Riot posted the Sejuani Spotlight late last night, giving us the first look at the League’s first mounted champion. I wasn’t all that excited about Sejuani until I saw the way her mount moved around. I have to say, I’m a little sad it took Riot this long to make a mounted champion. Sejuani looks awesome. Yes, I said awesome. I’m not talking about her skills, just the way she actually looks running around. I would really like to see more champions like this – the animations are just very, very cool.

As for her actual abilities, it’s tough to say. I only had one game with her today. I was surprised to find that her Shyvana-style AoE scaled with her health. In the single game I played I laned top against a Lee Sin and actually held my own. He definitely underestimated my tankiness and control, which allowed me to rocket ahead fairly early in the game. Unfortunately, my team’s comp wasn’t great and our Wukong disconnected somewhat late in the game. We ended with a surrender.

I will probably try to get a few more games in with her over the course of the week, so keep an eye out for an impressions post. Though I did enjoy my playtime with her, I would like to see her get a little more Leona-style tankiness rather than the big health, medium damage she currently has. I could see a damage-dealing, Trinity Force build doing fairly well on her, as unfortunate as that is to say. We’ll see.

As expected, Riot announced Sejuani’s official ability list this weekend. It looks like the Tanky DPS rumors were partially true. Her kit sounds like she’s meant to be a pure tank. Let’s have a look at this boar-riding beast of a champion.

Frost (Passive) – Sejuani’s basic attacks apply Frost, reducing enemy Movement Speed by 10% for 3 seconds.

Arctic Assault – Sejuani charges forward to deal magic damage and apply Frost to enemies. Sejuani stops upon colliding with an enemy champion.

Northern Winds – Sejuani summons an arctic storm around her which deals magic damage to nearby enemies every second. Damage is increased against enemies affected by Frost or Permafrost.

Permafrost – Sejuani converts Frost on nearby enemies to Permafrost, dealing magic damage and increasing the Movement Speed reduction dramatically.

Glacial Prison (Ultimate) – Sejuani throws her weapon, stunning the first enemy champion hit. Nearby enemies are stunned for a shorter duration. All targets take magic damage and are affected by Frost.

On the whole I think Sejuani has a decent kit, though there is the usual ambiguity with regard to how some of her skills work. For instance, can she cast Permafrost if nearby enemies don’t have the Frost debuff? I would hope so. Forcing her to rely on hitting targets to use her primary nuke would really hurt. I could also see her ultimate being incredibly frustrating to land properly. I’m also curious about its range.

If anything, I think Sejuani’s strength will depend on the usability of her charge. Her abilities sound like they synergize fairly well, but none of them matter if she can’t get close enough for a Frost debuff.

Keep an eye out for her this week. I’ll be giving my impressions as soon as I have a chance to play her.

Riot has used the same formula for new champion releases for quite some time now. They release a champion sneak peek, usually in the form of a comic, and follow up with an ability/lore reveal and finally a champion spotlight. This week they skipped the comic entirely and just dropped an art spotlight on us. People seemed a little confused at first, but since it’s a chick riding a boar, I think we can probably forgive the change of pace.

You can see Sejuani’s model in the spotlight above. I have to say, I like the concept. First off, she has a flail. I know, I can hardly believe it’s not a sword either. Also, she’s riding a giant tusked pig. Again, pretty awesome design. I have to wonder what her skills will be like, though. Some early “leaks” suggested she would be a tanky DPS (shocking, right?) with significant initiation and slowing skills. This part I’m not nearly as excited about.

From the looks of things she should be out next week. Keep your eyes peeled this weekend for her lore/ability announcement. I would assume Riot will give us that much prior to her launch.