Nunu Rework and Skins

NUNU CHAMPION UPDATE - SPLASH, BIO & GAMEPLAY TRAILER

Posted on August 13, 2018 at 8:16 AM by Aznbeat

The Nunu champion update will be hitting the PBE soon! Over on Riot social media, Nunu's updated splash art, his new biography and a gameplay trailer was released!

Nunu& Willump: To Adventure | Champion Trailer

A champion trailer for the Nunu champion update is now out on Riot social media!

"What’s the best way to see the world? On the back of your best yeti buddy, of course!"

Splash Art

Nunu's updated splash art is now up on Riot social media!

"Sometimes bonds of friendship become stronger than even bonds of blood. When those bonds link a fearless boy to a fearsome Yeti, the bond becomes a force to be reckoned with!"

Riot MEMEMEMEME also tweeted each splash art for Nunu's skins [Tweet 1 / Tweet 2]:

Sasquatch Nunu

Zombie Nunu

TPA Nunu

Grungy Nunu

Nunu Bot

Workshop Nunu

Demolisher Nunu

Nunu Biography

A new biography was updated to Nunu's universe page!

Nunu & Willump, the Boy and his Yeti

"One of the Notai, a nomadic tribe that long traveled the Freljord, Nunu learned from his mother, Layka, that behind every thing is a story. Together, they gathered tales that Layka turned into songs. For Nunu, nothing was better than journeying from village to village, hearing his mother sing of ancient heroes. With music and dance, the Notai brought one last celebration to everyone they met, as each winter’s chill set in.
Riding the wave of frost spilling from Anivia’s wings, his heart beating the rhythm of a jubilant song, Nunu’s world was full of possibility. 

On his fifth nameday, Layka gave Nunu a special gift: a flute, so he could learn to play her melodies himself. In the safety of their cart, the two bundled together and followed the knotted string that served as Layka’s heart-song, recording everywhere they’d been together, as the years came and went. 

When the caravan was attacked by raiders, Nunu was separated from his mother. Dragged to safety by a band of Frostguard, the surviving Notai children were taken to a village near their towering citadel. Nunu was left to wonder what happened to Layka, waiting to hear her songs on the wind. 

Snow fell. Weeks passed. 

Nunu missed his mother desperately, but the Frostguard assured him no child could safely search for her. They weren’t even impressed when he showed them the flute he now called Svellsongur—the name of a mighty blade existing only in his imagination.
Nunu spent more and more time alone, escaping into his mother’s songs—the legends and heroes of old. He yearned to be one of these heroes, a warrior like the Frostguard, who could have saved his mother. He even met their leader, Lissandra, who asked countless questions about his mother’s stories, always seeking information about one particular song. 

No one believed Nunu could be a hero, not even the other Notai children, who teased him for his flute when they now had daggers. But Nunu knew the songs in his heart, and one night, he realized how he could prove himself and earn the Frostguard’s help to find his mother. 

From Lissandra, he’d learned of a fierce monster that killed all who sought its power, thwarting the Frostguard who were sent each year, never to return. There was a song that Nunu’s mother sang… could it be the one Lissandra would always ask about? Suddenly, Nunu understood. Lissandra wanted to know about the yeti. 

Nunu could name the beast. It would answer his challenge, and feel the wrath of Svellsongur! 

Using his flute to tame a herd of elkyr, Nunu snuck out into the snow. One lonely child traveled to face a monster, finally living out a legend that not even he could imagine. 

An ancient and noble race that once ruled over the mountains of the Freljord, the yeti civilization was destroyed in a cataclysm of ice. Forced to watch his brethren descending into savagery after being stripped of their magic, one yeti swore to protect what remained of their power—a gem that swirled with the frozen dreams of any mortal mind nearby.
As the last magical yeti, the guardian was also shaped by perception. Though he had been chosen to safeguard the magic until it would be needed again, he could find no worthy vessel. The men who intruded upon his ruined home had only malice in their hearts… and so a monster greeted them with fang and claw. 

But the guardian knew he was forgetting something. His name… and the names of those he had loved... 

Once, there had been song. 

That all changed when a young boy stumbled into the ruins. After centuries of unbroken vigil, the monster was prepared to end the boy’s life, snarling as he sensed the human approach. 

Unexpectedly, the gem brought forth images of heroes slaying dragons and beheading ancient serpents from the boy’s mind. The child roared, drawing his flute like a fearsome sword. But the blow never came, for even as the boy saw visions of heroes swirling around him, he realized the deeper truths of the songs his mother sang… 

When he looked at the guardian, he didn’t see a monster. He saw someone who needed a friend. 

Still enraged, the yeti did not expect the first snowball to the face. Or the second. Snowball fight! In anger, then shock, then joy, the guardian joined in, shaped not by fear, but by a child’s imagination. He was growing furrier and friendlier. His growl was becoming a laugh. 

Until the beast accidentally broke the boy’s flute. 

As the child began to cry, the guardian felt a kindred grief take shape around the gem. For centuries, he had looked into it and seen the end of his people—the threat they had buried, betrayal by the blind one—and now, instead, he saw a caravan burning. He heard a voice on the wind. He sensed something else within the boy, something he had never felt from a human, not even the three sisters who had come to him long ago. It was love, fighting back despair. 

In that moment, the guardian knew the Freljord’s only hope lay in the power already within this child. The magic he’d been guarding was a tool; what truly mattered was the heart that would shape it. With a gesture, the magic passed from the gem into the boy, giving him the ability to make his imagination real. To repair his flute, freezing it in dreams that hardened into True Ice. 

To imagine a best friend named “Willump.” 

Escaping into the Freljordian plains, Nunu’s heart and Willump’s strength now enable the pair to do what they never could alone: to have an adventure! Following the songs of Nunu’s mother, they snowball wildly from one place to the next, holding onto the hope that she is still out there, somewhere. 

But Willump knows that with magic and dreams come responsibility. One day the games will end, as the dark ice at the heart of the Freljord thaws, and thaws…"

Irelia rework

League champion rework: Irelia ability kit revealed

Irelia has been infamous since she released. But while many cried to “better nerf Irelia” based on her extremely rare balance changes, others felt like she would rarely show up in games. Because of her feast or famine nature, Irelia has spent most of her time sitting on the sidelines, never really finding her way into the “most played champions” listing.

Well, her rework aims to change some of that. Let’s take a look at the brand new Irelia: The Blade Dancer.

THE KIT

PASSIVE - IONIAN FERVOR

Riot Games

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

What it does:

Every time Irelia damages a champion with an ability, she gains a stack of her passive. Her basic attacks do additional bonus magic damage (scaling with her AD) per stack and each stack only lasts six seconds unless refreshed. If Irelia reaches four stacks, she becomes capped and cannot gain anymore. However, she also gains 20 percent attack speed and does three times extra damage to shielded opponents.

When you first play new Irelia, you may struggle to find a use for this passive. Her base cooldowns are long, which can leave you wondering how the hell you’re ever supposed to proc all four stacks. This is where the blade dancing aspect comes in. Irelia is a melee champ that’s all about being sticky.

You don’t want to just slam all your abilities at once like Yorick. Instead, you want to pace your abilities by flowing autos in between them, almost like you would with Lucian. By doing this, you’ll gain the max bonus of each stack while also allowing your other abilities to cooldown in the process.

Q - BLADESURGE

Riot Games

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

What it does:

Irelia dashes to a target and deals damage to them. This attack also applies on hit and causes Irelia to heal herself. The cooldown of Bladesurge is instantly reset if Irelia kills her target with her dash or if the target was marked (which we’ll get to in a second).

This ability is almost identical to how it is on the current live servers. Essentially, you want to use this ability to dash into a fight or stick on a target that’s heading away from you. If the target is marked, then you can dash in and still have your dash for their escape. It’s crucial not to simply spam this ability, otherwise you risk spending any resets you get and wasting potential chase. Be patient and look for opportunities to reset Bladesurge.

W - DEFIANT DANCE

Riot Games

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

What it does:

Irelia creates somewhat of a shield around herself on the first cast, instantly gaining a Ionian Fervor stack. The shield blocks 45 percent of incoming damage while it is being charged. However, she is unable to do anything. When she releases the ability, her blades will fly forward and deal scaling damage based on how long she charged.

This ability is a pretty interesting addition to her kit. Irelia has always been the kind of champion that is sticky and stays by your side as you run from her. This ability forces you to trade your mobility fo damage and defense.

When looking for opportunities to use Defiant Dance, you want to be sure that you are either mid-duel or are ahead of a champion you’re chasing/within dash range. What you don’t want is to charge up, hit your W, and then lose the kill to being out of range.

While Irelia is a powerful duelist, she also excels in group fights. Use this ability to deal major damage in a line, hitting multiple champs (and gaining stacks for each) at once. Because you are guaranteed two stacks if you only hit one champion, it’s also a great way to start a fight that your opponent can’t necessarily run away from.

E - FLAWLESS DUET

Riot Games

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

What it does:

Irelia throws two blades to two locations on the ground. Once they both land, they fly toward each other, dealing damage, stunning, and marking any champions or large monsters hit.

This is Irelia’s new stun and it takes quite a bit of work to pull off. However, it’s also a ranged ability, allowing for a lot of flexibility. This is your opener. Throw two blades, stun your target, dash in to consume the mark, Defiant Dance, and dash again to chase the target. You wanna get some autos in there too, but that’s the overall casting situation.

Flawless Duet is about catching your enemies at weird angles. Once your opponents have learned the cast range, it’s something they’ll be able to prep for. So move a blade to the side or behind you and then dash up to a dying minion to place the second blade perfectly behind your target. Then you can simply start with an auto and your W and still have two dashes to chase.

R - VANGUARD’S EDGE

Riot Games

Riot’s Tooltip:

Surrender@20

What it does:

Irelia throws an arena of blades onto the field, dealing magic damage to and marking anyone in the area. The arena remains for 2.5 seconds and traps players. Anyone brave (or foolish) enough to walk through the wall will take massive damage, be slowed, and be unable to basic attack for two seconds.

This is an interesting ability, especially for a champion that wants to stay close to her enemies like Irelia. You want to use this Fiora-style, meaning that this is your big finishing move. Once you’ve chased down your prey and are ready to get the kill, drop the arena and finish them off. They either have to face you or damage themselves by running through your wall.

The other big use here is team fights. In a group setting, this becomes a more mobile version or The Box or a more useful version of Cataclysm. Because you’re able to simply drop it away from you, you can create a perfect situation to group your enemies for that Orianna ball or Malphite wombo-combo.

Like with The Box, you create an impossible decision for your enemies trapped inside. Keeping them on their toes and forcing bad decisions is how you win the Irelia mind game.

THE RUNES

Riot Games

KEYSTONE: CONQUEROR

Conqueror should be an obvious pick up for Irelia. You aren’t really going to just blow someone up unless you’re so far ahead that nothing matters. So instead, you’re gonna rely on being sticky. Because you’ll be in longer fights, you can also refresh the rune and keep it up for a long time.

TRIUMPH

Triumph is just stupidly powerful right and makes sense for the kind of champion that wants to fight multiple foes in a row.

LEGEND: BLOODLINE

Bloodline is great here for Irelia, but Alacrity isn’t bad either. However, Bloodline allows you to keep going as you fight, becoming obnoxiously tanky as you roll into the enemy squad.

COUP DE GRACE

Why wouldn’t you take this rune? The only thing Irelia’s kit isn’t great at is finishing kills. Knowing that, we take Coup De Grace.

SECONDARY TREE: DOMINATION

Domination allows us to take Sudden Impact, which is a obvious choice on Irelia.

SUDDEN IMPACT

Irelia is maybe the dash-iest champion in the game, so Sudden Impact will see a lot of use over a single match.

RAVENOUS HUNTER

Similar to Bloodlines, Ravenous Hunter allows us to roll into a fight and shrug off the damage that we end up taking.