The secret champions that never made it into LoL

Nicholas James Published 15/02/2023

Many League of Legends fans will know that there were 40 champions available in the game when League of Legends first released fully, but what about the secret champions that never made it that far?

What some fans might not know is that there’s proof of several champions that Riot Games originally intended to make but never followed through on. Recently, fans on social media helped unearth a picture that shows one of the first documented sets of champions from Riot Games’ design process. This includes a few champions who later became other incarnations of themselves and others that are completely unlike anything that exists in the game today. Here are all of the secret champions that never made it into League of Legends.

The secret champions that got canceled

Throughout the decade and more that League of Legends has been around, not every concept for a champion has made it from Riot Games’ design process. Here’s a list of all the champions we know about that never made it into League of Legends proper.

Averdrian

Averdrian, the Astral Guardian, is one of the secret champions canceled before he made it into League of Legends. Averdrian was a very typical single-target control mage with an internal mechanical known as Spirits. Averdrian seems to have had several spirits which he could use to do damage around himself. However, many fans have actually seen the assets meant for this canceled champion in their games. The original icon for Averdrian’s Astral Beam ability is the icon that appears on the players’ status bar under the effects of Baron Nashor.

Averdrian was confirmed canceled when he appeared in a coffin on the Halloween version of Summoner’s Rift.

Plant King

This champion is known to the community, also called Gavid. Versions of his kit have been gleaned from previous versions of Gavid’s kit that were datamined. Gavin would produce vines around himself, consuming vines to cast plant-themed spells, much like Zyra does today. Gavid’s ultimate involved him rooting himself to the ground, a mechanic that would later return in Xerath’s original iteration.

Water Wizard

Also known as Well Soterios, the Hydrosoul, this champion is another early abandonment by the game. Well has his own lore pulled from early versions of the champion and has also had pieces of his kit datamined from previous versions of the game. Well would grant mana to allies, along with AoE spells and an ultimate that was a global buff for his entire team. He also had an ability called Summon: Water Elemental, which would presumably have been a core piece of his kit.

Omen

Omen was originally announced alongside Yorick and Ao Shin, the champion that would evolve into Aurelion Sol over the coming years. He was going to be a quadruped Voidborn-esque creature with red glowing designs along its body and a bristling back full of spikes. According to Riot Games, Omen suffered from design confusion about what he would do and was eventually canceled.

Riven was developed in Omen’s place. According to details released by Riot Games employee Brian ‘FeralPony’ Feeney, Omen had most of a kit sorted out. His Q was a skill shot that could pass through targets. The W was a spike pod that he could throw, detonating automatically after a short delay or if it was struck by his Q. His E was a point-and-click slow, and his ultimate was a channeled, long-rage circular damage ability.

Tabu

Tabu, The Voodoo Shaman, is another canceled champion that never made it onto Summoner’s Rift. Tabu was briefly found in the LoL beta files but never again had substantial development. Tabu’s core mechanic was linking himself to allies or enemies to share healing or damage done to himself or his target, respectively. His ultimate ability was Soul Drain, a channeled single-target damage drain with no maximum duration.

Husk, Hive Commander – the secret champion that became two

Another champion that never got released was Husk, Hive Commander. Unlike the other canceled champions, Husk actually became two separate champions who still made it into the game. Husk was a champion that Riot Games had originally intended to release as a Zaunite special operations teams leader. Supposedly she was going to be Caitlyn’s ex, who had turned to serve Zaun after Caitlyn paralyzed her from the waist down during a gunfight.

Husk was eventually split into Kai’Sa and Camille, each of which carries a recognizable portion of her identity. Kai’Sa picked up her jetpack-like apparatus and her use of gun-like weaponry, while Camille picked up her prosthetics and association with Piltover and Zaun. Artist Michael “IronStylus” Maurino has included images of Husk, her weaponry, and even a 3d model depicting what could have been.

These include images that show Husk’s jetpack, with clear parallels to Kai’Sa’s Void Symbiote suit. Husk is one of the most fully-realized champions that fans have gotten info about. Thanks to posts on Maurino’s ArtStation, fans get a close look at what sort of work goes into designing one of League of Legends iconic characters. Other images include a close-up look at Husk’s unique weaponry.

Husk’s weapon seems to be a mix of different weapons, likely meaning she’d have had multiple ways of engaging in combat. The modes are labeled “Baton”, “Stinger,” and “Collapsed.” Husk’s green smokey aesthetic implies she’d be using Chemtech to power her suit, prosthetics, and weapons. This, paired with the fact she serves Zaun, means the green “Stinger” is almost certainly some kind of Chemtechnology injector. On the other side, it appears to serve as a bludgeoning instrument similar to a police truncheon.

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.

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