League of Legends' next champion revealed, is partial to sand

It's only a few weeks after the release of Gnar, and Riot are again announcing a new Champion for League of Legends. Azir is his name; or, more formally, the ~~King~~ Emperor of the Sands. They've run-down his play style in a detailed new profile .

As for how the hero utilises these soldiers, Riot explains that players don't appreciate minions that run off, and also that direct-controlled minions aren't a great fit for the game's control system. With this in mind, they created a system where soldier placement is of primary importance, and where soldiers only respond to Azir's right-click command. "This makes both Azir and his enemy understand that a conscious command was given to the soldier," Riot explains. "This also means that if Azir is stunned or running away, soldiers cease to be a threat. All of a sudden, Azir's opponent can comfortably aggress."

For more, head to Riot's announcement post. So far, the studio has not revealed the Champion's release date.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.