Was a Cho’Gath rework teased in the new TFT set?

The new Teamfight Tactics set, Monsters Attack, had a trailer that included a new look for a class LoL champ, is this hinting at a Cho’Gath rework?

The new Teamfight Tactics set takes place in the fictional city of Spatulopolis, which is being assaulted by enormous kaiju-inspired monsters. During the trailer, a couple of these monsters are depicted in cutesy drawings, including a peek at Cho’Gath in which the enormous Void beast looks very different from normal. With his new look matching a Riot Games employee’s previous concept art, is a Cho’Gath rework coming?

TFT Cho’Gath rework appears in trailer

One section of a reveal for the new Teamfight Tactics set included a look at a creature that was definitely meant to resemble Cho’Gath, but looked very different from how the Void terror currently appears in League of Legends. In fact, the depiction almost perfectly matched an unofficial illustration made for a hypothetical Cho’Gath rework by a Riot Games concept artist. So while the rework wasn’t announced, and the art wasn’t official, the artist does currently work for Riot Games. This led many fans to wonder if this was Riot Games laying the groundwork for a VGU for the relentlessly hungry top laner.

This Cho'Gath Concept Art from TFT set 8 is based on the Cho'Gath VU Fan Concept by @Medaforcer https://t.co/ST1XECqbUU pic.twitter.com/i7XSiytgd8

— Jumaralo Hex (@JumaraloHexCore) November 1, 2022

Riot Games is generally very strict with its champions appearing similar to their in-game appearance when pictured in other media. Was the League of Legends developer trying to send hidden hints about changes coming to Summoner’s Rift?

Is there a Cho’Gath rework coming?

According to Taylor Jansen, a current Riot Games employee and the original artist of the Cho’Gath rework artwork, this isn’t a sign of an incoming Cho’Gath rework. Instead, it appears that one of the Teamfight Tactics artists was inspired by Jansen’s entry for a contest run by PolyCount. Jansen says he isn’t aware of any plans to use this design in any content.

I'm flattered that another concept artist at Riot was inspired by my design, but as far as I'm aware there isn't a plan to use it for any upcoming content. https://t.co/IjOPmjkOt7

— Taylor Jansen (@Medaforcer) November 2, 2022

So it appears that this is a simple case of one artist at Riot Games being inspired by Jansen’s depiction of the character and taking that inspiration into a small-scale piece of art for a Teamfight Tactics set. Unless there’s a secret rework based on Jansen’s art that he isn’t aware of, fans can be certain that this is a coincidence rather than cryptic hints.