much as a hint of emotion.

"Come now Samuels," the figure said, blade dissipating into nothing as he bent down and offered his hand. "We've more work to do and precious little time to do it."

"Alright Estabaan," he replied, taking the hand and letting himself be pulled to his feet. As he stood, the shadows lengthened and Estabaan's form disappeared into his body.

Samuels' dull gaze swept the area once more and, seeing nothing, he turned and began to walk. He didn't know where; Estabaan decided what they were doing. But somehow, he knew it was better that way.

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Name: Samuels and Estabaan Title: Host of the Shadow

Role: Fighter (Primary)/ Assassin (Secondary) Type: Melee

Before I can get into explaining Samuels and Estabaan, you have to understand how he works. At level 1, Samuels has a point in his ultimate; the ultimate can be upgraded at levels 6, 11, and 16 like all other ults. This is what it does:

[R] - A Soul Within a Soul: Estabaan and Samuels are unseperable. One cannot coexist without the other. Such as it may be, Estabaan is a being of ancient origin and massive power. When activated, Estabaan will make Samuels untargetable as he syphons life from Samuels into himself and switches places with Samuels, gaining a new set of abilities and Estabaan's health bar. Because they are separate beings, each has his own separate health bar that scales differently: Estabaan's scales with level and 40% of Samuels' max health whilst Samuels' health scales with level and all health from items. Additionally, whilst one Soul is not in use it will begin to regenerate its own health. However, the health regen is only 25, 25, 50, 75% effective on the other Soul, BUT special effects or passives that give increased health regen will apply. Health amounts for both Samuels and Estabaan are as follows:

Samuels: 546, 621, 696, 771, 846, 921, 996, 1071, 1146, 1221, 1296, 1371, 1446, 1521, 1596, 1671, 1746, 1821 (+ the appropriate bonuses) Estabaan: 489, 551, 613, 675, 737, 799, 861, 923, 985, 1047, 1109, 1171, 1233, 1295, 1357, 1419, 1481, 1543 (+ the appropriate bonuses)

Mana Cost: None. Cooldown: 20, 20, 15, 10

This ability can be activated whilst either Samuels or Estabaan, and subsequently the other will come into play. When switching between the two, there is a 3, 2.5, 2 second channel in which the one being summoned syphons just a bit of health (about 0% - 7% of the other's max health, dependent on how much health they have left) from the other.

Now, onto their other scaling stats...

Health Regen: 8.162 (+0.675 per level) per 5 Mana: 320 (+30.37 per level) Mana Regen: 6.93 (+0.492 per level) per 5 Attack Damage: 57 (+3.5 per level) Attack Speed: 0.649 (+1.36% per level) Movement Speed: 340 Armor: 20 (+1.47 per level) Magic Resist: 25 (+0.64 per level)

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Abilities

[Passive] Edge of Sanity/ Blade of Night

(Samuels) Edge of Sanity: Estabaan has infused the sword Samuels uses with dark energies, making the wounds it inflicts deep and the blade sharp. For every 3, 2.5, 2% of their max health an enemy is missing, Samuels will deal a bonus 1.5, 2, 2.5% bonus damage on his autoattacks. This is capped at 50% extra damage.

(Estabaan) Blade of Night: Estabaan's sword, the Blade of Night, is a manipulatable mass of shadow that he can control at will. Every 5th autoattack, Estabaan morphs the curved blade into a rapier that enhances his next attack into a 75-unit-wide 300-unit-long piercing attack. Enemies struck by the blast of dark energy are dealt 50, 75, 100% of Estabaan's AD and slowed by 13, 20, 27% for 2 seconds whilst the target he strikes takes 125, 150, 175% of his AD. Enemies can be critically struck by this attack, and Estabaan will only be able to begin charging this attack every 15 seconds.

Mana Cost: None Cooldown: None (Samuels)/ 15 (Estabaan)

[Q] - Hunter's Prey/ Nightseeker

(Samuels) Hunter's Prey: This ability can be tapped for Samuels to release a blast from his blunderbuss in the target direction, striking all enemies in a 200-unit-wide, 325-unit-long cone. All enemies struck take 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 (+65% of AD) physical damage and are slowed by 20% for 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2 seconds. If this ability is held, Samuels will begin to channel for up to 2 seconds, charging a shot on his gun. If the ability is cut off before 1 second, he fires the blast. If it is held for at least 1 second, he instead fires a longer-range singular shot that pierces minions and stops at the first enemy champion it hits. The target is dealt 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 (+60% of AD) physical damage and slowed by 20, 25, 30, 35, 40% for 2 seconds. At 2 seconds, the damage further increases to 80, 140, 200, 260, 320 (+40% of AD) physical damage but the slow is lost.

(Estabaan) Nightseeker: Estabaan plunges the Blade of Night into the ground, sending a fracture of dark energy towards the target location 600 units away. Enemies struck by the energy as it moves are dealt 40, 90, 140, 190, 240 (+60% of AD) physical damage. Once it reaches it's location, the fracture grows for 1.5 seconds before exploding outwards to deal 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 (+30% of AD) bonus damage and disrupting enemies in the blast.

Mana Cost: (Samuels Tap) 30, 35, 40, 45, 50/ (Samuels Hold) 60, 65, 70, 75, 80/ (Estabaan) 55, 60, 65, 70, 75 Cooldown: 5 (Samuels Tap)/ 17, 16.5, 16, 15.5, 15 (Samuels Hold)/ 13, 12.5, 12, 11.5, 10 (Estabaan)

[W] - Blend With Shadows/ Writing Insanity

(Samuels) Blend With Shadows: When activated, Samuels channels briefly for 0.75 seconds before warping to the target area within 1200 units that is in the fog of war. Once there, he is granted stealth for up to 3, 3.5, 4, 4.5, 5 seconds, but enemies are able to see his outline when he moves. Taking damage will not remove the stealth but dealing it will.

(Estabaan) Writhing Insanity: Estabaan targets an area within 900 units of himself before creating a 200 unit-diameter area full of writhing shadow tentacles. After 2 seconds the area will erupt with them, knocking all enemies up and dealing 60, 110, 160, 210, 260 (+75% of AD) physical damage to enemies in the area. For the next 5 seconds, they are marked with Writhing Insanity and additional damage Estabaan deals to them will consume the mark to silence them for 1.75 seconds.

Mana Cost: 70, 80, 90, 100, 110 (Samuels)/ 75, 80, 85, 90, 95 (Estabaan) Cooldown: 25 (Samuels)/ 18, 17, 16, 15, 14 (Estabaan)

[E] - Shadow Sickness/ Embrace Darkness

(Samuels) Shadow Sickness: Samuels draws upon Estabaan's power to fire a mass of dark energy in the target direction, stopping at the first enemy champion it hits. It deals 50, 90, 130, 170, 210 (+35% of AD) physical damage to the champion and marks them with Shadow Sickness. Whilst they posess the Shadow Sickness debuff, they will gain Insanity stacks at a rate of 3, 5, 7 per second. At 100 Insanity stacks, the champion turns on nearby allies and attacks them randomly for 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4 seconds. Samuels will heal for 10, 15, 20, 25, 30% of the damage they deal. Insanity stacks can be completely removed by either killing Samuels or moving 1500 units away from him.

(Estabaan) Embrace Darkness: Estabaan passively restores 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3% of his missing health and mana every 7 seconds when he is unseen by enemy Champions (must be within their sight range or seen by a ward). When activated, Estabaan draws entirely upon his power to heal himself, restoring 120, 160, 200, 240, 280 (+15% of missing health) health to himself over 5 seconds. During that time, however, he is additionally slowed by 15% in both movement and attack speeds.

Mana Cost: 70, 75, 80, 85, 90 (Samuels)/ 100 (Estabaan) Cooldown: 20, 19, 18, 17, 16 (Samuels)/ 20 (Estabaan)

Appearance

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/c6/9e/36/c69e36a769880f675dd3aaf85b79d285.jpg

Samuels used to be a Monster Hunter, though not of any real renown. Dressed in the usual Hunter attire of a wide-brimmed hat, a long coat, and gloves all of a dark fabric, Samuels' skin has paled significantly from his time spent as a companion to Estabaan. In his right hand he carries a straight sword named Sanity, and in his left he carries a special type of blunderbuss that has no name, but is meant to assist in the hunting of large prey. Estabaan has altered its ammunition, however, making it a worthy weapon to pierce the bodies of humans and gods alike. Despite Estabaan holding the reins, Samuels is capable of thinking for himself and his basic instincts of survival are still present, kicking in whenever he is in danger.

(Sadly I do not have a picture that represents new Samuels...but I do have description)

Estabaan assumes the visage of a defined gentleman; he speaks with a certain poise and wears the clothes of one. Well, he would, if his entire body wasn't made of shadows. Despite this, it is possible to discern his features and the edges of what would be clothes. Clutched in his right hand is a wickedly curved blade that he can morph to fit his needs, more specifically a rapier when his passive is proc'd. He walks with a grace and fights with a savagery that only one of his ancient origin can possess. Over the decades he's existed, Estabaan has learned much about the ways of mortals and considers himself to be one of the strongest beings in all Runeterra. The truth isn't far; he's the last of the Reborn, a race of Shadows that ruled all of Valoran until the coming of a star drove them out. So it's no surprise he has a deep hatred of the being Aurelion Sol.

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Dialogue

When Chosen: "Soon this domain will by mine to control and you, Samuels, will be its King."

Spawning: "Another fight's coming up Estabaan." "We'll be ready."

Recalling: "Does this mean I get to take a break?" "Drink it up, because it won't last very long." Alt: "Sometimes even a shadow needs a break. I will be back, mark my words."

Movement: "Let's get a move on Samuels." "Alright." "Where are we going Estabaan?" To war, Samuels." "I'll get there quickly Estabaan." "We've not much time Samuels."

Attacking: "Die!" "That's it Samuels!" "Give yourself up to the Shadow!" "I'll kill them dead!" "Pathetic. End them Samuels." "Your soul will make a fine meal."

Death: "No, NO! HELP ME ESTABAAN!" "I'm sorry..." "This is the last time I go ANYWHERE with you Samuels!" "This is not the end...the Shadow never truly fades!" "Oh Samuels, why do you have to be so...mortal?"

Killing Spree: "It's a bloodbath, and we're the stars!" Alt: "Are we doing good?" "Only the best my dear Samuels."

Enemy Killing Spree: "Uh oh…" "They grow in power whilst we wane. This is indeed a sad day." Alt: "Fun to see that these mortals have aquired sufficient power to challenge me. Otherwise this would just be boring."

Kill Sol: "Have your little rotating orbs save you now, Star Forger!"

Death by Sol: "Laugh it up you hubris-inflated flying maggot. I'll be back soon enough."

Special Dialogue

Jokes: >(Basic for Samuels) "What are we going to do tomorrow, Estabaan?" "The same thing we do every day, Samuels; Try and take over the world."

>(Basic for Samuels) "I don't like you." "What have we talked about doing when you don't like someone? You kill them."

>(Basic for Estabaan) "This? This isn't even my final form."

>(Basic for Estabaan) "You killed my favorite human!"

>(Allied or Enemy as Samuels) "Hey Estabaan, it's you." "Oh please Samuels, that's just a dream waiting to grow up and become a nightmare."

>(Allied or Enemy as Estabaan) "You may bow to me if you wish, weakling, but I will take no pity on you."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "Estabaan, that wolf is scaring me." "Nonesense Samuels, I'm the only one who scares you."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "They look just like us." "Ours is a more…how you say, symbiotic relationship. Theirs is simply ironic."

>(Enemy as Estabaan) "Double the trouble or in this case, double the fun!"

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "That one is a dragon." "He could've been whatever he wanted to be and he picked those giant flying maggots."

>(Enemy as Estabaan) "Oh no, are you going to wait me to death?"

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "That man is a bit scary, Estabaan." "His specialty is causing wars. I don't see what's so scary about that."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "She's pretty…" "Stop daydreaming Samuels! Your job is to kill her not like her!"

>(Enemy as Estabaan) "Your beauty entices these weak minded fools, but I just see my next meal!"

>(Enemy as Samuels) "Spears…?" "No, not what you use Samuels. Yours is a halberd."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "He's too shiny, Estabaan." "THEN KILL HIM ALREADY!"

>(Ally as Samuels) "He said he'll protect me." "People say things all the time Samuels."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "He's not protecting me now!" "Kill him for his lies, then."

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "She's the moon." "No, Samuels, the Moon is the Moon. She's just an imposter."

>(Ally or Enemy as Estabaan) "I just love it when mortals follow these false gods. Ah, brings a tear to my eye."

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "This one sounds funny." "That's because he's what we call 'Verbally Challenged.'"

>(Ally or Enemy as Estabaan) "Seems someone's been feeding their muse a bit too much."

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "Do you hear those whispers?" "Petty, weak souls the lot of them."

>(Ally or Enemy as Estabaan) "Vengeance is all well and good as long as there's some soul-sucking involved."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "She's too bright Estabaan!" "Be sure to snuff out her light, then."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "I think…I remember something…" "Shhh young one, the darkness is your only friend now."

>(Ally or Enemy as Estabaan) "Frankly I find your lack of darkness rather offensive."

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "He was a soldier too." "Yes, a rather poor one at that."

>(Ally or Enemy as Estabaan) "You placed your faith in a fickle entity, boy. The Stars do not always align themselves to the interests of mortal beings."

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "He's been touched Estabaan…" "Touched by a primitive shadow. We Reborn are much more refined."

>(Enemy as Estabaan) "Pity that you were taken by my cousins. They turned you into a failure."

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "Just like me." "Oh ho ho! Now this is a man I could get behind!"

>(Ally or Enemy as Samuels) "Shadows?" "Just like you and I Samuels, just like you and I."

>(Enemy as Estabaan) "I find it funny that you think my own essence will harm me."

>(Ally or Enemy as Estabaan) "...you got the short end of the stick, didn't you?"

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Jokes:

>(Basic Samuels) "Don't make me hurt you." "We're hurting them anyways."

>(Basic Samuels) "Forward Samuels! Let us show them just how strong we really are."

>(Basic Estabaan) "I'm going to grind you into little bite-sized pieces!"

>(Basic Estabaan) "Is that...urine I smell?"

>(Enemy as Samuels) "There's two!" "Well then kill them both!"

>(Enemy as Estabaan) "Tell me, little lamb, but have you ever felt fear?"

>(Enemy as Samuels) "We should be careful Estabaan." "I hate to agree, because he doesn't even do his own work."

>(Enemy as Estabaan) "I've always fancied devouring the soul of a Star Dragon."

>(Enemy as Samuels) "Step away from my human!"

Other Special Dialogue:

>(Doran's Ring) "It looks nice on my finger." "At least this one does something."

>(Doran's Blade) "I like my weapon better." "Yes, swords are quite the cliché."

>(Doran's Shield) "Why did we get this?" "Well it's for…reasons…ok I'm not really sure why either."

>(Phantom Dancer) "I feel faster." "It advritises phantoms, but I'm not seeing any. Very disappointing."

>(Infinity Edge) "The biggest sword." "Keep your halberd out Samuels, you aren't a swordsman."

>(Trinity Force) "Ah yes, a well rounded item for us. It looks barbaric but I suppose it performs rather well."

>(Archangel's Staff) "I'm not a mage, Estabaan." "The shadows take whatever will make them stronger."

>(Liandry's Torment) "Ooooh, I can practically smell the agony on this one."

>(Hextech Gunblade) "What is this?" "This, my dear Samuels, is what happens when one idiot gets together with another idiot. Can't argue with the results though."

>(Rageblade) "I'm so angry!" "Take that anger out on our enemies!"

>(Any Targon Item) "Another shield?" "The longer we live the more we can kill, so trust me on this one." Alt: "Why another, Estabaan?" "Practicality, Samuels. They aren't pretty but they work."

>(Mana Item) "This power is quite the rush! I can feel my energy flowing already."

>(Any Boots) "New boots, Estabaan." "Faster speeds means quicker kills."

>(BF Sword) "A bigger sword." "A most peculiar weapon. I wonder what the 'BF' is supposed to stand for…"

>(Longsword) "Decently average at best, pathetically useless at worst. I suppose it will have to suffice for now."

>(Large Rod) "This is really big!" "Some might say it was needlessly so."

>(Blasting Wand) "A weapon for petty Sorcerers hiding in their caves, but it's all we can afford at the moment."

>(Any Health Potion) "I just drink this?" "Yes Samuels. I promise you won't die from it."

>(Warmog's Armor) "Waging wars isn't my specialty, but if it means this much power then I'll wage as many as I need to."

>(Spirit Visage) "It's good armor." "So much false advritising, but at least this one is decently strong."

>(Cloth Armor) "Personally I think your regular armor does just fine Samuels, but if you insist…"

>(Bami's Cinder) "I'm on fire!" "Relax Samuels, this fire only hurts our enemies." Alt: "Despise fake deities though I might, I cannot complain with how much power this has."

>(Locket) "A necklace to wear?" "Stupid tribe, idiotic customs, but a nice item."

>(Health Item) "I'm more healthy now." "This'll make it harder for us to die."

>(Attack Speed Item) "My Halberd feels lighter now!" "The more we hit them the faster they die."

>(Warding Totem) "Always a good idea to have an extra pair of eyes somewhere, even if it does look hideous."

>(Farsight) "It's weak, but now I can see even farther."

>(Sweeping Lense) "Just in case of traps, right Estabaan?" "Exactly."

>(Sweeper Upgrade) "Now they won't be able to sneak up on me!" "Or me."

>(Deploying Totem) "I think we need a new perspective on the situation."

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Playstyle

Samuels and Estabaan are a mobile duo of champions that can go either top lane or jungle. Making smart use of both champions can yield high rewards in lane, with Samuels focusing more on trading effectively and easily with his opponents whilst Estabaan is more easily able to poke his opponent down. Effective use of their twin health bars can also lessen the impact of a jungle route and open up gang opportunities for the duo. Items like , , and are the core builds for Samuels whilst , , and are situational. However, due to the health each shares it would be in your best interests to build at least 1 item that grants health.

During the laning phase you'll most likely want to pick your favorite of the two and stick with him until you're almost dead. However, at level 3 you have a major choice to make; take the third core ability for Samuels or increase the damage on one of his other abilities. Should you take his third core ability, Samuels is the better choice for trading fights top-lane because his kit revolves around smart skirmishing. Should you aspire to take them mid, Estabaan is the far better choice due to the amount of poke he has. Pre-level 3 (should you opt to take all basic abilities first), Estabaan also has better sustain and damage output if you can land his abilities.

In team fighting, it's important to remember that neither Estabaan nor Samuels has an ultimate that grants much in the way of damage, stats, or CC. However, the slow on Hunter's Prey in it's tapped and 1-second-charge forms can be used to peel for your backline or isolate theirs. Landing a Shadow Sickness before a team-fight can also help your team get a solid engage; if you tag the enemy tank they won't have his abilities to peel, and if you tag the ADC it'll give you an extra damage output to help you win the fight.

A few good combos to remember are:

Using Blend With Shadows to get into a good position for a fully charged Hunter's Prey.

Timing Writhing Insanity as an ally uses their CC to keep your opponent stationary for the full effect.

Using the slow on Blade of Night to land a fully charged Nightseeker.

As a final note, it is a good idea to keep track of how much health your counterpart has; A Soul Within a Soul's untargetable channel allows you to switch from one to the other as long as you're not restricted by hard CC. However, switching places from a half-health Estabaan into a quarter-health Samuels probably isn't a good trade to make.

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A/N: Alright, here's my final note guys. A huge thanks (like seriously, you guys are amazing) to Candurill and Ph0neS for giving me their bomb reviews for old Samuels and Estabaan. I realized that a big problem with the last version was that both Samuels and Estabaan had CC...too much of it, in fact. So I toned that down quite a bit with this rework and instead opted to make him a more damage/hybrid oriented top laner. I also adjusted some numbers on his abilities from my original rework concept, so hopefully he's pretty balanced. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed reading about these two. Oh, and before I forget; sorry about the dialogue. I'll be adjusting that to fit the concept better once I've gotten this submitted to CCOS October. Best of luck to you all on the Fields of Justice and as always...Stay Frosty.