Legends of Runeterra: Champions that Change Names when They Level Up!

Did you know that, in LoR, there are six champions that change their names when they level up?

Today, we'll discuss some LoR trivia, and also tell you why these champions swap names when they level up!

Elise shape-shifts when she levels up, and becomes the Spider Queen.

You'll notice that the champions that change their names when they level up either turn into something, or are doing something peculiar in their artwork.

In Elise's case, we're shown the idea that she turns into the Spider Queen, which explains why she can summon and "control" Spiders while in level 1.

When she levels up, she gets +2/+0 instead of the standard +1/+1, and loses her level 1 effect, which summons a Spiderling when you attack with her. She then gets an entirely new effect, which is an aura that gives Fearsome and Challenger to all allied Spiders.

Her name swap makes a lot of sense, as her level 2 is thoroughly different from her level 1. Her game style is entirely different, and she becomes a finisher, instead of an aggressive, secondary, unit.

When she levels up, Nidalee also shape-shifts and turns into a puma (or a Pakaa). She gains the title of Packmother.

This means she is the leader of her pack, the Pakaa, which, in turn, leads us to believe she is also a Pakaa. So Pakaa Cub and Pakaa Protector are the same species as Nidalee.

We don't know if all Pakaa have a human shape, as, so far, Nidalee was the only one depicted as so in LoR artworks (please note that I'm basing myself only on the information on these cards, that is, their artwork and flavor text.)

She also gains +1/+1 when she levels up, as most champions do when they level up, but her effect turns her back into her level 1 form if she Strikes the enemy Nexus. This makes a lot of sense if you consider her League of Legends version, which lets you swap between her forms all the time. In her level 2 flavor text, we are told humans call her Kashdaji, and that it is an insult.

When she shape-shifts, she gets Javelin Toss, which works similar to Lux's Final Spark.

Her LoR version is very faithful to her League of Legends version, and she was translated to LoR perfectly. She has, definitely, one of the best champion designs in the entire game.

Gnar turns into his mega version when he levels up.

This champion's main trait is that he evolves into a mega version, but Legends of Runeterra went beyond, and introduced us to an entire archetype of followers that also have mega versions.

Bitsy Lizard, Teenydactyl, and Minitee are all Bandle City creatures that also have a mega form. This reinforces the idea that Bandle City is not only a magical plane; it transcends Runeterra's natural order, once these assumed prehistoric creatures co-exist with other Bandle City beings. In Gnar's level 1 flavor text, we are told time in Bandle City doesn't work the way we, humans, are used to.

The reality is that Gnar and his followers are a big Bandle City mystery, and raise more questions than answers for us.

Gnar gains +2/+2 when he levels up, and his effect also turns him back into his level 1, like Nidalee. He was the first unit in the game to do so, and, in turn, this also really fits what he does in League of Legends.

When Shyvana levels up, she turns into her Dragon form.

She is a half-dragon champion that becomes a full Dragon when she levels up, and thus gains wings and increases drastically in size. In her level 2 flavor text, we are told her original name is Yvva, and Shyvana is like her human name.

Shyvana is a Demacian warrior, and is part of the Dragonguard. These soldiers mount Dragons, train them, and defend the city walls. Their armor is red - Shyvana red, but, in fact, that's only her armor and not her skin, which is actually purple.

Veigar is one of the few champions in this list that doesn't transform when he levels up, and is entirely different from everything else in the game, as he goes into a Mecha for his level 2. He becomes a Mecha Yordle and gains the title of Grand Overseer.

Veigar also made Minions a real thing in the Runeterra universe. He apparently enslaved these creatures in his den and uses them for his evil plans.

Just like everything else in Bandle City, Veigar's humor is quite acid. His level 1 flavor text shows us a fragment he wrote for his book, "How to be a Supervillain", which is a classic "evil villain monologue", often found in family movies. His level 2 flavor text shows chapter 12 of that same book, which is just a big paragraph of evil laughs.

Veigar's level 2 artwork shows him holding a Morellonomicon, a popular and iconic League of Legends item. Is this the book that he wrote about how to become a super villain?

To this day, he is the only champion that swaps subtypes when he levels up, even though he doesn't really fit the Mecha Yordle archetype.

Kayn is one of the most important cards for LoR's lore. His level 2 artworks, namely his Darkin form and his Shadow Assassin form, split the entire Runeterra universe in 2.

In his Darkin form, Rhaast, he kills Jun, the Prodigy, and every student at Wuju temple, thus taking control of The Darkin Bloodletters and absorbing Xolaani's powers.

In this universe, Rhaast becomes incredibly powerful; a global threat. He wants to end the world and turn it into nothing so he can free himself from the curse that binds him to his scythe.

As for the other universe, in which the Shadow Assassin wins, Jun, the Prodigy, trying to stop Kayn, touches The Darkin Bloodletters, and is assimilated by Xolaani.

This is the most "accepted" canonical universe according to the community, as Xolaani's, Aatrox's, and Kayle's artworks depict Xolaani herself. There is a theory that these artworks show a distant past because of Ryze's Shard of Madness, which shows him watching a vision of the past, when Xolaani and Aatrox faced each other. This leads us to believe that everything that happened on Aatrox's and Kayle's artworks happened a long time ago.

So, everything that goes on in Kayn's, Rhaast's, and the Shadow Assassin's artworks is like the present LoR universe.

So, at this exact moment, across the entire Runeterra's timeline, we're stuck in the exact second Kayn Final Level's artwork shows (the cover of this article).

If you read this far, thank you! I hope you had fun, and enjoyed reading this article.

Did you know the name of these cards? What about Kayn's story? Tell us all about it in our comment section below!

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Thank you for reading, and see you next time!