Following the release of a lightning-fast champion in Zeri, Riot continues to love the electricity theme. Now the League of Legends team has unveiled three new additions to the Shockblade skin collection in a new PBE preview. Finally, for the first time since 2012, Zed won't be the only champion with a Shockblade skin. Check out the splash art and skin spotlight to see the electrifying special effects that Kassadin, Qiyana, and Shen are getting with their new Shockblade skins.
New Shockblade Skins in League of Legends Season 12
Shockblade Skins Splash Art
Shockblade Kassadin's splash art showcases a scene in transition. It looks like a Japanese temple in the background on the left and the dark of night on the right. The champion looks ready to head into war and zap down foes with blue electricity shooting out of one hand and the Nether Blade in the other.
Meanwhile, the other splash art shows both Shen and Qiyana in a stormy setting. While Kassadin's armor plating has a more pointed appearance, Shen's outfit is more broad with gold and blue embellishments. Everything about this skin is blue, from Shen's mask to the lightning bolts crackling at both champion's raised fingertips, blending in with the turbulent clouds and rain pouring down in the background. Qiyana is also sporting a forehead protector (a Hitai-ate) and her purplish hair as well as the green details on her blade stand out against the dark backdrop.
Shockblade Shen
Just like how the skin's splash art shows him in the midst of the pelting rain, in-game Shen recalls under a downpour of rain while performing somersaults in the air. He brandishes his two blades with lightning sparking around the weapons. The champion's spirit blade also emanates a bright blue hue. The tether connecting Shen to the blade gives off a darker bluish, almost indigo color, with shadows twisting throughout the connection. The shield glows a bright blue with a tinge of indigo, also making good use of lighting and shadows to produce a zap-like visual effect.
For his Spirit Refuge (W), tiny sparks will crackle through the air as Shen enters the circle. Aside from the electricity in his shield, Shen's dash and taunt (E) does not look too different from the original animation, with the orange circles appearing around the taunted enemy champion. Shen's ultimate is probably the best-looking ability for this skin, channeling in a blue column that looks like a connection to the sky with particles zipping up and down both Shen and the ally champion.
Shockblade Kassadin
Similar to how Shockblade Shen's spirit blade got an electrifying makeover, the Nether Blade for Shockblade Kassadin also transforms into one that now has blue electricity coursing through its edges. In the recall animation, the champion wields the blade, spinning about and poking at the air, before what looks like some kind of ticket or card hover in the air, which the Void Walker promptly slices through.
To get a good look at his Q, pause the skin spotlight at around 0:36, showing a bright blue orb sizzling toward the enemy champion while Kassadin himself is cloaked in a similarly colored shield. For the W or empowered auto, the blade quite literally gets charged up, with electricity zipping through the entire surface of the weapon instead of just at the edges. Plus, the opponents struck by the blade also get bolts of electricity swirling around them.
Kassadin's Force Pulse mostly gets a color change like the other abilities and some particle effects, with the edges of the cone showing a geometric pattern. Lastly, his ultimate Riftwalk makes Kassadin look more like a ninja or shuriman than other skins, and of course blue bolts replace the usual purple void energy, with sparks flying all around the champion as he shifts from one spot to the next.
Shockblade Qiyana
The splash art doesn't quite do justice to the design for Shockblade Qiyana's blade, as the new skin provides the champion with a shuriken-like sharpness while retaining blue, green, and orange emblems. For the recall animation, Qiyana throws her blade into the air to set in spinning rapidly, and unlike the other two skins, this one has a lot of multi-colored particle effects—little sparks zipping through the air around the champion, and even coming from her fingertips. Finally, a blue lightning bolt strikes the frame as Qiyana leaps up and down—like energy tunneling down from the heavens. In the end, her blade is glowing fiery red rather than the usual steel color.
This skin probably has the most effects of all, just because of Qiyana's abilities, particularly her Q, coming in three different elemental forms. Whether icy blue, fiery red, or earth green, players will enjoy the bright colors and special effects embedded in her Q, leaving a sparky trail as it hits the enemy champions. Her dashes, however, are relatively plain, relying mostly on the glow of her blade in terms of visual appeal. But her ultimate more than makes up for it, as the shockwave appears as kind of a mix between electricity and fire. Red and orange sparks explode around the area, following a brilliant blue trail.
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