Riot Games have revealed the first look at League of Legend’s newest tank support, Rell. Rell appears to be a new form switching support that focuses on building resistances, sharing it out, popping shields and engaging the enemy team.
Riot Games reveals a first look at Rell, a form shifting tank support. (Photo courtesy Riot Games)
Lore
Rell is a knight that hails from Noxus. She was born a mage capable of controlling metal. One of Noxus’ military leaders named the Black Rose took an eye to her and others with similar powers and tried to weaponize them. She and others eventually escaped, killing her Noxian controllers along the way. Now she hunts Noxian soldiers while trying to find the survivors of her old “academy”.
Rell’s Kit
Passive – Break the Mold
Rell attacks very slowly, but temporarily steals a portion of her target’s Armor and Magic Resist to deal bonus damage based on the amount she stole from her target.
She can also steal defensive stats from multiple champions at the same time, which will make her grow extremely tanky very quickly.
Q – Shattering Strike
Rell stabs forward with her lance, breaking any shields her struck target has. Damage from Shattering Strike falls off for opponents hit after the first target is struck.
If Rell as an ally selected with her E – Attract and Repel, both Rell and her ally are healed for a portion of the damage dealt.
W – Ferromancy: Crash Down
Rell Leaps into the air while mounted, transforming her mount into armor plates. She gains a huge health shield that last until destroyed or remounted. When she lands, she knocks up enemies around her. Rell can still cast her E and R while in this form but loses her Q in this stance.
When Rell is on foot, the ability can be re-cast to put her back on her mount. Reactivating her mount grants her a burst of movement speed and she can charge enemies to deal bonus damage and flipping them over her shoulder.
E – Attract and Repel
Rell selects an ally to partner with. Partnered allies gain bonus Armor and Magic Resist while close to Rell. She can then reactivate the ability to sever the connection between her ally and stunning opponents next to Rell or her Ally in the process.
R – Magnetic Storm
Rell erupts in in magnetic fury, yanking enemies towards her. Enemies caught in the ability’s range will then continue to be drawn to Rell’s position for several seconds. Enemies caught in the magnetic field after the initial cast can cast their abilities.
Gameplay
Riot intends for this champion to be a tanky support, destined for the botlane. Her abilities flatter teamwork, acting as an engagement tool, while being the needed tank when the botlane descends into chaos. When it comes to ganks or contesting drakes, Rell seems to be a great pick for leading the charge and locking down crucial targets.
Her W to close gaps and engage matches the likes of Nautilus who can engage and mitigate damage, just like Leona, who closes gaps and immediately gains bonus defense stats. The flip side is that she can then remount and continues to flip people for even more CC, or to remount and get away from tights turning the enemies favor. There does seem to be a delay to form switching, so it appears there are important decisions to make as this ability requires some level of commitment.
With the new Mythic items in the game, Rell seems like a natural counter to the champions that take Immortal Shieldbow. One of the build paths Markman and crit favoured assassins take is the Shieldbow, which grants them a shield when they take lots of damage. Rell is a good counter to sustain build paths, as well as popping overhealing and countering Janna, who appears strong in the preseason.
In terms of the late game team fighting, Rell also seems incredibly strong. When she naturally gains resistances, Rell diving in there with her shield, and then ulting the enemy with her magnetic field is going to be a powerful AOE tool. This synergizes well with popular mid lane champion, Orianna or flatters carry junglers like Graves and Lillia, etc.
However, it feels like it could very well be possible that Rell becomes a top laner. The likes of Pantheon have moved into the support role, with Sett playing every role other than Marksman, and Seraphine is playable in both mid and support. There could be a chance that Rell makes it as a top laner, depending on how slow her basic attacks are, and how much healing she gets from her Q. The rest of her kit works well for surviving lane, with her W gaining needed shielding and also useful for escaping ganks and certain death. Her Attract and Repel attached to her jungler could also be helpful for setting up ganks if timed well. There is no doubt this is something that people will want to try out on the PTR or live servers when she officially arrives in patch 10.25.
