League of Legends: “The King of the River” – Is the new champ really a nasty fish? [Update]

In the MOBA League of Legends, Riot has now released a teaser trailer. It seems to be about a new champion.

China is to blame. There was a leak, and now Riot has responded with the mysterious trailer “The King of the River”.

New Comeback Mechanic or a Fresh Champ?

The trailer tells the story of a gambler without luck, a fish with a huge appetite, and an unfortunate bride. No one really knows what this is leading to at the moment: Perhaps a new “game mechanic” to give desperately behind teams a chance at victory? Or is a new champ coming? But who then? The fish? Riddles upon riddles.

In the patch notes for 5.11, there is at least a hint about the King of the River. It is mentioned – playfully – that no one should be left in the river without a paddle. But the desperate should be careful whom they ask for help. Creatures lurked for the wishes of the desperate…

Such “Faustian pacts,” as described in the video, where an unfortunate person risks their long-term well-being for short-term luck, primarily appear in classic fairy tales and folkloric stories, such as in the eponymous pact between Faust and Mephisto or the miller’s daughter and Rumpelstiltskin.

On the test server, by the way, the following happens when you use the laugh emote in the river:

And one has also heard of such “lake” monsters.

In the past, there was the legend of the bishop’s fish. Such sailor yarn often involves a clever, talking fish bargaining for its life with a fisherman. The fish in Riot’s trailer behaves more like Mephisto or Angelina Jolie in the comic version of Beowulf. Admittedly, she was much more attractive.

Update 19.6.: There is new info about the fish. The “Champion Designer” has spoken on reddit. He stated that the Q will have a slow effect, the new champ will not have bone-ups, executes, or “true damage” in their repertoire, but will have 3 passive effects. So it really seems to be a champ and not a new map mechanic.