REASONABLE discussion and analysis of The "Chained champion"

Ahpe·8/7/2018, 7:35:52 PM·11 votes·11,363 views

#TL;DR Stop making crazy assumptions, there's not enough info

#So you've all seen the teaser image for the new champion in the latest Champion Roadmap. https://imgur.com/4IQ7Bt9

This is what I could gather from the image.

#The shoes It looks like the champion is wearing a suit. https://imgur.com/vQIVRuQ

Heels and pants is really odd outfit for someone in the League universe.

#The chains Only thing I really got to say is are they the weapons or are they an attempt to hold them down?

Look at them, they're not under and tension, they're relaxed on the floor. Either they're weapons or the prisoner is just like chill and doesn't feel the need to attempt an escape.

#Setting The image could be in any one of these regions. https://imgur.com/mffU8bC

The colour scheme implies nothing about where it could be because all the listed regions use these colours in their architecture (Cuz who tf doesn't have grey?) and ANYONE could use gold chains.

You can exclude; •The Freljord because no one is going to wear heels in the snow •Shurima because it would be more beige and most buildings are destroyed in the region •The Void, because it's the void •Piltover and Zaun because there would be more metal in the room than stonework

And the circle on the floor doesn't imply anything either because we can't even tell what's engraved in it

#Let's talk about if there's anything I missed in the image and what are your guys' take on it.

46 Comments

Oleandervine8/7/2018, 8:39:05 PM10 votes

The Shadow Isles are immediately removed from the picture because I dunno how you got that they'd keep prisoners alive. Furthermore, the Blessed Isles were an academy, so the odds of them making chains and holding prisoners is just not feasible at all.

We can also rule out Ionia, because as we saw in Riven's story with Yasuo, their chains are significantly smaller, and more elegant and fluid. They also look more like beautiful cuffs with a small chain between them than actual jailer chains. These chains do not follow that aesthetic, nor do they follow any kind of natural design that would lead us to believe they're Ionian in origin.

We can also rule out Noxus, because they tend to favor practicality over aesthetic, and their armor, weapons, and even buildings tend to reflect this. There's very little superfluous elements to the Noxians, and also very little gold in their society, and most everything in their imperial capital tends to be blacks and red. These chains are VERY aesthetic, and showcase a vanity in their design, especially in their gold color, and the white stone is not something we'd see in Noxus. These are distinctly NOT Noxian in design or origin.

That leaves Demacia or Targon. Both the Solari and the Demacians favor gold in their designs. However, there are some tells that this ISN'T Targonian. First, Targonian structures are old, and come across as more jagged and less pristine. We see the floors and walls in this image as shiny and reflective, which is a far cry from the warring people that live on the mountain. Additionally, Targon's deisgn elements favor rings and concentric circles, with little to no sharp corners. This immediately means that these chains are not Targonian in design, because they're sharp, rhomboid shapes, not at all indicative of the round celestial and astrolabe aesthetic that Targonians favor. This, in turn, means these chains HAVE to be Demacian in origin. The fact that they're gold, and sharp fits perfectly with their military designs and strict, grandiose aesthetic. The polished marble floors also indicate Demacia, as no other region has this type of aesthetic.

MrNhbdy8/7/2018, 9:45:24 PM6 votes

Well I'd like to throw my two cents into the hat if you don't mind. (EDITED)

Let's start with somethings that have already been hinted at.....

First "we have another new champion locked away, with no release date in sight…" seems to be more of push toward the imprisonment than the actual release date.

Second Based off of champs that have been released so far..... we haven't gotten a Demacian champ for awhile. The design of the chains and elegance of the cell/room leaves me to believe this is in Demacia.

If this imprisoned champ ends up being a mage and assuming that the location is Demacia. The lore would have you believe that a powerful mage would revive Galio, but my guess is that the room is complete made of petricite. Also since there appears to be no windows, I'm guessing this holding area is deep under the city. This could help prevent Galio from being wakened.

Gonna go on another limb here, those chains don't look very light, I'll bet this mage is a male. Yes, I know there are strong females, but most are not as buff as Illaoi and Riots female designs have been more toward the slender and fit side. The chains in the picture seem to be care free, they are not bunched up or tangled. This kind gives off the vibe that whomever is there is confident, strong and perceives the situation they are in as at least "manageable" (When I say mage , I'm unsure whether or not Riot means the role or position, if that makes since)

looking at the footing its not completely clear but it seems he or she is facing away from us.

I'll also throw this idea in here too, what if we get a champ whose story has already played out and the end result of it all was this, the imprisonment. This could be what "we have another new champion locked away, with no release date in sight…" actually means....Riot could just fill us in on how they came to be in the cell. The story could be told from the perspective of the guard asking the prisoner a simple question like " Is it true that you...…?"

Food for thought!

6FlagsFunnelCake8/7/2018, 10:32:29 PM6 votes

As for the region: I feel like it may definetly be Demacia for a few reasons. Looking at Demacia's roster, they don't really have any 'villains' to be exact. Our 'darkest' Demacian champions are Vayne and Lucian. Vayne and Lucian show a similar idea of Demacians wanting to purge magic from their kingdom, yet we don't really have any Demacian that can truly represent the dark side of Demacia and their infamously cruel punishments. Along with that, this can be a good opportunity to update Lucian XinZhao and Sona. Lucian's lore revolves around his personal quest to purge the world of the Undead, Sona is a Demacian celebrity who is currently hiding her magical abilities, and Xin Zhao may have some inner conflict being considered an outsider to the Demacians.

And for the image itself, the architecture can easily apply to Demacia but we simply don't see enough of it to know. On the other hand, I highly doubt they are wearing high heels as it looks more like bare feet with long tattered pants to me.

Critmaster Garen8/7/2018, 9:47:15 PM4 votes

im still conviced its Teemo

KuroCaliber8/9/2018, 1:46:34 AM4 votes

Am I the only one who thinks those are hooves and not heels? And that it's not pants it's fur? It would make sense if demacia imprisoned a magical creature as they'd be more likely to just try to slaughter a mage on sight rather than chain it up. A beast- however might be more likely to be kept alive. Especially if it was vaguely humanoid. We know that the rune vault was made years ago. Maybe that vault, and by extension the petricite forest...had a keeper.

MOLTinaTOR8/7/2018, 10:48:08 PM4 votes

What if the guy standing in front of us is not the champ? But the one looking at the guy in a suit is the champ. Maybe the dude in the suit is looking down to the champ and holding him as a prisoner.

Arakadia8/8/2018, 1:05:59 AM3 votes

"No one is going to wear heels in the snow" doesn't mean much when we don't know if they are heels and you have mini skirt Ashe running around.

The Iceborn8/7/2018, 8:44:37 PM3 votes

After seeing this image again something popped into my head... Why is the champion in the dark? why isnt it standing in the light from presumably a window? I mean riot sure couldve made the champion stand in the light but still make it blurry or hard to detect the champions shape... Is the champion a vampire? Is the champion somehow light sensitive? I dont know just a thing that popped into my head!

It seems to be a woman, heels and long chains, which means its nothing that needs to be chained really well so it couldnt escape? Are the chains made long so the creature can move as sun moves positions from the windows, giving the creature a possibility to move away from the sunlight? [sg-lux-2]

Vanëssa8/7/2018, 8:21:37 PM2 votes

They said it's a champ comimg in 2019.

BLACK REALM GOD8/8/2018, 12:19:54 PM2 votes

it's demacian.

they're anti magic chains.

most likely this is the person who is responsible for keeping powerful magic beings like morgana imprisoned since morgana/kayle are from demacia now.


it's also possible that this IS a powerful magical being. like a darkin.

Hydroxlic8/10/2018, 1:17:34 PM1 votes

#The shoes It looks like the champion is wearing a suit. https://imgur.com/vQIVRuQ

Heels and pants is really odd outfit for someone in the League universe.

To me it looks more like he has hooves, and that is fur, so a possible half goat.

Edit: It looks like it could be a Minotaur like Alistar, but with Alistars lore it says his clan was killed by Noxus. So its possible this is a Minotaur from either his clan that was kept alive and imprisoned since Alistar escaped or it could be from a different clan. Also the chains are in pretty much the same fashion as Alistars so this champ could be related to Noxus.

Lé Millión11/18/2018, 12:59:14 AM1 votes

I think the suit theory is incorrect, in my opinion. I believe those are hooves. Which would imply a bull/horse type champion (or half of one) which would also make the chains more reasonable to restraint them.

Kl0wNN12/24/2018, 6:07:53 PM1 votes

This champion was confirmed to be a mage so what I am thinking is this is Galio's rival like Garen/Darius Riven/Yasuo Malzahar/Kassadin. The chains look like they are made of petricite, the material Galio is made of and that allows him to "eat magic" as they say. This would explain the lack of tension in the chains, it is not to keep him chained but to prevent him from casting magic. I believe it may be a noxion prisoner from a battle that involved galio's interference, this powerful sorcerer was defeated by Galio and chained by his material and probably is back for vengeance against the colossus? I think Galio's lore has a lot to do with speculation on what this guy could be and based on the proof they have given us. Just a theory but it would be pretty cool to see Galio's rival!!

Êx Lîfe1/8/2019, 10:49:01 AM1 votes

From what i can see,i believe that the circle in the floor looks like Mount Targon Taric ,but not **100% ** sure,maybe 70-75%. [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]