Riot posted the latest champion sneak peek this weekend, giving us a glimpse of Riven, the Exile. It comes again in the form of a mini-comic with some incredibly cheesy and over-the-top nonsense for a storyline. Ah well, this game isn’t about lore. It’s about trolling and rage-quitting.

I haven’t seen anything about her skillset that isn’t speculative, so I’ll just say we’re waiting to see whether or not she should build a Trinity Force. My guess: yes. From her looks I’d say she’s another melee assassin, which seems like a really odd release after Talon. It might be interesting if she had some mobility and so was capable of being a real force on Dominion.

It looks like we’ll be waiting until next week for server downtime to bring her live, which will also mean the end of Season 1 and, hopefully, the launch of Dominion.

Ho ho ho, Riot! What have we here? You know, I was starting to get a little concerned about the art department at Riot. The most recent new champions have had their own distinct flavor, but nothing screamed badass like this axe-wielding norse maniac.

Since it’s just a sneak peek, the initial details are very slim, but I would highly encourage interested parties to avail themselves of tools that may be disappearing over the next month or so. Though I am a little concerned to see yet another melee toon, Olaf does have that special look – a certain flair for disaster – that makes me want to use him for some good old fashioned face stomping.

You can see what Riot has to say about our viking friend in the announcements forum.

ByronicHero dropped by the forums to give us another teaser for the weekend. This time, it’s a new champion by the name of Mordekaiser. He appears to be something like a death knight, covered in plate and wielding a giant spiked mace. Though there’s no official word on his skillset, the community has done some digging in the game files to find out what it could.

The abilities are funny in that they’re all heavy metal themed. His passive, Iron Man, converts 20% of the damage he deals from abilities into a shield that absorbs incoming damage (whaddaya know, another damage mitigation skill). His Q ability is called Mace of Spades and deals attack damage plus bonus damage to 3 targets. If the target is alone, the damage is doubled. It’s pretty much an exact replica of Pantheon’s Heartseeker Strike. His W skill, called Creeping Death, is a targeted ally shield (increased armor and MR) that deals damage to nearby opponents. His E skill, Siphon of Destruction, is another cone damage spell that charges his shield based on the damage he deals. His ultimate, Children of the Grave, leeches life by percentage from an enemy target. If the target dies while under the effect, it follows Mordekaiser around granting him half of that champion’s ability power, attack damage, and health, though the ghost is unable to attack.

I’m pretty turned off by his similarity to Pantheon. I think Pantheon is in a great spot and will obviously improve if he gets some of the suggested buffs. That leaves Mordekaiser feeling like they really wanted to build a heavy metal toon so this is what we get. It’s also hard to understand why the character development team is churning out new champs when so many other toons need fixing. TF is still grossly overpowered, even when the big nerfs he’s getting on the Test Realm. If different departments handle creation and balance, it’s time to give the balance team some of creation’s man hours.

I’ll probably still play this guy, especially if he looks as big and badass as he seems. I just wish I understood the development strategy here.