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I made a list of every Champion’s unique thematic/archetype. Don’t ask me about Rumble’s.

Valor Bot··20 votes·4,516 views

Inspired by Riot Reav3, I made a list of every Champion's unique character archetype in League of Legends. There were some characters whose core themes I wasn't very clear on, so I marked them with a "?" -- maybe you guys can help me come up with something that better describes their unique identities.

Aatrox: Warlord demon Ahri: Kumiho Akali: Smoke ninja (?) Alistar: Minotaur Amumu: Sad mummy Anivia: Ice phoenix Annie: Fire mage child (?) Ashe: Ice archer AurelionSol: Star dragon Azir: Sand emperor Bard: Cosmic wanderer Blitzcrank: Golem Brand: Fire spirit (?) Braum: Shield northman Caitlyn: Sniper sheriff Camille: Cyborg assassin Cassiopeia: Gorgon Chogath: Eldritch devourer Corki: Bombing pilot Darius: Brutal warrior (?) Diana: Moon warrior DrMundo: Sadistic brute Draven: Showman executioner Ekko: Time assassin (?) Elise: Spider mage Evelynn: Shadow assassin Ezreal: Mystic archaeologist (?) Fiddlesticks: Scarecrow Fiora: Fencing duelist Fizz: Trickster fish Galio: Gargoyle Gangplank: Pirate king Garen: Righteous paladin (?) Gnar: Prehistoric transformer (?) Gragas: Drunken brawler Graves: Outlaw gunner (?) Hecarim: Spectral horseman Heimerdinger: Turret specialist (?) Illaoi: Battle cleric (?) Irelia: Telekinetic blade-wielder Ivern: Druidic treant Janna: WInd spirit JarvanIV: Royal lancer (?) Jax: Armsmaster Jayce: Techno-paladin (?) Jhin: Artistic deadeye Jinx: Chaotic arsonist (?) Kalista: Vengeful wraith (?) Karma: Spirit mage (?) Karthus: Death priest Kassadin: Phase-shifter (?) Katarina: Dagger assassin (?) Kayle: Righteous angel Kennen: Lightning ninja Khazix: Evolving predator (?) Kindred: Grim reaper (?) Kled: Light cavalry KogMaw: Eldritch acid-spitter (?) Leblanc: Illusionist LeeSin: Blind monk Leona: Sun warrior Lissandra: Ice witch Lucian: Purifying gunslinger (?) Lulu: Fae sorceress Lux: Light mage Malphite: Earth elemental Malzahar: Eldritch summoner (?) Maokai: Cursed treant MasterYi: Agile bladesman MissFortune: Bounty hunter Mordekaiser: Death knight Morgana: Dark angel Nami: Mermaid Nasus: Jackal god (?) Nautilus: Titanic diver Nidalee: Druidic jungle huntress (?) Nocturne: Living nightmare Nunu: Yeti rider Olaf: Berserker Orianna: Clockwork girl Pantheon: God of War Poppy: Hammer paladin (?) Quinn: Falconer scout Rammus: Armored armadillo RekSai: Eldritch burrower Renekton: Crocodile god (?) Rengar : Big game predator Riven: Exiled warrior Rumble: Flame-throwing man-in-a-mech (I SAID DON'T ASK) Mech pilot (?) Ryze: Rune mage Sejuani: Arctic heavy cavalry Shaco: Demon jester Shen: Spiritual ninja Shyvana: Half-human dragon Singed: Maniacal chemist Sion: Undead juggernaut Sivir: Mercenary Skarner: Crystal scorpion Sona: Sound mage (?) Soraka: Star healer Swain: Warlock strategist Syndra: Dark mage TahmKench: River demon Taliyah: Earth mage Talon: Acrobatic city assassin Taric: Gem paladin Teemo: Stealth scout (?) Thresh: Chain warden Tristana: Cannoneer (?) Trundle: Ice troll Tryndamere: Barbarian king TwistedFate: Card mage (?) Twitch: Plague rat Udyr: Animal shaman (?) Urgot: Mechanical undead (?) Varus: Cursed archer Vayne: Witch hunter (?) Veigar: Cosmic warlock (?) Velkoz: Eldritch disintegrator (?) Vi: Punching enforcer (?) Viktor: Cyborg scientist (?) Vladimir: Blood mage Volibear: Thunder bear Warwick: Werewolf MonkeyKing: Monkey king Xerath: Arcane elemental (?) XinZhao: Gladiator (?) Yasuo: Wind samurai Yorick: Necromancer Zac: Amorphous fighter (?) Zed: Shadow ninja Ziggs: Chaotic demolitionist Zilean: Time wizard Zyra: Plant mage

85 Comments

Tattersall10 votes

Draven: Draaaaven Ezreal: Mystic treasure-hunter Gangplank: Pirate king Kindred: Hunter spirit (?) Malzahar: Summoner Nasus: Weak guy who, if played smart, hyper scales into late game. Nautilus: Ocean titan Rammus: ok RekSai: Land shark Renekton: Savage monster Rumble: Mech suit

Just my tencents

Wolfess8 votes

[{quoted}](name=Valor Bot,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=gVALd4tP,comment-id=,timestamp=2017-02-06T02:17:00.837+0000)

Zilean: Time wizard

http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/fairytailfanon/images/b/b9/Time_Wizard.png

Booleans7 votes

Garen is THE white knight. Chivalry, courage, and the burning desire for justice.

Nasus is like imhotep from the mummy. He drains the souls of his victims to sustain himself. P: literally called soul eater. Q: gets stronger as he siphons the soul. W: withers their frail mortal bodies. R: drains the life out of everything nearby. I would call him a soul stealer.

J4 is a prince and a general of his armies. Like general Lee or stonewall jackson. The lance is an ode to jousting, where people needed to be of noble descent (knights) to compete, and where the weapon of choice was designed to inflict singular, decisively body-shattering blows. However, jousters typically blunted the tips of their lances. J4 does no such thing, as he intends to earn decisive victories against his enemies. Calling him a jouster implies horseback, though, so I'd stick with lancer.

Illaoi is like a missionary of a cult who goes around shoving her religion down other peoples throats - with violence. Except rather than converting them, her goal is to shut them up if they talk smack about her dark god. I'd call her a violent cult herald.

I'd call renekton a mad butcher. He used to be a commander, but was locked away for centuries because of his brother. He was wants to slice everyone now, particularly his borther. He's not quite insane, since he seemingly has full cognitive function, but he is definitely revenge-fueled.

Valor Bot1 votes

My only concern with labeling Garen 'white knight' is that, while appropriate, it doesn't really do a good job at describing what he does both in game and in the lore. 'White knight' could just as well be used to describe a medic or priest character who defends/protects the weak, whereas 'paladin' lands a bit more in Garen's ballpark I feel.

Nasus is a tricky one to describe, but I wanted to stray away from using references such as Anubis and Imhotep, reason being that could require people to have to do research into who those people are/were and how they relate to the Champion in question.

'Battle cleric' was Riot's codename for Illaoi internally and I think it does a pretty good job of describing who she is and what she does. 'Violent cult herald' on the other hand seems like it's more in the realm of Viktor or perhaps Malzahar, but maybe you're right and it's just a matter of taste; Illaoi is pretty violent, admittedly.

'Mad butcher' for Renekton seems fitting in terms of his gameplay, I feel it falls a bit short of describing his whole 'ascended crocodile god' theme though which is communicated in his visuals and story. How do you think the two could be reconciled?

Malicious Metal6 votes

Nautilus Cursed diver? Please, we all know that he's the HOLY Diver.

Goatfish2 votes

[deleted]

Ralanr2 votes

Oh what's becoming of me?

Malicious Metal2 votes

Ride the tiger!

TequilaZombie1 votes

What? Putting Naut on top of a tiger? Poor, poor kitty!

Jet Sett1 votes

I read Nidalee's when I was looking at Nautilus. Was pretty funny.

Ralanr5 votes

Kled and Sejuani are light and heavy cavalry respectively. Sion is just undead warrior.

Valor Bot4 votes

I chose 'undead juggernaut' over 'undead warrior' because I felt the latter could also apply to Champions like Urgot and Kalista. Not only that but 'Juggernaut' just seems more fitting for a big dude like Sion who charges at you, whereas 'warrior' could mean anything from an archer to a dual-wielding fighter.

Aquafuge1 votes

I'd call Rumble an off kilter yordle inventor, from what i remember of his lore he spends most of his time in a junkyard building stuff

DwarvenGiant3 votes

Awesome list!

I like a lot of them, but I have some suggestions:

Amumu Sad Mummy

Azir Sand Commander

Braum Shield Northman

Cassiopeia I wanted to suggest "Poison Mage", but I kinda like yours. What do you think about "Poison Gorgon"?

Chogath Void/Eldritch Kaiju

Darius Battle Executioner

Draven Brutal Showman

Jhin Artistic Sniper

Jinx Chaotic Weapon Arsenal

Kled Light Cavalry

Nautilus Titanic Diver

KogMaw Void/Eldritch Puppy(?)

RekSai Void Land Shark

Rengar Pride Hunter

Rumble Mech Yordle (I don't his should be over complicated)

Sejuani Heavy Cavalry

Sona Music Mage

Thresh Chain Warden

Viktor Cyborg Mage

Yasuo Wind Samurai

-_-

I kind of have to go now but wanted to post it, so I'll probably add more suggestions tomorrow by edit/with a new post. :P

Valor Bot1 votes

Sad Mummy -- I think I'll be using this over Cursed Mummy, reason being his gameplay and theme is more about being sad than cursed, I feel. Thanks!

Sand Commander -- Commander is cool; I think 'emperor' is truer to Azir's lore though, while also already implying that he has command over others. Regardless, gonna shorten it from 'sand mage emperor' to 'sand emperor' since the mage bit's probably unnecessary.

Shield Northman -- Yeah, I think this might be more appropriate than 'arctic strongman' since the shield is so key to Braum.

Poison Gorgon -- Thought about this one too, probably redundant since 'gorgon' already implies 'venomous snakes'.

Void/Eldritch kaiju -- I wanted anyone and everyone to be able to look at this list and know what each character is about based off their short descriptions rather than having to dig into what things like 'the Void' and 'yordles' mean. I also wanted to keep each description as simple and concise as possible, while also recognizable, which is why I went for 'eldritch' rather than 'kaiju' (though kaiju might be more recognizable than eldritch depending on where you're from or what you're into).

Battle Executioner -- I like the sound of this, but I'm not sure it's a better fit gameplay-wise or thematically, since Darius is as much about enduring through bloody combat as he is about ending and finalizing his enemies, which is why I went for 'brutal warrior' instead (though 'bloodthirsty warrior' might fit too).

Brutal Showman -- Cool, I think this one might be more appropriate, or perhaps a mix of the two could work?

Artistic Sniper -- I had it like this for a while but once I found out that Riot had Jhin labelled as "Deadeye" internally throughout his development, I went with that instead. Also, deadeye is probably a better fit than sniper because, while he does have sniper-like qualities in his W and R, he's also very much about that smaller handgun.

Chaotic Weapon Arsenal -- I think this is closer to Riot's internal codename for Jinx, but I don't know if 'arsenal' (a collection of weapons) would be the right word to call a person?

Light Cavalry - Going with this! Kled is more of a cavalryman than a jouster anyway.

Titanic Diver -- This fits much better too.

Void/Eldritch puppy -- For every character, I wanted something that described their gameplay at least in a broad sense. 'Puppy' doesn't do that, but maybe there's a better word out there than 'acid spitter' to describe someone who vomits acid and corrodes his prey.

Void Land Shark -- 'Burrower' is a bit more concise, I feel, and I believe it's the codename that was used by Riot for Rek'Sai.

Pride Hunter -- I'm torn with this one.

Mech Yordle -- See Cho'Gath.

Heavy Cavalry -- Gonna go with this one, probably.

Music Mage -- It's mostly semantics, but do you think Sona is a mage that manipulates sound, or music only?

Chain Warden -- Derp. Yeah, his title's a better fit than the one I gave him :)

Cyborg Mage -- 'Mage' fits his in-game class, but it's also quite disconnected from his lore. I think this one might be up to taste.

Wind Samurai -- I meant to label him this, but somehow forgot the wind part.

Thanks so much for these :D

Moonboy651 votes

Sona is a a maven, mavens are experts in a particular field and pass down their knowledge to others, in Sona's case: her field of expertise is music

Cresmont1 votes

hence, maven of the strings

Moonboy651 votes

basically

GreenLore3 votes

Overall I agree with many of them,though I think that in some cases it feels a bit too specific(like Ashe being an ice archer,I mean whats next?A fire archer?Ashe is simply THE master archer of the game,as Varus the only other archer focuses more on corruption than archery) Some where I think a different description would fit better: Akali honestly is just a Kunoichi,she is basically the female ninja of the game.I mean it isn't much of a theme,which is likely the reason why she is on the VGU-list Annie seems to be more about being a creepy magical child/child with an animal protector Brand Fire elemental seems more fitting as a description for him Chogath is pretty much the kaiju of the game Darius & Garen are pretty much the "bad" and the "good" knight of the game DrMundo seems more like the serial killer/hulk-expy Ekko is more about being a time traveler(even if he doesn't come from a different time period) Gnar is basically a cave-man-hulk Heimerdinger is Einstein/the absent-minded professor Illaoi is our priestess Jinx is our anarchist/gun-fetishist(as she has more guns than anyone else) Ivern I'd say he is more of a druidic forest protector,given that he is technically not a treant(as he was originally human and he looks more like a tree stump,than a tree) Karthus aside from him being a death priest,he is pretty much THE lich of the game Khazix is pretty much our praying-mantis KogMaw on the other hand is pretty much our maggot-champ/monster puppy Malzahar I'd describe more as a cultist and a seer Nidalee is basically female Tarzan with magic Poppy is essentially our dwarven warrior,just in female Shen I'd describe more as a spirit warrior,cause spiritual ninja sounds more like he is meditating a lot Syndra is pretty much our telekinetic mage Veigar on the other hand is pretty much our black mage XinZhao is more of a chinese warrior,the gladiator thing is a thing of his past,not present Yasuo fills the archetype of the ronin,the dishonored samurai Zac is a blob monster

Tattersall1 votes

Naw, ice archer is good 'cuz she's an archer who also has a lot of slows and cc. Because of ice.

GreenLore1 votes

Yeah you are right that the ice part is core to ashe,its just that saying "well she is the frost archer of the game" sounds like fire archer,lightning archer,etc. would be also outstanding concepts.

Cresmont1 votes

i like everything but zac. hes a monster but he was a zaun experiment

GreenLore1 votes

I know that he isn't really monstrous,its more about the fact that he is a slime creature,regardless of how he was made.

Kukan Seishin2 votes

I am so so sorry, but Ahri is based off of Korean Mythology and therefore a Kumiho and not a Kitsune a Kitsune is based off of Japanese Mythology, Nice try though :) I appreciate it ^_^ good list!

Cresmont1 votes

as a korean, im so glad SOMEONE noticed it

Kukan Seishin1 votes

<3 I really do like eastern Mythology, been studying it for a few years now even have a book I wrote based around Kitsune.

Variks the Loyal2 votes

Rengar - Trophy Hunter

Huebone2 votes

Gnar *caveman transformer

Ebonmaw Dragon2 votes

{quoted}

Gnar *caveman transformer

http://www.starburstmagazine.com/images/200513/transformers-4-grimlock.jpg

More than meets the eye.

Over Innsmouth2 votes

Yasuo

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n-BmKFgJJog/maxresdefault.jpg

Looknook2 votes

Nice list!

Although I think Of a few champions slightly differently Graves: Redneck (he has a shotgun, that sourthern drawl, and enjoys explosions) Viktor: Cyborg Wizard Malzahar: Evil Prophet

Valor Bot1 votes

Malzahar is described as a prophet in the lore but plays so much more like a summoner in game.

Melledoneus2 votes

Actually, Shen is a spirit WARRIOR.

The ninja bit is kind of retconned.

Slich Bissi2 votes

Malzahar is literally just "space wizard"

Ebonmaw Dragon1 votes

But Rumble is a yordle, not a man

Valor Bot1 votes

I admit I'm not happy with Rumble's D: It's tough distilling the essence of that character in two to three words. I don't think the answer is replacing "man" with "yordle" though.

Valaran Nara4 votes

[{quoted}](name=Valor Bot,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=gVALd4tP,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2017-02-06T02:44:18.027+0000)

I admit I'm not happy with Rumble's D: It's tough distilling the essence of that character in two to three words. I don't think the answer is replacing "man" with "yordle" though.

Mech warrior

TyrekGoldenspear1 votes

Brand Cataclysmic force of nature is more accurate tbh.

Cresmont2 votes

force of nature is too broad for a fire mage tho

TyrekGoldenspear1 votes

Hmm. How about an Ifrit?

Or just Fire Demon?

ModCaptainMårvelous1 votes

A lot of these are waaaaaaaay too basic.

As an example: Camille might be a cyborg and an assassin but she's also based around grappling hooks, leg-based fighting style and an emphasis on sophisticated bitchiness.

While you can boil her down to the most absolute basic definition, every champ has far more to them. (Or they overlap, such as Caitlyn and Jhin being two different flavors of sniper.)

Valor Bot1 votes

You're right that Camille's character is far deeper than just "cyborg assassin". The list isn't meant to be all-encompassing though, it's just supposed to describe the unique archetypes that are core to each individual Champion's theme and gameplay.

Sraeg20131 votes

Sivir: Mercenary

You got it all wrong. Here, let me fix it.

Sivir: Warrior Princess

Now for the actual reason I wrote this post:

Syndra: Dark mage

Why? How do you define a "dark" mage?

Valor Bot1 votes

I think both Mercenary and Warrior Princess could work. Sivir's backstory says she's both, and her kit plays a bit off of the two themes (emphasis on physical fighting through single weapon, ability to rally allies on a chase, waveclear potential). Mercenary Princess?

"Dark mage" is a bit more vague than I'd like but essentially what I mean by that is "sorcerer/ess who practices forbidden magic that corrupts". Maybe that's too broad and could apply to other Champions like Veigar or Malzahar. What do you think Syndra is? I've seen telekinetic mage as a suggestion.

Sraeg20131 votes

I think both Mercenary and Warrior Princess could work. Sivir's backstory says she's both, and her kit plays a bit off of the two themes (emphasis on physical fighting through single weapon, ability to rally allies on a chase, waveclear potential). Mercenary Princess?

Aw, right over your head. The pun is that Sivir is Xena.

"Dark mage" is a bit more vague than I'd like but essentially what I mean is 'sorcerer/ess who practices forbidden magic that corrupts'. Maybe that's too broad and could apply to other Champions like Malzahar. What do you think Syndra is? I've seen telekinetic mage as a suggestion.

She's a Black Mage and more precisely a Lady of Black Magic in the making. Her power isn't inherently evil or corrupting, nor she is evil like some dork on TV tropes believes. Overlord Forte (ya know, the most vocal of high elo Syndra mains) covered the topic on his blog here.

I use her in-game spells as a source, but unlike many champions, her abilities and lore make sense as a coherent whole (Looking at you, Veigar. What the fuck are you anyway?). She does not expel magic or casts spells like other mages in the game (for example Xerath basically pukes himself out). Look at her spell animations.

Dark Sphere (Q) is sucking energy from an area which deals damage in the same area. Force of Will (W) is surrounding a target creature in the same kind of energy and then hurling it at a target location where said energy violently dissipates on impact. Scatter the Weak (E) is basically bitch-slapping enemies with energy at range. Unleashed Power (R) is a different form of Force of Will really.

Not elemental magic. More like what energybending in Avatar was to other bending arts or perhaps the Force from Star Wars.

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/facebook/000/578/024/a8c.jpg

As I see it, the world of Runeterra is filled with magic in the same way ours is filled with air. A mage "inhales" this magic, channels it through their body and gives it a form. A pretty common trope, really.

Now enter the Syndra.

She seems to partially skip the first step (unless she wants to directly affect herself) and completely disregards the second. In my opinion if she wanted to pursue it, she would be able to shape her magic into any element effortlessly, unlike those that were taught or born with a specialized array of magical prowess.

She has a potential to become a better version of Avatar except on her own, without a help of a spirit doing the heavy lifting*.

* - Did you know a human in Avatar universe is incapable of learning more than one bending? The only reason Avatar exists is because the light spirit is the one holding the knowledge. Notice how the Avatar is unable to use more than one bending at once without going Avatar mode. That mode is basically the aforementioned spirit manifesting itself completely to the point killing the Avatar at that point would also kill the spirit and prevent the avatar from being reborn. Prolonged use is also very taxing on the body. Aang used the mode to enter stasis and paid for it with his lifespan being shortened by a third.

EbonyBladeJ881 votes

I believe the proper term for Annie would be "Pryomancer", but you can call it what you like, I suppose.

Valor Bot1 votes

I was actually going to use pyromancer but it turns out pyromancy can also mean 'divination through fire' so I went for fire mage to avoid confusion.

EbonyBladeJ882 votes

OK, sounds fair. That's just the first 'term/theme' I think of when I see Annie.

Wînter Fox1 votes

Riven Reborn Blade Warrioress

GigglesO1 votes

{quoted}

Riven Reborn Blade Warrioress

Reborn Warrior of the Blade

Sounds much more like a title.

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