Riot releases trailer for new champion Samira, shows abilities

Riot Games recently released the first official trailer for the newest League of Legends champion, Samira. 

Samira, the Desert Rose, will be a new attack damage carry but is very different from what we usually associate with that type of champion. Samira can deal damage from range, but also right up in the enemy’s face by using either her guns or sword. 

In the recent trailer, we get to see Samira in action with all her abilities and combos. A few days before the release, a data mine on Surrender At 20 described the first details of her kit, but without any specific gameplay or numbers included. These abilities have now been confirmed in the trailer. 

One of the key parts of Samira is her passive, through which she builds up “styles” by using unique attacks and abilities. The styles can rank from “E” up to “S,” and whenever she hits S she will be able to use her ultimate ability. 

Her ultimate is called Inferno Trigger and works sort of like a moving Katarina ultimate. While active, Samira shoots projectiles around her, dealing damage to surrounding enemies. The ability grants her lifesteal and has a chance to critically strike. 

The trailer also shows her Blade Whirl (W) that could end up being a pain for many when playing against Samira. The ability deals physical damage to enemies around Samira when it’s cast, but most importantly stops any enemy missiles that enter the area. This will enable Samira to make some flashy plays when trying to assassinate enemies since she can dodge out on crucial attacking abilities coming her way. 

Samira will be one of the most mobile champions in the game, through her Wild Rush (E) that allows her to dash through enemies as well as allies. The ability is used in the trailer to perform quick combos of damage together with her Flair (Q) which is her main damage ability that works from both melee range and a distance.

What is new champion Samira’s role?

Samira is presented by Riot as a new attack damage carry for the bot lane, but that might not be the only place we will see Samira.

With the mobility and assassination potential of Samira, it is likely that we could see her in a solo lane as well. She might even end up being more viable in either the mid or top lane, since she has a kit that allows her to jump in and make quick trades similar. She is also an attack damage based champion, which could make up for a good counter pick against certain compositions.

Samira could still be viable in the bot lane, but her short-range and melee heavy kit might punish her in certain matchups. If she is played bot, it is likely that she will be an early to mid-game focused bot laner who will need to get a lead early on to support her aggressiveness tendencies. As of right now, she doesn’t look like a late-game hyper carry unless she manages to snowball an early lead. 

Samira is expected to hit the Public Beta Environment (PBE) soon, followed up by her official release in one of the upcoming patches.