Dark Star Skins

Dark Star is one of those skinlines that just gets it. The whole concept - champions consumed by cosmic void energy, warped into gravitational nightmares - landed perfectly when Riot first dropped it back in 2016. Been seeing these skins in my ranked games for years now and the aesthetic never gets old. Purple-black color palette, event horizon VFX, that deep space vibe across every ability. Not sure if it's just me but Dark Star might be the most visually cohesive line Riot has ever put together. 22 skins deep and still going strong.

What Makes Dark Star Stand Out on the Rift

The visual identity is immediately recognizable. Every Dark Star skin shares this deep violet and black core palette with swirling cosmic particles. Think black holes, collapsing stars, gravitational distortion. The VFX team went hard on the particle effects across the whole line. Abilities trail these dark energy wisps that look like spacetime bending around the champion. Even the recalls pull you into a miniature singularity. Consistent stuff.

Kinda feels like Riot built the entire aesthetic around one question: what if champions were living black holes? The splash arts reinforce this. Every single one features that deep space backdrop with nebula purples and crushed starlight. Theres a weight to the visuals that most skinlines dont have. Cosmic is the lighter counterpart, all blues and golds. Dark Star is the heavy side. The corrupted mirror.

Compare it to something like Odyssey or Pulsefire. Those lines lean sci-fi but stay clean and techy. Dark Star goes full eldritch cosmic horror. The sound design matches too. Abilities have this low rumbling bass underneath, like gravity warping around your speakers. Played maybe 40 games on Dark Star Thresh last season and the hook sound alone is worth the price. That deep pull sound when you land Q in a teamfight. Chef's kiss moment right there.

(Random aside: the Dark Star game mode from 2017 where you played as Thresh pulling people into black holes was peak League event design and I will die on that hill.)

The line also splits into two sub-themes. You got standard Dark Star skins and Dark Cosmic skins. Dark Cosmic tends to be the premium treatment - Lux, Jhin, Lissandra, Diana all got the Dark Cosmic label with more elaborate VFX. Regular Dark Star skins are mostly Epic tier at 1350 RP. The distinction matters because Dark Cosmic skins feel like the evolved version. More detail, more particle work, stronger splash art composition.

Best Dark Star Skins Worth Your RP

Real talk though. Dark Cosmic Jhin is the crown jewel. Not just of this skinline but arguably one of the best skins in the entire game. The way his abilities paint the cosmos across the Rift is something else. His W shoots a beam of collapsing starlight across the lane. His ult turns you into a cosmic sniper firing dark matter rounds from across the map. Been spamming this in Diamond since it dropped and I still notice new particle details. The curtain call shots leave these lingering void marks on the ground. 1820 RP Legendary and it earns every point.

Dark Cosmic Lux sits right next to Jhin. Could be wrong here but I think this is her best skin period, and she has like fifteen of them. The dual form with Cosmic Lux gives you the light side too but Dark Cosmic is the one people lock in. Her ult fires this massive dark energy beam that distorts the screen. The E particles scatter like dying stars. 1820 RP Legendary that actually justifies the price tag for Lux mains.

Dark Star Thresh deserves the third spot. One of the oldest in the line, released 2016, and still holds up. This was back when Legendary skins were less common and Riot put real effort into making each one feel special. His hook animation is different, the lantern glows with void energy, and the flay particles have this gravitational pull effect. Seen this skin in bot lane more times than I can count. Support mains love it.

Dark Star Sylas rounds out the Legendaries. Might be overthinking it but Sylas feels like an odd pick for this line thematically. His whole kit is about stealing abilities, not cosmic destruction. That said the execution is solid. His passive chains trail dark energy, the ult steal animation looks incredible when you're ripping cosmic power from enemies. Played against one last Tuesday in a ranked game and the visual noise from his teamfight combos was honestly impressive.

Dark Star Cho'Gath deserves a mention even though its Mythic tier and most people will never own it. The stacking size increase with dark cosmic energy growing larger each feast stack is the kind of thematic design that makes this line special. Massive Cho'Gath consuming the Rift like an actual black hole. Perfect champion for the theme.

The Dark Star Champion Roster

22 skins across 19 champions. Not gonna lie, the roster is stacked. Riot clearly put thought into which champions fit the cosmic horror angle. Some picks are obvious. Thresh with chains of dark energy. Cho'Gath literally consuming everything. Varus firing arrows of compressed starlight. Orianna's ball becoming a miniature black hole. These just work.

Then you got picks that surprised me. Shaco in the Dark Star universe? Felt weird at first but the boxes spawning as little void traps actually fits. Karma was another one I didnt expect. Her mantra abilities with the dark cosmic overlay look clean though. Not every champion needs to be a monster or edgelord to work in the line.

Jarvan IV and Malphite bring the engage fantasy. Imagine J4 ulting and trapping the enemy backline in a singularity arena. Malphite R with dark energy trailing behind. These are the skins you lock in when you want your engage to look terrifying. Both Epic tier at 1350 RP.

Some champions I think Riot missed though. Aurelion Sol in Dark Star? That's the most obvious pick in history and it still hasnt happened. Bel'Veth consuming stars. Vel'Koz as a void-cosmic hybrid. (Sidebar for space fantasy enjoyers specifically: the fact that ASol doesn't have a Dark Star skin is criminal and everyone knows it.) Xerath got one and it works, pure energy champion wrapped in dark matter. Diana and Lissandra both got the Dark Cosmic treatment and fit the aesthetic naturally.

Tier Breakdown and Pricing

The split is interesting. 14 Epic skins at 1350 RP, 4 Legendaries at 1820 RP, and 4 Mythic tier skins. No budget options here. The floor is 1350 RP which means every Dark Star skin gets at least new particles, new recall, and model changes. No 750 RP texture swaps cluttering the line.

The Legendaries carry the prestige. Dark Cosmic Jhin, Dark Cosmic Lux, Dark Star Thresh, Dark Star Sylas. All four are genuine Legendary quality with new VO, new animations, the full package. Could be coping but I think this line has the best Legendary-to-total ratio of any skinline in the game. Four out of 22 is almost 20% Legendary representation.

Epic tier does heavy lifting though. Skins like Dark Star Kha'Zix, Dark Star Orianna, and Dark Star Varus punch above their weight class. The shared VFX language means even 1350 RP skins look cohesive and premium next to the Legendaries. Price range runs 1350 to 1820 RP. Fair pricing across the board. No one's getting ripped off here.

Mythic tier includes Dark Star Cho'Gath and the two Prestige variants for Malphite and Diana. These are the flex picks. Loot exclusive or event-gated. Season 8 or 9 I think when Cho'Gath's dropped, dont remember exactly. Point is you're either lucky or dedicated to get these ones.