Soul Reaver Draven

First time I saw Soul Reaver Draven in a loading screen back in 2012, I thought somebody modded their client. The skin looked nothing like anything Riot had put out for Draven at that point. Dark ethereal axes, ghostly trail effects, the whole undead executioner vibe. Been running this in Diamond on and off for years now and honestly its one of those skins that aged way better than it had any right to.

What the skin actually changes on Draven

The axes are the star here. Spinning Axe on Q gets this spectral green-blue glow that trails behind Draven as he catches and throws. Not gonna lie, the particles on the axes mid-flight feel cleaner than base by a wide margin. Easier to track your axes in a teamfight when they’re glowing like souls ripped out of the Rift.

W activation gives off this dark burst. Subtle but noticeable. The E – Stand Aside – throws out shadowy energy that reads well against most lane backgrounds. You know what surprised me? How the R looks on this skin. Whirling Death sends out these massive spectral axes across the map and the return animation has this faint trail that just hits different from default Draven.

No new voice lines on this one. Voice stays default. Erik Braa’s Draven VO is iconic enough that it works fine, the cocky attitude fits the death reaper aesthetic in a weird way. No new recall animation either, which is fair for a 2012 Epic skin. Back then Riot wasnt doing custom recalls on every 1350 RP release.

The model itself goes full undead warrior. Bone-like armor, spectral energy leaking from gaps in the plating, and the axes themselves look like soul-harvesting weapons rather than spinning blades. The color palette sits in dark teals and blacks. Clean silhouette in lane.

Death Sworn origins and the 2012 release window

Soul Reaver Draven dropped June 5, 2012. Early season 2 era. Draven himself had just come out that same patch cycle, so this was basically a launch skin for the champion. Kienan ‘Knockwurst’ Lafferty nailed the splash – the composition with Draven surrounded by captured souls, axes raised, the whole power fantasy angle.

Part of the Death Sworn skinline. The Death Sworn line is one of Riot’s more understated thematic sets. Not as flashy as Spirit Blossom or Star Guardian but it has this grim reaper energy that works for certain champions. Draven fits the Death Sworn fantasy naturally because the guy already treats every kill like a performance. Adding soul-reaving to his kit just amplifies the ego.

Kinda feels like Riot designed this skin specifically to give Draven mains something dark to contrast his base model’s gladiator look. And it worked. I’ve seen maybe 4 or 5 Soul Reaver Dravens in my ranked games this season alone, which is solid for a skin from 2012. (Random aside: the splash art was my desktop wallpaper for like three months back in season 3, no regrets.)

Is Soul Reaver Draven worth the 1350 RP?

Real verdict: for a 2012 Epic this holds up. The VFX on axes carry the skin hard. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get, especially if you’re an ADC main who locks in Draven regularly. Could be wrong here but I think this competes with skins that cost more. The spectral axe particles alone make cs-ing feel satisfying in a way base Draven doesn’t match.

Shop has it. Permanent availability so no rushing to grab it during some vault rotation. If you one-trick Draven or even just pull him out for ranked when your team needs AD pressure in bot lane, Soul Reaver belongs in your collection. Played maybe 200 games with this skin across multiple seasons and I keep coming back to it over flashier options. Last Tuesday around 2 AM I was spamming Draven in a late night session and Soul Reaver just felt right for the grind.

Skip it if you already own Fright Night or La Ilusion and only want one Draven skin. But if you’re building out the full Draven wardrobe, Soul Reaver is the dark horse pick that quietly outperforms half the newer releases. Top pick for Draven mains who want something that reads aggressive in lane without being over the top.