In the development update videos from Riot Games, they announced that during the upcoming Summer event, two new champions will be released. The first name is Lillia, the “dreamy jungle champion” that Riot mentioned, while the other character is the “masked assassin” hailing from the land of Ionia. With ample evidence such as the basic character design, the Flora Spirit skin, and dialogue interactions with Yone, it is almost certain that he will be the next new champion in League of Legends.
Unlike Lillia, a completely new character, who is even a Vastaya half-human, half-deer, Yone has previously appeared in the game Legends of Runeterra. In fact, for skilled players, Yone is an extremely powerful card, playing a crucial role in Yasuo’s deck or control strategies. In League of Legends, Yone is known as Yasuo’s deceased older brother after a life-and-death duel.
That’s Yone’s origin story. As for his skills, we still have no information about Yone’s skill set. However, according to Riot’s description, the masked assassin – likely to be Yone – will be a “melee champion in the solo lane with team-carry potential,” which sounds very similar to Yasuo himself. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising if Yone had a skill set and playstyle similar to Yasuo’s.
Furthermore, let’s take a look at Yone’s card in Legends of Runeterra. This card has the ability to stun 2 opposing units. It is possible that Riot Games will bring this effect, or alter it slightly to create some form of crowd control for Yone. Thus, Yone will be a type of assassin with high damage, likely with additional crowd control capabilities.
So, the biggest question is when will Yone be released? Lillia has been confirmed by Riot Games to be released in patch 10.15, and this champion is already available on the PBE server. Riot Games has not had a tradition of releasing multiple champions at once in recent years (unless they are closely related like Xayah and Rakan), so it is very likely that Yone will be released 1-2 patches later.
This is further confirmed by the fact that alongside the introduction of the new champion Lillia, Riot also launched 4 Flora Spirit skins for Yasuo, Teemo, Thresh, and Vayne. However, according to leaked information on social media, we will also have skins for Cassiopeia, Ahri, Riven, Kindred, and of course Yone as well. It is likely that the upcoming Flora Spirit skins will be released alongside Yone’s entry into League of Legends.
