r/loreofleague

It's been almost three years since the last Coven batch, and it's also been over half a year since I last posted here.

Lately I've been thinking about Coven again, and honestly, I still keep wondering what could've been.

Coven has always been my favorite skinline in League. Not just because of the visuals, but because of the worldbuilding. The Old Gods, the hierarchy, the atmosphere, and the idea that every witch had a purpose made it feel like an actual universe instead of just another skinline.

When the fourth batch came out, I slowly found myself drifting away from it.

It wasn't that I hated the champions or thought every skin was bad. It just didn't feel like Coven anymore.

The first three batches built something really special. Every witch had her own role, served a different Old God, and added something to the story. Morgana ruled as the Coven Queen. Lissandra was the oracle. LeBlanc worked from the shadows. Camille carried out the Coven's will. Then later we got Zyra, Ahri, Ashe, Cassiopeia, and Evelynn, and somehow each of them fit perfectly without taking away from what was already there.

Then the fourth batch happened.

For me, that's where the skinline started to lose the identity that made it so unique.

Nami suddenly wanting to overthrow Morgana felt like a huge twist that never really had the time to develop. Instead of making Morgana feel like an even stronger Coven Queen, it shifted the focus to a conflict that didn't feel earned.

Akali was probably the biggest question mark for me. I've never really understood why she was chosen for Coven. Her ninja fantasy feels so far removed from the gothic witch aesthetic that defines the skinline, and I always felt there were several champions who would've fit the universe much more naturally.

Then there was Syndra and Elise. These were two of the most requested Coven champions for years, so finally seeing them join the skinline should've been a huge moment. Instead, they both ended up as Epic skins, and neither really felt like the payoff people had been waiting for. Syndra especially felt like the obvious choice for the next Legendary after Morgana and Evelynn.

Nilah was another one I struggled with. Her design never fully captured that classic Coven look for me, and having her immediately betray the Coven to join the Eclipse Knights made her feel more like a plot device than an actual member of the sisterhood.

And then there's Janna.

Ironically, I think she got one of the best Coven designs we've ever seen, yet she never even made it into League of Legends. Keeping her exclusive to Legends of Runeterra still feels like such a missed opportunity.

None of those decisions on their own would've pushed me away from the skinline. But together, they made the fourth batch feel disconnected from the world that the first three releases spent years building.

So it got me thinking...

What if the fourth batch wasn't trying to reinvent Coven? What if it simply completed it?

Now that it's been almost three years, I honestly have no idea if Riot plans to revisit Coven. Maybe the story is finished. Maybe it'll come back one day with a new direction. Whatever happens, I just hope they remember what made Coven so special in the first place. For me, it was never just about the skins. It was the lore, the hierarchy, and the feeling that every new witch truly belonged.

I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks after all this time. With all the new champions Riot has released over the past few years, who do you think would make a great addition to the Coven universe if the skinline ever returns?

https://x.com/zaket07/status/1253842718955982848?s=20 Kinda miss the old ability.

OG picture from Steadfast Heart Chapter 6

I just found out that this artwork was being used to promote the RiotX Arcane event starting in November 2021

The difference between this concept of Piltover+Zaun and the versions from Arcane and the old lore is enormous. Even so, it has many elements that stand out from the old P/Z—from before Arcane, and even from the first edition of Runeterra.

Fantasy, magic, inequality, rust, progress, the river, futuristic elements, the Sungates. The two cities.

I wouldn’t rule out that much would have changed in the narrative and characters if a version of Piltover and Zaun like this had been used for Arcane. But well, some things had to happen, and here we are

https://x.com/TFTLatam/status/2073376600213602356?s=20

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/JwaAVZ and https://www.artstation.com/artwork/P4aAVr

isn't an aspect host supposed to be stronger than what we saw?idk but there are many reasons to think god-warriors are stronger than hosts because it's clearly obvious they showed more feats than hosts.

for example, diana struggled against three voidborn that were probably just average xer'sai, and she sealed a small void rift. meanwhile, two ascended named ta'anari and syphax, who are weaker than nasus and renekton, defeated massive voidborn armies and sealed a huge rift compared to the one sealed by diana.plus, if you say "ta'anari and syphax came with an army", those were just mortal soldiers and their numbers were around 7,000. and we know any ascended can solo an entire army with almost zero effort anyway.

most people say atreus defeating aatrox was an insane feat, but are we forgetting that aatrox's current body is not that strong and much less durable than his original god-warrior form? like, you can't compare aatrox's durability with renekton, azir, or nasus. also, aatrox mocked atreus when he saw him because he thought atreus didn't have the power of pantheon anymore, and his arrogance caused him to underestimate atreus. even a weakened form of nasus was a harder opponent for xerath than atreus. during the fight between xerath and atreus, xerath just beat him so badly and atreus could barely fight back. i mean, of course nasus was also destroyed by xerath, but if you read both stories, you will see nasus put up a much harder fight against xerath than atreus did.

as for leona, she was barely handling atreus, who had no aspect power during that time because of viego. even then, leona didn't seem much stronger than atreus during that fight. plus, atreus was way weaker when he was fighting leona compared to the time when he fought against xerath.maybe i underestimated the aspect hosts' power, but they don't feel like they are much above the ascended. i mean, look at renekton; he gave xerath a really hard fight. and even if you say 'but xerath was manipulating renekton, he wasn't trying to kill him', that is meaningless because they fought each other for like 3,000 years. was the entire fight just xerath taunting renekton?

Will be cool if really K/DA is making their debut again after a long break (it will also be my first time participating in thematics like this).

But, hope K/DA isn't the only band returning to concerts. There are still a duo of bands that need to expand their song playlist (from 1), and also the old rock band in memories of old League (the reckoning)