“I am Nature's arm. Her spirit. Her will. Hell, I am Mother Nature, and the time has come for plants to take back the world so rightfully ours! 'Cause it's not nice to fool with Mother Nature.” -Poison Ivy, Batman and Robin
No one knows no fury like nature scorn. Riot’s hugely popular MOBA, League of Legends, welcomes their 101 champion to the League – Zyra, Rise of the Thorns. When trying to describe these ‘plant mage’ abilities, there really isn’t another champion I can compare her too. She’s unique and she’s an ability power champ.
From the gameplay I’ve watched, she will have a high skill cap to truly nail all her combos down. Her combos remind me of Brand or Xerath’s stun, but instead of focusing on a champion you focus on one of her seeds. Her kit focuses around her ability “Rampant Growth” which gives you seed ammunition. These seeds grant vision for 30 seconds but when hit by one of her other spell, causes a different effect.
When she dies, she gets a sort of last death knell shot to stick it to the enemy team or the one got you. This is similar to Karthus but it’s a single skill shot nuke and that’s all you get.
As a mid / AP player, I’m excited for Zyra. Her kit is quite unique and I’m looking forward to playing with some of those combos. This next patch coming up will be huge and she will be sitting pretty at the top of the notes for it.
Check out Riot’s description of her abilities below:
Abilities:
- Queen of Thorns (Passive): Upon dying, Zyra transforms into a vengeful plant that fires one last shot before expiring.
- Deadly Bloom: Zyra grows a bud at target location. After a brief delay it explodes, launching damaging thorns at all nearby enemies. If cast on a seed, Deadly Bloom grows a Thorn Spitter plant, which fires at enemies from afar.
- Rampant Growth: Zyra plants a seed, granting vision of an area for up to 30 seconds. Other spells cast on seeds will turn them into plants who fight for Zyra.
- Grasping Roots: Zyra sends forth vines through the ground to ensnare her target, dealing damage and rooting enemies they come across. If cast on a seed, Grasping Roots grows a Vine Lasher, whose short range attacks reduce enemy Movement Speed.
- Stranglethorns (Ultimate): Zyra summons a twisted thicket at her target location, dealing damage to enemies as it expands and knocking them airborne as it contracts. Plants in the area are enraged, increasing their Attack Speed.
Historian, teacher, writer, gamer, cheat master, and tech guru: follow on Twitter @AndrewC_GZ
