Spirit Guard Udyr will keep original stances after Udyr rework

The Udyr rework is coming very soon, and Riot has revealed that Spirit Guard Udyr will keep the champion’s original stances after the Udyr rework is completed.

Spirit Guard Udyr is Udyr’s ultimate skin, depicting a flashy version of the spirit guardian and his animal-inspired stance. With the Udyr rework changing the names and thematics of his stances, Spirit Guard Udyr will become a version of the spirit walker taken from the past. The skin will continue to be an Ultimate-tier skin, with brand new voice-over and animations for nearly every aspect of the skin.

Spirit Guard Udyr will remain retro after Udyr rework

The Udyr rework will change Udyr’s stances from bear, phoenix, tiger, and turtle to animals depicting each of the Freljordian gods. This means his new stances will be bear, phoenix, boar, and ram. This version of Udyr has learned how to master the spirits of the gods that try to manifest through him, having spent time studying with Lee Sin in Ionia.

Spirit Guard Udyr after the Udyr rework will depict Udyr before he learned how to fully harness the godly power within him, while he was still based in Ionia. Riot announced as a part of the Champion Roadmap for April 2022 that Udyr would retain his old stances when using the Spirit Guard Udyr skin. The new look is a distinctly Ionian spin on the Freljordian spirit walker. He wears tabis and an intricate gold and white robe alongside striking red metal gauntlets.

This is the first time an Ultimate skin has been used to tell the story of a champion in canon, and may serve as a tool for further reworks that make use of similar skins. The Udyr announcement comes alongside a slate of other new champions, updates, and teasers as Riot looks to overhaul much of the game’s roster between mid-scope updates, VGUs, and rekits.