League of Legends' reigning champion, Rell, is shaping up to be a truly unique champion. Described by Riot as the "dark support" champion, Rell is an ironbender, a metal controller. Consider the metal benders of Avatar: The Last Airbender. From the Noxian region, the Black Rose Rell is the ultimate weapon of the militaristic empire.
Rell was born into the Noxian army and quickly displayed a great talent: metal manipulation. Fortunately, Rell seemed like the perfect warrior to fight Mordekaiser, an almost undead suit of armor. Luckily, he had to battle his fellow students in the worst version of Hogwarts. Worse, as they defeated the disciples, their spells were stripped from their bodies and given to Rell. The children she had won her spell with have turned into magic, emotionless zombies. Or they died. I mean, it's a little worse than an embarrassing prom night.
Rell was quite upset that he had to forcefully steal his friends' magic, so he rebelled. He left to find his way around the world, destroying the entire school. Apparently, this was exactly what the Noxian empire wanted; An extremely powerful metalbending warrior with huge anger issues.
And the horse he rides
Riot Games wanted to make a new equestrian champion for League of Legends. Since Rell could control metal, giving him a metallic horse was an easy decision. The Rell can switch between walking and horseback riding, but it does so at a significant cost for its speed. When Rell lands, he becomes the metal armor that makes up his horse, so his mount is always with him.
Thanks to his ability to bend metal, Rell can create the perfect suit of armor for him. The range of his abilities is somewhat limited, he must be relatively close to the target. If the metal is touching it directly, it should be within reach or even on the ground below it.
Rell's true strength can be seen in the visual effects of his abilities in League of Legends. While Rell casts his spell, his color shapes the light around him in a phenomenon called spectral aberrations.
Thanks to the audio files that the dataminers uncovered, we also see that Rell is bisexual and has some rather thirsty lines of dialogue for a few other champions. When he first meets Seraphine, Rell says, "You're cute Seraphine. Oh, bye." Rell awkwardly with Ekko, "Oh, so your name is Ekko? This is ... This is great. I'm fine." Perhaps the strangest phrase is when Rell first encounters Leona: "Well, Rell, take it easy. You're just a woman in tall, super-strong armor."
Support players in League of Legends will soon get a chance to use his unique abilities. Rell will be available to the public on December 9 with update 10.25.
