A new champion will soon be prowling the lanes of League of Legends.
Riot Games revealed Kalista, the Spear of Vengeance, earlier today. The new champion hails from the Shadow Isles, a spectral spear-maiden who was “treacherously murdered” and seeks revenge. The story sounds similar to popular marksman Lucian, who hunts the soul stealer Thresh to avenge his wife, killed by the monster of the Shadow Isles. Some fans believe Kalista could be that wife, unleashed to get revenge of her own, but at this point that’s just idle speculation.
What we do know about Kalista is that she’ll be played in the bottom lane as an AD Carry featuring some unique synergy with her support player.
She begins the game with a consumable item, “The Black Spear” that permanently links her to a teammate, allowing the pair to do bonus damage when they strike a target together. In addition, Kalista’s ultimate, Fate’s Call, turns her partner into a weapon, pulling them to her location and allowing them to dash through nearby enemies and knock them up—perfect for setting up combos.
Outside of that synergy, Kalista has some pretty typical marksman moves: Pierce, a spear throw ability that deals damage, Sentinel, a ward-like ghost that moves and detects enemy players, and Rend, which detonates damage based off how many spears Kalista chucks into a hapless foe.
The more interesting part of her kit is her passive, Martial Pose. Instead of clipping auto attacks when a move command is issues, Kalista instead finishes her attack and hops forward. This allows her unmatched ability to attack on the move compared to her marksman brethren, making her potentially a monster at kiting.
“Kalista is for players who enjoy or want to improve at taking the pulse of teammates and working together toward a win,” Riot game designer Bradford “CertainlyT” Wenban said.
“Tools to cooperate are interesting in that they include more than just formal power. In this vein, Kalista’s kit endeavors to facilitate teamwork by resolving incentives for selfish play and visually communicating intent.”
The ghoulish Kalista certainly looks powerful in the right hands—and with the right lane partner. And if Wenban’s history with champion releases is any indication (he’s responsible for Zyra, Zed, Darius, and Yasuo, all extremely powerful champions that required multiple nerfs on release) you should get on the Kalista bandwagon. Quick.
Image via Riot Games
