January 9, 2025 Official descriptions of Mel’s abilities from Riot have been added to this article.
Jinx’s Super Mega Death Rocket is hurtling towards Piltover’s Council Chambers, shattering a rare moment of peace. As its leering smile draws ever-closer, Mel Medarda’s back shimmers with gold, alerting her to the fact that something is coming, and it’s not good. From that moment on, I knew that we’d see her join the Rift’s ever-growing roster at some point, and now is the perfect time. Yes, that’s right, Arcane‘s Mel Medarda is the new League of Legends champion, and she joins the fray just in time for LoL’s Noxian-themed first season.
Coming into 2025, League of Legends has dropped its traditional seasonal model, switching to three rotating seasons with their own unique theme. To keep the Arcane hype train rolling, the MOBA is kicking off the new year with a Noxus-inspired romp, which changes up Summoner’s Rift, adds new epic jungle monster Atakhan, and reworks teleport.
But each season is accompanied by a new champion that hails from the overarching focus region, alongside various skins and cosmetics that work in tandem with the overall theme. It was no secret then, that when Riot announced Noxus as Season 1’s region, Mel was the logical next champion, and here she is, equal parts gorgeous and terrifying.
While initially some thought Mel would be a support, her kit lends itself better to a midlane mage, similar to Syndra. Featuring a series of executes, barriers, and CC, she’s primed to be an absolute menace.
League of Legends Mel abilities
Here’s a full breakdown of Mel’s abilities in League of Legends:
- Passive – Searing Brilliance: Whenever Mel uses an Ability she gains three bonus projectiles on her next Attack, up to nine maximum. When Mel deals damage through an Ability or Attack she applies Overwhelm which stacks up damage to execute the enemy. If the enemy is hit by Mel with enough Overwhelm damage to kill them, the stacks are consumed executing them.
- Q – Radiant Volley: Mel fires a barrage of projectiles that explode around a target location dealing damage repeatedly to enemies within the area.
- W – Rebuttal: Mel gains Move Speed, forms a barrier around herself that reflects enemy projectiles back at the attacker, and prevents taking damage.
- E – Solar Snare: Mel fires a radiant orb, Rooting enemies in the center while dealing damage over time and Slowing in an area around it.
- R – Golden Eclipse: Mel strikes all enemies marked with Overwhelm regardless of range, dealing additional damage for each stack of Overwhelm. Ranks of Golden Eclipse increase Overwhelm’s damage.
The standout here is, of course, Rebuttal. We’ve never seen an ability that can reflect others in League, only things that can cancel them (such as Yasuo’s Windwall, Braum’s Unbreakable). I have a few questions about how it’ll work – how does she reflect Mordekaiser’s ult, for example – and I do wonder if it would have been better reserved for an ultimate ability rather than a simple base one. It’s an interesting mechanic either way, but I suspect it’ll be a particularly difficult one to balance.
Mel Medarda will release alongside League of Legends patch 15.S1.2 on Thursday, January 23. She’ll be free to unlock as part of the season’s mission system.
In the meantime, however, make sure to check out our LoL tier list to ensure that you’re ready to blast through the ranks. Alternatively, if you’re looking for some new cosmetics to kickstart a new year on the Rift, here’s a list of all the League of Legends skins that are currently on sale.
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