Super Galaxy Nidalee

First time I saw Super Galaxy Nidalee load in, I thought someone was playing a different game. The mecha suit, the neon glow, the whole sentai ranger aesthetic. Completely different vibe from every other Nidalee skin. Been maining Nidalee on and off since season 5, and this one caught me off guard when it dropped back in October 2017. Not in a bad way either.

How Super Galaxy changes Nidalee’s kit

The VFX overhaul on this skin is where Riot put the work in. Her Q spear turns into this bright energy projectile with a pink-purple trail that honestly reads better than base in most lighting conditions. Might be overthinking it but I swear the spear feels faster visually even though the hitbox is identical. Could just be the particle thickness playing tricks on my brain.

Cougar form is where things get interesting. The transformation has this mecha shift animation where her suit reconfigures. W pounce leaves behind a burst of energy on the ground. E in cougar form has these sharp claw swipes with light trails. Looks clean in teamfights when you’re diving the backline. Her human E heal got a nice particle update too, projects this holographic shield effect on whoever you target.

The recall animation goes full super sentai. Nidalee strikes a pose, her mecha suit powers up, there’s this whole dramatic sequence. Its one of those recalls you actually want to watch instead of tabbing out to check your phone. I remember spamming the recall in a Diamond game last September just to flex on the enemy toplaner after taking their tower. Petty? Sure. Worth it.

(Random aside: the cougar form model in this skin is genuinely one of the best animal-mech designs Riot has done. Better than Super Galaxy Rumble’s mech and I’ll die on that hill.)

Voice lines stay base, no new VO. Standard for an Epic tier skin at 1350 RP. But the sound effects on abilities are completely redone. Q launch has this energy cannon sound, W pounce gets a mechanical thud on landing, and the transformation between forms has a satisfying mecha click. Real talk though, the audio design carries a lot of the fantasy here.

The Super Galaxy line and where Nidalee fits

Super Galaxy is one of Riot’s older skinlines, started back with Rumble and then expanded to include a bunch of champions. The theme pulls from mecha anime and sentai shows. Nidalee joined the Super Galaxy roster October 16, 2017, alongside a few other champions that patch.

Jennifer Wuestling handled the artwork on the splash. She captured the mecha-jungle hunter vibe perfectly. Nidalee’s posed mid-leap with the cougar form visible in the background, energy radiating from the suit. The color palette leans heavy into pinks and purples which fits the Super Galaxy aesthetic but honestly stands out from Nidalee’s usual earth-tone skins.

No chromas on this one. Zero. Which is a shame because I think an Obsidian or dark variant would have looked incredible on the mecha frame. But it is what it is. Shop has it permanently so you can pick it up whenever.

Compared to the rest of the Super Galaxy lineup, Nidalee’s execution ranks somewhere in the middle. Not as iconic as Rumble’s legendary but way above something like Super Galaxy Fizz which always felt phoned in to me. The dual-form transformation gives Riot more to work with and they used it well here. Been playing maybe 40 games with this skin last month during my Nidalee jungle phase and the novelty hasnt worn off.

Should you lock in Super Galaxy Nidalee?

Straight talk: 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. New VFX across both forms, new sound effects, solid recall, good splash. The mecha theme is polarizing though. If you’re a Nidalee main who likes her traditional hunter fantasy, skins like Headhunter or Warring Kingdoms might click better. Super Galaxy Nidalee is for the people who want something completely different.

I think this sits comfortably in A-tier for Nidalee skins. Not S-tier because the base VO kinda clashes with the mecha aesthetic, and no chromas limits your options. But the VFX work is clean, the cougar transformation feels premium, and the skin reads well in lane and in jungle clear. Three things stood out after grinding ranked with it: Q visibility is better than base, cougar W pounce feels more impactful, and the recall animation never gets old.

If you’re a Nidalee one-trick looking to expand the collection, this is worth the 1350 RP. Not gonna lie, I keep rotating between this and Cosmic Huntress depending on my mood. For anyone who plays Nidalee casually in norms, maybe wait for a sale or Your Shop discount. But for mains who want that mecha fantasy in their jungle games at 2 AM on a Tuesday? Lock it in. Top pick for Nidalee mains who want something outside the usual vibe.