The latest champion to hit the rift in League of Legends has been identified as Rell, Riot Games’ new Iron Maiden. 

Just after the release of starry-eyed songstress and pop princess Seraphine, Riot Games’ 152nd champion is a woman of a very different disposition: Rell, the Iron Maiden, LoL’s newest tank support.

Unveiled recently in a particularly cryptic trailer, Rell is a cross between a mage and a tank, utilizing metalmancy in order to transform her metallic steed into full-blown plate armor to protect herself.

She’s unique, however, for more than just this pretty cool trait; her abilities and in-game design mark her as a very different style of champion.

A form swapping champion

Riot’s Gameplay Design Director for League of Legends, Mark Yetter, describes Rell as bringing “a new take to form swapping champs.”

When mounted on the metal version of her horse she is a “fast and light” champion who will be able to run around the map and cause havoc with ease. On the other hand, when she wears her steed in full plate form she is “slow but heavily armored.”

Rell brings a new take to form swapping champs

-Fast and light when mounted on the metal horse
-Slow but heavily armored when she transforms her steed into full plate

She can’t swap rapidly so it’s more of an “all in” commit when she dismounts. https://t.co/ZxHur47iOv

— Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) November 23, 2020

Clearly, Rell will have a pretty high skill cap, and is a very situational champion. However, her abilities look like she’ll be a blast to play.

Rell’s abilities

Passive – Break the Mold

Rell attacks very slowly, but temporarily steals a portion of her target’s Armor and Magic Resist to deal bonus damage based on the amount stolen. Additionally, Rell can siphon resistances from multiple different foes to grow extremely tanky.

Q – Shattering Strike

Rell stabs forward with her lance, breaking any shields and damaging all enemies hit (damage decreases after the first target).

If Rell has an ally bound with E – Attract and Repel, she and that ally recover health for each champion hit by this ability.

W1 – Ferromancy: Crash Down

(While mounted) Rell leaps and transforms her mount into heavy armor, gaining a huge shield that lasts until destroyed or remounting. On landing, she knocks up enemies around her. Rell can cast her E and R during the change.

W2 – Ferromancy: Mount Up

(While armored) Rell rushes forward and transforms her armor into a mount, gaining a burst of movement speed. During her next attack, she charges her target to deal bonus damage and flip them over her shoulder.

E – Attract and Repel

Rell magnetically binds a piece of her armor to a target allied champion, granting them bonus Armor and Magic Resist while nearby.

Rell can recast this spell to break the bind and stun all enemies around and between her and her bound ally.

R – Magnet Storm

Rell erupts in magnetic fury, yanking nearby enemies toward her. She then creates a gravitational field around her, pulling nearby enemies in for a few seconds. The field doesn’t interrupt her enemies’ other actions.

Rell’s lore explained

Rell is a product of the Black Rose Academy, the same establishment set up by the infamous trickster LeBlanc. Inducted to the school at a young age due to her metalmancy skills, Rell thrived in the harsh environment of Noxus’ most terrifying tower of terror, defeating all of the opponents her training threw at her.

It was on her 16th birthday that she grew tired of her training, as well as the victims mysteriously vanishing after she defeated them. Breaking into the forbidden wing of the Black Rose, she found her colleagues drained of magic and left as empty shells: their magic was now being used to fuel her own power through the sigils etched into her skin.

In a moment of sheer anguish she rescued the other souls trapped within the Black Rose’s walls, riding to safety and making it her personal mission to save any child twisted by the Black Rose academy.

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It’ll certainly be exciting to see how Rell performs on the rift as a very different sort of champion to many of the others we’ve seen before. As soon as she’s released, we’ll let you know right here, but until then though, saddle up summoners, it’s going to be a wild rodeo!

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