The New League Of Legends Champion Seems Seriously Overpowered

Fresh-faced League of Legends champion Ekko hasn’t shown up in the game yet for most people. Those that do have access to the guy have been bringing back tales of his time-bending adventures from the game’s public beta. They make him sound exciting. And scary. Very, very scary.

Yesterday, Ekko was revealed to be an AP champion. That means he leans most heavily on his ability power to be an effective team member as he levels up and fights his way through games. And some — if not all — of his abilities seem like they’re insanely powerful.

There’s his Q, which is a ranged attack that both returns to Ekko after its thrown and slows enemies. Influential League site Surrender at 20 shows it in action:

Then his E, which makes him dash forward a short distance:

Before blinking directly over to an opponent in range:

Mobility is such a crucial factor in League of Legends that just having one part of this ability would make it enormously useful for a champion. Having both at the same time? Dang.

And, of course, there’s his ult, which allows Ekko to rewind time by making him invulnerable for a few seconds before depositing him back wherever he was a moment ago:

Beta players have been toying around with Ekko’s ult specifically, and have already found an effective teleportation device that can, say, zap the champion to his base and then back to a lane almost instantaneously:

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What makes his ult formidable is the fact that it enables Ekko players to indulge in crazy, risky, even borderline suicidal manoeuvres — as long as they’re safe in the knowledge that they can blink themselves back to safety. Or at least transport themselves somewhere else on the map.

I’ve watched two full games with Ekko so far. One from YouTuber Pawnce, who played with Ekko on top lane:

And the other by Anklespankin, who played with him in midlane:

Both of the games begin slowly enough. And both end, in their separate but similar ways, with the players marvelling at the insane amount of AP damage they’re dishing out with this dude. If you fast-forward to the end of Anklespankin’s game (I set to start playing near the end), you’ll see a hilarious segment of the guy hooting and hollering ecstatically as he singlehandedly demolishes the enemy base with Ekko.

An OP champion needn’t be a bad champion, of course. Sometimes they’re the most fun.

But still…damn. Guess it’s time to start thinking of some counterplays, huh? At least until the inevitable nerfs start rolling in.

Pictures: Surrender at 20