League of Legends reveals new champion: Aphelios, the Weapon of the Faithful

Riot Games has published a Universe biography for the next champion to join League of Legends: Aphelios, the Weapon of the Faithful.

Less than two weeks after Senna was unleashed onto the live League of Legends servers with Patch 9.22, Riot Games has already teased another champion that will be joining the long list of playable characters over the next few months. The 147th champion released – and the 5th added in 2019 – will be Aphelios, the Weapon of the Faithful, a marksman that has strong connections to Mount Targon.

This upcoming champion release was originally revealed in October with an almost cryptic passage in a Champion Roadmap article from the dev team. Now, we’ve been treated to an even longer preview with Aphelios’ full biography being posted alongside his champion page.

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Through this biography, we learn that Aphelios is a warrior destined to protect the Lunari faith of Mount Targon after he was born during a rare lunar convergence with his twin sister, Alune. Aphelios, armed with moonstone blades, and Alune, gifted in luminous magic, were sent on dangerous missions to protect their people’s faith from the Solari, who view the Lunari as heretics.

During a ceremony celebrating a celestial event in which Alune would enter a temple, the Lunari were ambushed by a group of Solari soldiers. Aphelios was initially defeated and the battle looked over, but Alune channeled her power through Aphelios, granting him magic which he could use as a replacement for his shattered moonstone blades.

The combination of Alune’s magic and Aphelios’ skill was no match for the Solari army, and they were soon defeated. Alune then pushed herself and the temple into the spirit realm, where the Solari could not find it. While in the spirit realm, Alune could continue to speak and channel magic through her brother, Aphelios, who would continue his work to protect the Lunari faith with his arsenal of mystical weapons provided by Alune.

The biography ends with an exciting final sentence:

"Now that the power balance of Targon is shifting, and the Solari know the Lunari still endure, Aphelios and Alune are needed more than ever."

This possibly hints at an upcoming Solari vs. Lunari event, potentially involving connected champions like Leona and Diana. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this event crop up on the client during the weeks of Aphelios’ initial release, the timing of which is still unknown, but it’s expected to be during preseason.

It’s been confirmed that Aphelios will be a marksman champion, but whether that strictly means he’ll play in the AD Carry role remains to be seen. His “arsenal of mystical weapons” is likely to consist mainly of long-range projectiles, but could also contain some close-quarters equipment to diversify the champion’s abilities.

Ultimately, we can assume that Aphelios will be a champion similar to the likes of Ashe, Kai’Sa, and Xayah in terms of their high attack range and abilities related to their lore and origin. Another interesting note is the potential for Alune to be a part of the champion design, whether it be through abilities, visuals, or voice lines.

What do you think Aphelios’ kit will look like? What are your thoughts on a Lunari vs. Solari event? Let us know in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter!