win.gg
Win.gg League of Legends New LoL champion Naafiri revealed in animated cinematic

New LoL champion Naafiri revealed in animated cinematic

Nicholas James
Nicholas James Published 21/06/2023

The new LoL champion Naafiri has been revealed in an animated cinematic that depicts the origin of the latest champion.

Naafiri is the new Darkin assassin jungler, and Riot Games has created an entire animated trailer to catch fans up on her lore. Naafiri is a Darkin, an ancient Shuriman god-warrior tainted by blood magic and the Void. She was trapped in a weapon by the Targonians before being found by a pack of Shuriman hounds that she now possesses.

Animated horror movie released for Naafiri

Naafiri got her own animated cinematic trailer in the style of a horror movie trailer that plots the events that bring her into the game. The cinematic shows a Shuriman trader ambushed by a pack of desert hounds. During the fray, the hounds lose a carefully wrapped package. Inside is Naafiri in her dagger form, and she is picked up by the hounds during the ambush. From there, the hounds undergo a terrifying metamorphosis, and we get our first glimpse at Naafiri.

https://youtu.be/xIWsch7cumQ

An enormous hound with blades protruding from her shoulders, Naafiri takes the Darkin aesthetic seen in the other Darkin champions and applies it to an animalistic template. The video is called Iron Hounds, and it’s clear why. Nafiri leads a huge pack of red hyena-like hounds with massive bladed protrusions from their foreheads. Nafiri, on the other hand, has two sets of four enormous blades jutting out from his shoulders. This will be one of the first completely non-humanoid champions released in League of Legends in years.

She has the telltale black and chitinous armor of the Darkin, arrayed like petals of a flower around her head. A key part of Naafiri’s cinematic is her vast pack of hounds. This is something Riot has hinted at as being part of Naafiri’s gameplay fantasy.

When is Naafiri coming to League of Legends?

Details about Naafiri’s abilities should begin to filter through over the next week, with Naafiri making her way onto the Public Beta Environment with the new patch cycle.

There is no set date for Naafiri’s release to the live environment yet, but Riot tends to tease champions one week after they go to the PBE. This would put Naafiri’s release date in early July.

Nicholas James Nicholas James
About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

View full profile
Read Also
How to link your Riot Games account to Discord for League of Legends and Valorant League of Legends
How to link your Riot Games account to Discord for League of Legends and Valorant Hannan Mundia Riot Games has released a new feature that lets players link their Riot and Discord accounts, opening the way to new social features. Discord is more or less the central hub for many PC gamers. Whether it’s because of the servers or just voice chat accessibility, what started as a chatting platform is now closer to a social networking platform. Because of this, it makes sense that many users have ...
T1 and G2 Esports are the only two teams to have attended every MSI since 2022 Esports Betting
T1 and G2 Esports are the only two teams to have attended every MSI since 2022 Wasif Ahmed T1 and G2 Esports are the only two teams to have played in every League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) since 2022. With four back-to-back participations, Bilibili Gaming trails just behind but none of them have claimed any title during that period. Looking at the full MSI history though, T1 and G2 have participated twice as often as any other team. Beyond just those last five years, these two teams ...
League of Legends MSI 2026 Pick’Ems and Crystal Ball format, guide, predictions Esports Betting
League of Legends MSI 2026 Pick’Ems and Crystal Ball format, guide, predictions Wasif Ahmed The Mid-Season Invitational Pick’Ems have opened. This game allows players to predict MSI matches in order to earn rewards in League of Legends. The ultimate prize for a perfect Pick’Ems is very rare, but there’s still a strong incentive to try to land in the top 25%, so here are our Pick’Ems predictions and a guide to the format. The predictions for this tournament are split into two categories, the ...
League of Legends 2026 MSI preview: Teams, schedule, rewards League of Legends
League of Legends 2026 MSI preview: Teams, schedule, rewards Hannan Mundia 2026’s MSI is on the horizon, with cash prizes and a guaranteed spot at this year’s World Championship on the line. Some favorites have proven their skills, as well as underdogs that have a chance to cause an upset. This preview highlights the tournament’s teams, schedule, and potential rewards for those who perform well. Eleven teams have qualified for this year’s MSI, but that doesn’t mean that every team is ...
Why is the League of Legends MSI the LPL’s tournament? Esports Betting
Why is the League of Legends MSI the LPL’s tournament? Wasif Ahmed In League of Legends, South Korea almost always wins the World Championship. However, it’s the LPL that has won more than half of the Mid-Season Invitationals since their launch in 2015. So why is MSI the LPL’s tournament? And what can we expect for the 2026 Mid-Season Invitational next week? First off, let’s have a look at the history and stats for the two regions at the LoL Worlds and ...
Fnatic founder denies rumors of organization being sold League of Legends
Fnatic founder denies rumors of organization being sold Hannan Mundia Fnatic founder and CEO Sam Mathews denied that the organization is set to be sold in the coming weeks. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that Fnatic has seen much better days. The team’s League of Legends and CS2 rosters have been seeing multiple recent changes, and the VALORANT team’s performance has been mixed this year. Considering the team’s performance, it didn’t surprise many when reports that the organization was ...
Hanwha Life Esports defeats T1 to qualify for MSI League of Legends
Hanwha Life Esports defeats T1 to qualify for MSI Hannan Mundia After a surprisingly one-sided match, Hanwha Life Esports defeated the reigning champions T1 to qualify for MSI at the 2026 LCK Road to MSI. The LCK is by far considered the strongest League of Legends region. While T1 and Gen.G’s rivalry is iconic, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that recent roster changes put HLE on the same playing field as the two giants. The addition of Zeus and ...