League of Legends ‘Darius, the Hand of Noxus’ revealed

Riot Games has officially revealed Darius, the Hand of Noxus, an upcoming League of Legends champion that "specializes in focused attacks and attrition damage, while closing out his assault with heavy damage nukes."

Before we begin with Riot's preview, let's take a look at his abilities.

• Hemorrhage (Passive): Darius aims his attacks strategically, causing his target to bleed. This effect stacks up to five times.
• Decimate: Darius swings his axe in a lethal circle. Enemies struck by its blade take more damage than those struck by its shaft.
• Crippling Strike: Darius's next attack severs a crucial artery. As the target bleeds out, their movement and attack speeds are slowed. Crippling Strike's cooldown is lower the more bloodied its target.
• Apprehend: Darius hones his axe, granting him passive armor penetration. When activated, Darius sweeps up his enemies with his axe's hook and pulls them to him.
• Noxian Guillotine (Ultimate): Darius leaps to an enemy champion and strikes a lethal blow, dealing true damage. This damage is increased for each stack of Hemorrhage on the target. If Noxian Guillotine is a killing blow, its cooldown is refreshed.

Now for how he plays; Darius' basic attacks and damaging abilities all cause the target to bleed for additional damage over time while also giving Darius some bonus Movement Speed for each enemy champion currently afflicted and granting his other abilities additional effects.

In team fights, Darius can start off by using Decimate to quickly apply his bleed on a number of enemies. These Hemorrhage debuffs will not only give him a hefty Movement Speed bonus, but also interact with his other abilities for added effect. To pursue a fleeing enemy, the added speed from his passive combines with Crippling Slash, an attack that slows the opponent and refunds part of the cooldown for each stack of Hemorrhage currently affecting the target. Even in the event an adversary should start to slip away, Darius can use Apprehend to pull them back within reach.

Finally, to close out this relentless assault in an appropriately brutal manner, Darius can employ his ultimate ability Noxian Guillotine. Leaping forward, Darius strikes a lethal blow that deals True Damage plus a hefty bonus for each stack of Hemorrhage currently applied. Additionally, if Darius scores a killing blow in the process, the cooldown on Noxian Guillotine is immediately refunded. This allows him to redouble and continue his bloody work on an additional opponent (or opponents, as the case may be). Watching this vicious champion dart through the fray, decapitating foe after foe in rapid succession can be a truly terrifying and epic sight!

But where do you play him?  We'll have to wait until Riot releases an official spotlight, but I assume he'll fit more into a top lane role. I suspect you'll build him as a tanky bruiser.

What do you think of the new champion?