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Masked Lore Champion Theories

Chembaron Yamada·2/1/2020, 3:53:54 PM·19 votes·25,624 views

In the last champion roadmap, we got a new lore champion hinted coming this year. For anyone not knowing what I am talking about: have a link!

So, what do we currently have as hints for them?

  • will wear a mask
  • already established in the lore
  • refuses to die
  • "some demons should remain in the past"

I want to hear every theory you could possibly pull who this all is pointing at. I already know that some people expect this new champion to be Yone, since he is supposed to be dead in the lore. Maybe they are going to resurrect him.

I just recently came up with another idea, which I will admit is unlikely, but I thought it would be really cool and interesting.

So the unlikely theory I came up with: it's Ajuna Lem. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EIt3YyzXUAA-P_k.jpg ^This guy!^

How do I explain that? Let's take a look at the hints we got.

Will wear a mask Considering that Ajuna Lem has been dead in the lore, if he is ever going to come back from the dead, it would most likely involve chemtech and science. Maybe he could be another cruel experiment from Singed. That guy already tried to create an artificial Vastaya with Warwick, maybe now he also wants to test if he can compete with the strength of the black mist by bringing someone back from the dead through science?

Ever since Urgot has been reworked, we don't have the "Frankenstein's monster" trope anymore in the game, someone who got resurrected through technology instead of magic. It was the right call to change Urgot here, since he had too much in common with Sion. Both were decorated Noxian soldiers pulled back from the afterlife to keep serving Noxus, the only difference was the method (Sion with magic, Urgot with science).

This doesn't apply to Ajuna Lem, however. He has a completely different background from Urgot and Sion. If he really returns from the dead because of Singed (for example), then he could definitely wear a mask to either hide his terrible visage, or maybe the mask is even needed to keep him "alive". A mask would easily work for him.

Already established in the lore This is a given, Ajuna Lem has been shown in the Ekko comic where he died. We actually didn't just read aout him dying, we even saw him dying in the comic. In my opinion, that impact is even better than just that we read a single paragraph about someone dying like in Yone's case. I think the emotional bond here is actually stronger.

Refuses to die Could mean many things, admitted. It could mean that the character is supposed to be dead, but came back, like in my theory here. Or it is someone who is close to dying, but clinges to life as much as they can.

I think the interpretation that it is someone who is actually dead and came back is legit, tho. Works in my theory, in my opinion.

"Some demons should remain in the past" In this quote, there are 2 keywords for me. One is the wording "demon". I would interpret it in that way that the champion came back to life in some kind of "corrupted" state.

This could, in case of Yone, mean that they became some vengeful spirit with demonic powers. Or it could also mean a state that completely goes against nature, like if Singed had resurrected a dead body through science. And considering how Ajuna Lem died, from the hands of a Piltovan, I could imagine that he is pretty vengeful, too.

The other keyword for me is "past". I think you already know where I am going with this. We already knew of Ajuna Lem and how he died. He was in Ekko's comic. A champion who has strong lore ties with the whole time thematic and also a champion who is very regretful for his mistakes he made in the past.

That Ajuna died without being able to do anything against it, even with his Z-drive, still haunts Ekko. Now imagine what a big emotional impact it would have on him if Ajuna returned.... and turned into that thing.

The story all of this could lead to gives me shivers.

So yeah, this has been my crazy little Zaun/Piltover-obsessed theory what all of this could mean. But I am curious, which characters are you guys able to come up with which would fit all the hints given to us?

Tell me in the comments!

52 Comments

Sancre2/1/2020, 5:26:01 PM9 votes

It would be interesting to bring back Ajuna in some kind of chemtech fueled state of rebirth, but feels a bit of an stretch when compared to the given lines.

Considering the lines, i would think that some other characters would be a better fit:

Yone

"Already established in the lore" He even has a card and voicelines "Refuses to die" (maybe, he died, but we also though the same about Senna and Kai'sa and here we are) "Some demons should remain in the past" Yone is probably Yasuo's most haunting memory

People have been asking for Yone the same way they asked for Senna, considering he would be another samurai, animated by.... Dunno, probably those spiritual enemies that were kinda hinted? Can't find any references to this but I do remember reading something about this.

Yone would probably be a huge money-maker, same way his brother has been for a while now

Master Kusho

"Already established in the lore" Born since Zed's first bio, and also featuring in Zed's comic "Refuses to die" Maybe Zed didn't cut deep enough, or something else brought him back "Some demons should remain in the past" What are the Tears of Shadow? Under which circumstances did Kusho die? Never ever has been shown or explained how or why Zed killed Kusho, as far as we know, maybe Kusho became something wrong and extremelly vicious the moment he opened the box, making Zed kill his adoptive father

This one, as Yone, doesn't really fit the mask thing... right now, I guess if he came back as some kind of shadow being, he would need to hide his true form so people wouldn't panic upon seeing him... nothing is sure

The Ruined King

"Already established in the lore" He is the origin of the Shadow Isles, and is getting a game for himself "Refuses to die" Well, everything in the Shadow isles refuses to die so... "Some demons should remain in the past" He already caused so much suffering and death, such egoistical monster should remain forever lost

Truth be said, he was never painted as a fighter, so maybe having him as a Champion could be weird... we don't really know what happened with him once The Ruination finished so maybe we are getting a surprise sooner or later.

**Ta'anari **

"Already established in the lore" Starred and died in The Twilight of the Gods "Refuses to die" Darkin are extremelly hard to kill, due to how their curse works, but Ta'anari could be working under completelly different rules because of how he died (and he probably wants to recover the heart that was ripped from his chest) "Some demons should remain in the past" Having lost his old body, and being able to craft a new one from foreign flesh, this demon should have remain in the past, but him being back might mean things will suddenly go really bad.

The Panther Darkin, betrayed by Myisha, the Moonlight and the Chalicar took away his ascended powers, and soon his Heart was taken, possibly used along the Chalicar to create the first Darkin as we know them (this last one being mostly theory)

4 Step Cadence2/1/2020, 10:09:21 PM5 votes

Unpopular Opinion: Yeah lets stop with the reviving dead characters crap. There's a difference between Senna and the rest of them.

Senna was not dead. Her body was, but she herself remained trapped in Thresh's lantern. There was always reason to believe that Lucian would save her one day.

Yone, Ajuna, ect... There's literally no reason for any of them to come back, and there's no way that they could. Their spirits are not being held somewhere waiting to be freed. They moved on, and their bodies have rotted away. The entire point of a champion is to add something new to the narrative and move it forward at the same time. None of the characters that are dead have anything to add to the lore by bringing them back. They add more to the lore by being dead.

Characters like Ledros and the Ruined King, though? They have connections in the lore that are still ongoing. Ledros' lore was even left on a major cliffhanger, waiting to be continued. Why the hell would Riot waste a champion slot on a character that arguably doesn't matter when they've gone to the effort to set up narrative opportunities for others that would be way better?

GreenLore2/1/2020, 4:32:24 PM3 votes

I feel like you are jumping a bit to conclusions here as it was never said that the lore-champ and the "demon from the past" are one and the same. I mean sure the masked champ sounds like they are connected to someones past and thus it'd make sense that we know them already, but they could just as well introduce someone completely new and add them to the backstory of an existing champion.

In fact I'm kinda surprised that you didn't think of Husk instead(as I know you are a fan of her concept), considering that she wears a mask and was shot by caitlyn, thus making her basically a demon from Caitlyns past, who refused to die.

Overall though Riot tends to be rather direct with their wordplays, so I'm expecting this champ to be a literal demon(or at least a darkin as they are demonlike in appearance).

Ebonmaw Dragon2/1/2020, 7:59:47 PM3 votes

Now my question is: Why would anyone waste his or her time and resources to resurrect a random zaunite kid with no special powers or anything, instead of ressurecting someone that could be usefull... like... a random Zaunite thug that actually has skills in combat?

CaptainAntiHeroz2/1/2020, 3:58:56 PM3 votes

Thats a big leap..... also Lems pictures broken

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EIt3YyzXUAA-P_k.jpg

maybe that one works so people know who you're talking about (if not I tried)

anywho I don't think it will be lem but why do we think its gonna be someone established in lore or did I miss that part?

Zero Drive2/5/2020, 3:46:51 AM2 votes

I want this to be true even more than I want Prestige True Damage Ekko. Especially if there were special taunts for Ekko.

Pombagira2/2/2020, 8:54:50 AM2 votes

Ok but hear me out: People said it might even be a deer champion. Hint the word: fawn over https://www.ginx.tv/uploads/14-new-jungler.jpg https://www.ginx.tv/en/league-of-legends/next-new-champions-to-see-2020 ^ Here's an article to back up my claim.

C Moon2/1/2020, 8:06:57 PM1 votes

We still don't know who is third person in trifarix order representing guile and it said their appearance is hidden by mask so i guess it's Kata's dad maybe?

KnightFalll2/1/2020, 11:36:17 PM1 votes

So, kinds surprised that none mentioned Marcus Du Couteau, or General Du Couteau. I mean, he's pretty prevalent in the lore, being Katarina and Cassiopeia father, as well as Talon master/employer. So that ticks off the lore box. Refuses to die, well it isn't conformed in the lore if he's alive or not, or even where he is at the moment. Also, I remember reading somewhere that someone had said that if Du Couteau was to be in the game, he would be this Batman vigilante. So that ticks off the mask part, cause if he was doing vigilante, we would have heard about Du Couteau going rogue or something along those line. The final mark of "some demons should remain in the past" is also ticked off. Du Couteau was one of the strongest general's in Darkwill's armies. With Swain's plot to take over Noxus, he could have seen Du Couteau as a major threat and tried to kill him off as he tried to with Urgot. Now in a way Du Couteau's a "demon" of Noxus's past. In conclusion Du Couteau ticks off all of the boxes of the teaser for the new champ.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk and have a good day. [slayer-jinx-catface]