My thoughts on the jungle quotes on the beta.
Ok, so it looks pretty obvious that this is a new champion.
This is one of three options.
When Riot was developing Kindred, they went through a few character types and themes to fit her "bounty hunter" passive.
One of those was a "cyborg bountyhunter" named Deadeye. That became Jhin.
Another one of those was an unnamed mounted Yordle. This concept likely sparked the creation of Kled.
So, Riot has been going through old ideas of theirs that had potential, but were passed up, and are finding ways to implement them into the game.
When I saw this, what came to mind is an iceboxed Udyr rework from a while back, in which Udyr summoned some neutral monsters that he could play with.
It probably got iceboxed because while being one with nature fits Udyr thematically, it had problems gameplay-wise, likely because it changed his playstyle too much.
Part of the rework may have hit the mark, however. Maybe the visuals on the reworked Udyr were great. Maybe the mechanic of neutral summons had some potential.
So, one of two things is happening here:
- A new champion is being released, using the "Neutral Summoning" mechanic from the iceboxed Udyr rework.
- Udyr is getting the VU he deserves.
- Udyr is getting a VGU, without the Neutral Summoning mechanic.
