AATROX REVEAL (Initial thoughts/Reaction)

HO-LY-FUCK THIS GOT ME EXCITED!!!!!! The Aatrox rework I've been waiting for quite some time now. He's on of those champs that I would love to play regularly but never can find the courage or sanity to pick due to how he is right now. With this teaser though, I'm hoping that will change.

But that's mainly from a gameplay standpoint. What about the actual appearance based on the teaser? Well, Riot or Reav3 stated that as they were working on Aatrox, they also decided to bump up his GU to a bit of a small VGU, similar to Fiora. And I will say....I was kind of expecting more. I mean, when you compare old Fiora to the new Fiora, appearance-wise they're pretty different. Here with Aatrox, it's mainly smaller changes but keeping his overall appearance the same, if not near identical. I was expecting something more along the lines of design and feel of Rhaast. But I guess keeping Aatrox's lipstick face helps define them from each other.

Now onto the actual changes, I do like them. There's definitely notable differences. First (and most obvious) the sword: we got teased about it before in a Roadmap, we saw it coming, but I still have to mention it because it is just a cleaner and more cool design. Aatrox's old sword was...interesting but considering how the current route Riot is taking with the Darkin to be trapped in weapons, it would make sense to add him in an actual looking, probable sword. Plus that heart beat to it, good fucking hell that's cool!

Next thing is his horns. The new design is eerily similar to Nicol Bolas' horns (look it up and compare if you don't believe me or don't know Nicol Bolas). It also gives a sense of a crown or helmet, kind of give more of that Dota Doom feel. And I couldn't be more pleased with it.

Right, let's get to probably the biggest change out here: the wings. Look, I will say that the old wings had uniqueness to them, at least for League's roster. They were essentially more of a symbol of banners, something that the old samurai would wear, or what you'd see on Legion Commander from Dota. It worked at the time for Aatrox when he was released as this symbol of war and helped sides gain courage, he was an icon of sorts. Now, with his teaser, he actually has wings and while I will slightly miss the old design, I love the new design. He actually has wings that he can use. Banners are neat but when you try to incorporate that into wings, they do kind of look ridiculous.

And outside of all of this, that's all I can notice in this rework in visuals. Overall, while my expectations are a bit down, I still think this is looking good so far. All that's left is for him to hit the PBE and start testing out his whole kit.