Mysterious Zed Teaser

Kenny·Dec 26, 2015·79 votes·42,481 views

Zed | League of Legends

EDIT: Opening the Zed.mp4 video has references to Championname_Deadeye.jpg Deadeye the champion?

326 Comments

RiotBioluminescenceDec 27, 201542 votes

I think it's quite beautiful.

PogChampEleGigglDec 27, 201512 votes

{quoted}

I think it's quite beautiful.

Deadeye confirmed.

SharjoDec 26, 201533 votes

We're going to Ionia boys and girls!

For those who can't see the page, Zed's champion icon has been changed and is now a new image of Zed, animated with cherry blossom petals flowing in it. When you load to the page initially you see a short video with music playing, and then a picture of Zed with blue energy and flowers coming out of him, as if he's been shot my a magic attack or arrow.

EDIT: Here's the image from the video. Below Kaltenashes posted the animated icon:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-En6UoYzmz0o/Vn8ZFlePlRI/AAAAAAAA2Uo/hioUjeTpMx4/s1600/zed1.jpg

EDIT 2: Apparently the video file references similar teasers for Vi, Sona and Garen, along with something called "Dead Eye". I'ma gonna laugh to myself if this is just a skin series, but the optimist in me says "updated lore for Vi, Sona, Garen and Zed!" so I dunno.

EDIT: One final update - Jhin has been found in that video file data. Hm...

RalanrDec 26, 20159 votes

On one hand, I'm glad for more lore.

On the other... sigh Ionia.

SharjoDec 27, 20153 votes

To be fair, some of the biggest gripes of the new lore come from Ionia because WHAT THE SOD HAPPENED WITH THE INVASION ABJHCBDSDHJAC

So I'm down for some Ionia. Even if it's only a small bit.

RalanrDec 27, 20156 votes

Fair enough.

Targon better get a damn lore event...

SharjoDec 27, 20154 votes

It will, but that stuff takes time. Remember the time between Shurima and Bilgewater was close to a year. The concepting for both events would've taken even longer than that. It might not be until april-june time that we get to Targon.

kaltenashesDec 27, 20152 votes

i like ionia the best =D

champs i like most are from there Akali Irelia Karma Syndra

RalanrDec 27, 20159 votes

That's why I dislike Ionia. They have so many champions compared to everyone else.

SharjoDec 27, 20159 votes

Ahri Akali Irelia Jax Karma Kennen LeeSin MasterYi Shen Soraka Syndra Udyr Varus MonkeyKing Yasuo Zed

A LOT of affiliated champions, and that's not even counting those who've been involved in Ionian stuff. If memory serves Ionia has the largest cast of champions of ANYWHERE in the game, if Udyr and Jax are included. Even without them they're among highest, right up there with Freljord and Demacia.

RalanrDec 27, 20156 votes

Which is exactly why Ionia annoys me. They expanded so much of it while leaving other areas in the dust.

The lore retcon is rectifying this, but it is slow.

ModAcademy KaynDec 27, 20156 votes

Too be fair, Ionia isn't like Demacia Vs Noxus, where they are the opposites of each other, and as such being the enemies and conflict between them. Ionia may have more people, but they have much more internal conflict than others.

On one side you have Zed and Syndra, the anti-thesis of Ionia ideals, with Akali, Irelia, Shen, Karma and Kennen on the other. Then we have a bunch of solo cast members who we don't know where they fit in, people like Ahri, Jax, Lee and Udyr (Isn't he Frejlord tho?)

Also, keep in mind how many people actually have connections to the events in Ionia. Shen, Akali, Kennen and Zed are their own Story arc in their own bubble and Syndra in her lonely bubble too. The people connected to Noxus invasion are Irelia, Karma, Yi (maybe Wu by extension, but that's hazey), Lee, Soraka, Varus, and Yasou.

That is 7 people who are connected to a large scale event. The Ninja's of Ionia and Zed are just a side story arc that it appears that they may have decided to expand upon, consisting of 2 to 4 people, 5 if they include Syndra.

So, that may make you feel a bit better about it being an Ionia event, seeing how limited Zed's connections are to the outside world. Unless they decide to add more people to the Arc but that starts going off in speculating.

Blue Moon WolfDec 27, 20154 votes

As long as they update MonkeyKing 's lore and answer questions about him, I'm fine with this. If it's only going to be about the ninjas on the other hand... let's just say I'm sharpening my pichfork just incase .__.

Ebonmaw DragonDec 27, 201515 votes

[{quoted}](name=Blue Moon Wolf,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=tKieZal3,comment-id=000000000002,timestamp=2015-12-27T00:11:28.101+0000)

As long as they update 's lore and answer questions about him, I'm fine with this. If it's only going to be about the ninjas on the other hand... let's just say I'm sharpening my pichfork just incase .__.

If i were you, i would prepare the Pichfork

SpecterVonBarenDec 27, 20152 votes

Eh, Wu seems easy to not mess up, all they need is to keep is his personality and him training under Yi and that's basically all you need.

Ebonmaw DragonDec 27, 20155 votes

{quoted}

Eh, Wu seems easy to not mess up, all they need to keep is his personality and him training under Yi and that's basically all you need.

Its easy, but it doesnt mean that they will do it... just look at Fizz, Nautilus and Nami in the Bilgewater update, or Yoric and Eve in the Harrowing... or even worse: Ezreal and Skarner on Shurima

ModAcademy KaynDec 27, 201510 votes

I'd rather Nami, Fizz, and Naut have their own thing instead of being roped into an event that didn't include them. Yorick and Eve are in Limbo, so that's not their fault.

Ezreal and Skarner, though. That one still hurts.

Blue Moon WolfDec 27, 20152 votes

That's the problem, that is all there is to Wu right now. There are hints throughout his lore to him being more important than just " Yi's apprentice". He's pretty much the Luigi to Master Yi's Mario, serving as a plot device for Yi so he could get over the death of his village and nothing else. Hell, that friendship with Ahri feels like they just tacked that on so his lore wasn't so bland. Plus with there being no League anymore, Wu doesn't even have a reason why he started training with Yi in the first place.

SpecterVonBarenDec 27, 20155 votes

Hey... are you implying Luigi isn't numbah one?

http://i.imgur.com/gLalNon.jpg

But what I mean is, they can't easily screw up what has already been established about Wu-Kong which is two things. Everything after that is giving us more than we had before.

EdoDaveDec 27, 20154 votes

GIT YIR TORCHES EN PITCHFORKS!! We've got to RIOT!!

kaltenashesDec 27, 201541 votes

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xF9mk5f_H-s/Vn8ZFo4HZrI/AAAAAAAA2Us/KD60CMELA_w/s1600/Zed.gif

valentine zed taking an ashe's arrow to the ~~knee~~ head

SharjoDec 27, 201523 votes

Anyone with me in wondering if they're gonna have animated champion icons in game now? Maybe as part of the mastery system? I know it's a lore thing but it just strikes me as suspicious.

SplisionDec 27, 20156 votes

I just noticed that Zed's eyes aren't glowing red in the gif like in his splash art.

It's almost like Zed has abandoned his head gear, or it was taken from him.

*GASPS

SpecterVonBarenDec 27, 20155 votes

Ya know, this just made me realize that Zed has a gigantic hole in his helmet that's just asking for someone to shoot an arrow or stab a knife into.

CaythelesDec 27, 201518 votes

It's the Taric Rework boys!!!

TzQGRUST39Dec 27, 201530 votes

Taric kills Zed confirmed.

Taric Zed, You are nothing more than (gl)ass waiting to be smashed. Zed Terik pls. Taric I will weep for you.

Ebonmaw DragonDec 27, 201515 votes

please dont tell me that is just a teaser for skins...

SharjoDec 27, 20154 votes

Not gonna lie, if it is I'm just going to laugh for a while, because we all went for this being lore related without much reason to be so.

I feel like it could just be skins, but either way we're waiting till 2016 for any answers; Riot's not working right now. At least most of them aren't, since the majority go on an end of the year break for christmas/new years.

EDIT: PLOT TWIST. It's a lore event, but with alternate reality Ninja skins for Vi, Garen and Sona. The "Dead Eye" Ninja clan.

StellafreyjaDec 27, 201515 votes

Surrender @ 20 just updated and said "the video file references similar teasers for Vi, Garen, Sona + "DeadEye""

I have no idea what this could mean. Is it like Kalista's teaser and the Black Mist marking traitors? What do Zed, Vi, Garen and Sona have in common?

Ebonmaw DragonDec 27, 201557 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ace of Eden,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=tKieZal3,comment-id=0014,timestamp=2015-12-27T00:28:47.137+0000) I have no idea what this could mean. Is it like Kalista's teaser and the Black Mist marking traitors? What do Zed, Vi, Garen and Sona have in common?

i know, I KNOW!!

They all are characters of "League of Legends"!

RiotRiot FauxfoxDec 27, 201592 votes

Pack it up, boys. This guy has already figured it out :3

MrDrBuddDec 27, 20159 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ace of Eden,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=tKieZal3,comment-id=0014,timestamp=2015-12-27T00:28:47.137+0000)

Surrender @ 20 just updated and said "the video file references similar teasers for Vi, Garen, Sona + "DeadEye""

I have no idea what this could mean. Is it like Kalista's teaser and the Black Mist marking traitors? What do Zed, Vi, Garen and Sona have in common?

MAYBE Vi Garen and Sona happen to be in the ionian story. because like what the heck would we of thought olaf had to do with bilgewater until they explained it?

but then again why would they be in the file just cause they are in the story for an event? idk dont ask me i'm not good at these things

StellafreyjaDec 27, 20156 votes

I still don't know why Olaf was there :P lol

GreenLoreDec 27, 20154 votes

Yeah that really seems odd. I mean in the case of the kalista teaser it was easy to understand that all of the marked champs were betrayers(even though hecarims betrayal was unknown at that point). But Garen,VI,Sona and Zed really seem like someone picked them randomly from a list.

Makes me believe that this might be skin related after all,with zed getting a legendary skin and Garen,sona&VI getting smaller skins,but then there is the fact that all 4 of them got a skin already this year(notably VI who got a skin only a few months ago),so that seems unlikely as well.

Kıng BooDec 27, 20154 votes

{quoted}

Yeah that really seems odd. I mean in the case of the kalista teaser it was easy to understand that all of the marked champs were betrayers(even though hecarims betrayal was unknown at that point). But Garen,VI,Sona and Zed really seem like someone picked them randomly from a list.

Makes me believe that this might be skin related after all,with zed getting a legendary skin and Garen,sona&VI getting smaller skins,but then there is the fact that all 4 of them got a skin already this year(notably VI who got a skin only a few months ago),so that seems unlikely as well.

I should note that not only are these out of the blue, they have a somewhat weak link with each other: All of them have tragic backstories. Vi was an orphan, Sona as well, and then Garen was raised in a military-esque society where they were trained to be basically emotionally unresponsive in some situations. Zed also had a tragic backstory, with him killing his master and embracing a 'dark art', could this be what it's based off of?

GreenLoreDec 27, 20158 votes

The problem with that is that all sorts of champs have tragic backstorys and like you say,there is nothing that implies that garens backstory was tragic at all.

Though I just noticed that except for garen,all of these champs have been orphaned at a young age(zed and sona were adopted and Vi grew up on the streets),could it be that garen was adopted as well?I mean its not like we know much about garens past and he himself might not be aware of that.

Was there ever any other champ who lost his/her parents at a young age? Udyr could count,but I'm not sure how old he was,when he lost his parents(and I think Vayne was already older when her parents died)

4th3t0sDec 27, 201515 votes

"DeadEYE" "EYE of Twilight" Who wants Zed dead more than anyone? The sakura blossoms don't automatically refer to Zyra, they have a lot of symbolism in Asian culture and mythology; which Ionia is a reference to Also, check his neck, that's no gunshot

Shen rework incoming, and he's pissed

RalanrDec 27, 201512 votes

A friend of mine pointed out that flowers are also a sign of rebirth. It could lead to redemption in his character.