Morello dropped by the announcement forums today to give us a mini-preview of Yorick’s playstyle and ability set. Riot also released the art spotlight, which you can see above. I’m actually very excited to see Yorick on the Fields of Justice, much more so than the other Tanky DPS in the game, and mostly because I think he’ll be a bit different. Granted, I still think he’s going to be nasty in lane, but his ultimate sounds kinda cool without being the mess that is Mordekaiser’s Children of the Grave.

Yorick deals damage in lane by summoning minions that have both immediate and persistent effects. One minion deals damage in an AoE and slows nearby targets but also leaves behind a ghoul that slows nearby units. The ghouls have a limited life span that can be further shortened based on the damage they receive.

Yorick’s ultimate, Omen of Death, allows him to create a revenant of a still-living ally. If the ally dies while the revenant is up, that player is revived for a short period of undeath, during which I can only assume that player has control of his/her character again for a short time. It sounds less punitive than some deaths to Mordekaiser can be – often turning a fight into a 6v4 – while still being strong enough to warrant its use. I’ll be interested to see the different shenanigans people find for this ult.

Don’t forget, Yorick isn’t due out until Dreamhack is over, which I would assume means the Tuesday after next.