This goes double for Xerath, as the dude is a walking skill shot. However, it can be somewhat hard to feel all that prideful when you’re playing a champion whose visuals aged like room temperature milk. Skins it is, I suppose. And to help us make this tough decision, let’s dive into Xerath’s skins and rank them all.
6. Battlecast Xerath
Released: October 5th, 2011 Price: 520 RP This skin had the potential to be an excellent budget choice, but it kinda failed miserably. Yes, it is an extremely cheap skin that technically offers a brand new look. But the look is so unoriginal that it just feels like a Xerath you ordered on Wish or something. The character model for the skin just looks like a wonkier version of the base design, and the abilities are lazily painted over. There’s also a bit of insult to injury as the Battlecast skin-line usually delivers some incredibly well-made skins. There’s only one other Xerath skin that’s on the cheaper side of things (Runeborn Xerath) so if you’re really pinching your pennies I would suggest opting for that one.
5. Scorched Earth Xerath
Released: July 13th, 2012 Price: 1350 RP Battlecast Xerath is the only skin I genuinely didn’t like, so it’s all minor nit-picks from here. And to keep things rolling, Scorched Earth Xerath looks pretty dope to be honest. The splash art is cool, and all of the abilities were made to resemble fire or lava in one way or another. Stand out features for me personally are his new E animation, as it looks a lot more impactful, and the fire circle around Xerath when casting his ult – for some intimidation points. I was a bit disappointed that the skin offered no unique backing animation. But the main reason why I put it this low is because of its theme. The top three skins in this ranking all have really interesting designs that either add something to the character, or seem lore-friendly, white Scorched Earth Xerath just looks a bit bland.
4. Runeborn Xerath
Released: October 5th, 2011 Price: 750 RP Runeborn Xerath is just okay across the board. It’s not as visually interesting as Scorched Earth Xerath, but it also costs a lot less, making the bang per buck a little higher. The theme seems like a good fit for the champion, introducing this druid, nature-type vibe to his character model design and recoloring the abilities to better fit the overall theme. I really like how he’s held together by vines, and the engraving on his chest piece really sells the whole magic story. All in all, not the best Xerath skin you’ll find in League of Legends. But a very good pick if you want to budget your RP purchase addiction and have a higher standard than “make him red”.
3. Guardian of the Sands Xerath
Released: April 26th, 2015 Price: 1350 RP If you’re an avid Necrit enjoyer, this skin probably holds a special place in your heart. I say this because it honestly looks like the only lore-friendly skin in Xerath’s catalogue. When you hear the word “Shurima”, you think yellow, sandy, and full of bugs. I’m looking at you Azir. Well this skin brings you exactly that. The character model looks like a true Shurima power-house, and all his abilities pay homage to this theme in some way. Plus, they’re all clean as hell. The only reason this skin sits here in the ranking is because the following skins do something so cool thematically that lore-friendliness goes straight out of the window.
2. Dark Star Xerath
Released: March 26th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP This is one of those skins that just instantly makes sense. When you look at the base character model for Xerath, it isn’t instantly clear just how powerful the dude is. But when you look at Dark Star Xerath and see a literal black hole in his center, you get a pretty decent impression of what you’re dealing with. Plus, let’s be honest here: the Dark Star skin line is almost always epic. The whole cosmic vibe just fits Xerath so perfectly that it could easily substitute his base skin. Plus the ability animations are all very distinct and detailed, mixing those blues and purples with some reds and yellows to indicate the abilities’ hitboxes. And this skin features a brand new recall animation, which is quite rare in this line-up.
1. Arcana Xerath
Released: May 13th, 2021 Price: 1350 RP Arcana Xerath honestly has no business being as good as it is. Even though Xerath’s whole schtick is not having a face and being this blob of energy, this skin just looks too dope to pass up. Maybe it’s because of all the anime that I watch, but this skin just makes you feel like some overpowered demon lord who’s ready to take names and snipe some fools. And the ability animations are just drop-dead brilliant, with the Q ability being exceptionally badass by adding a portal through which the ability travels. Additionally, as if all of that wasn’t cool enough, Riot also added a brand new backing animation in order to really seal the deal! When you take all of this into account, along with the fact that it has the same price tag as most of the other Xerath skins, it just becomes a no-brainer. Note: this content was created under Riot Games’ “Legal Jibber Jabber” policy using assets owned by Riot Games. Riot Games does not endorse or sponsor this project.
