Monster Tamers Skins

Monster Tamers dropped in 2022 and I remember thinking Riot finally did it. They made a skinline that feels like someone on the design team binged pokemon at 3 AM and said "what if we did this but League." Three skins, all Epic, all 1350 RP. Small lineup but honestly? Kinda feels like that works in its favor. The line is tight, focused, and every champion in it actually fits the concept. No filler picks. No "why is this champion here" moments. Been running Monster Tamer Veigar in my Diamond games since it came out and the skin still holds up two years later.

What Makes Monster Tamers Stand Out on the Rift

The visual identity here is strong. Like really strong for a three-skin set. Riot went with this bright, cel-shaded anime aesthetic that sits somewhere between Star Guardian and the old Arcade line but carves out its own space. Think bold outlines, saturated colors, creature companions that actually look like they belong in a different game entirely. The splash arts alone tell you everything you need to know about the vibe.

Not gonna lie, the first time I saw the Monster Tamers trailer I thought it was a joke. A fan concept maybe. The color palette is aggressive. We're talking electric blues, hot pinks, vivid greens. It pops on the Rift in a way that most skinlines dont. You see a Monster Tamer in your ranked lobby and you notice it. Period.

What ties the three skins together is the creature design. Each champion gets a companion monster that integrates into their kit visually. Veigar's got this dark energy creature, Kog'Maw literally becomes the monster (his skin is called Zap'Maw for a reason), and Lulu's Pix gets a full monster redesign. The shared VFX language uses these crackling energy particles with a slightly pixelated edge. Almost like the abilities are being rendered in a retro game engine.

Compare this to something like Dragonmancers which went for a similar "champion plus creature" concept but spread across way more skins and lost coherence. Monster Tamers stays small and every piece of the puzzle fits. The recall animations are probably the highlight across all three. Each one features the champion interacting with their monster companion in these little vignettes that feel like cutscenes from a JRPG. Riot's animation team cooked on those recalls specifically.

(Random aside: I genuinely wish they made a Monster Tamers PvE game mode. The aesthetic screams it.)

Best Monster Tamers Skins Ranked

With only three skins this is less of a ranking and more of a breakdown but here goes. Real talk though, all three are solid Epics. No duds in the set.

Monster Tamer Veigar takes the top spot for me and its not even close. Veigar's kit translates perfectly to the monster tamer fantasy. His W drops this massive creature attack from the sky. His E cage gets these electric barrier effects that look like a capture zone. The R nuke? Feels like you're launching your companion at someone's face. Been spamming this in Diamond since maybe August 2022 and I still get compliments on it in post-game. The little details matter here. His auto attacks have this snappy energy that the base skin lacks.

Might be overthinking it but Veigar was born for this skinline. Short evil mage who commands dark power? Give him a monster to command instead and the whole kit just clicks. His passive stacking even feels thematic. You're powering up your creature every time you land abilities.

Zap'Maw is the creative standout. Renaming Kog'Maw entirely for the skin was a bold move. Instead of being a tamer with a monster, Kog IS the monster. The Void puppy becomes an electric-type creature and honestly it works. His W range indicator gets this charged field effect. The E slow zone looks like an area denial move from a turn-based RPG. Played maybe 40 games with Zap'Maw last season when I was doing ADC flex queue with my duo and the skin just feels clean in lane.

One thing I noticed specifically in teamfights: Zap'Maw's R artillery shots have this distinct visual trail that makes them easier to track than base Kog. Could be wrong here but I think it actually helps your team react to your poke pattern. Small competitive edge maybe.

Monster Tamer Lulu rounds out the trio. Solid execution. Pix becoming a little monster companion is the obvious play and Riot delivered on it. Her W polymorph turns enemies into these cute monster eggs. The E shield gets a creature wrap-around effect. Good skin for support mains who want something colorful without going full Star Guardian.

If I'm being honest, Lulu sits third only because her base kit already has the "companion creature" thing with Pix. The Monster Tamer version is a lateral move aesthetically rather than a transformation. Still worth 1350 RP though. Had this in rotation on my support account for a few months around season 12.

The Champion Roster and Who's Missing

Three champions. Veigar, Kog'Maw, Lulu. That's the whole roster. Small by any standard. Most skinlines Riot launches these days come with four to six skins minimum. Monster Tamers got three and then nothing. No second wave. No additions in 2023 or 2024. Just silence.

The three picks make sense individually. Veigar is the dark mage archetype, perfect for the "trainer who commands power" fantasy. Kog'Maw is literally a creature already so the flip works. Lulu has Pix. All yordles or yordle-adjacent too which gives the line a visual consistency in terms of champion size and proportions.

Not sure if it's just me but the roster feels incomplete. Like Riot had plans for more and shelved them. Heimerdinger would be an obvious addition. Three turrets as three monsters? Come on. Annie with Tibbers as her signature monster practically writes itself. Ivern and Daisy. Malzahar and his voidlings. The concept has legs for days.

Could be coping but I still think a Monster Tamers wave 2 could happen. The community reception was positive. The skins sold well from what I heard on the subreddit around that time. Season 12 was packed with new skinlines though so maybe Monster Tamers just got lost in the shuffle. I remember that ranked game around October 2022 where three people in my lobby were running the full Monster Tamers set. Premade probably but still. People liked these skins.

Who should NOT get a Monster Tamer skin: anyone too edgy. Zed, Kayn, Yone. The line works because its lighthearted. Keep it that way.

Tier and Price Breakdown

This is the simplest breakdown you'll ever read. Three skins. All Epic. All 1350 RP. No Legendary carrying the line. No budget 975 RP option. Just three Epics at the same price point doing the same amount of work.

Honestly thats kind of refreshing. A lot of skinlines lean on one Legendary to justify the whole batch. Star Guardian needs its Legendary Ahri or Kai'Sa to anchor the set. High Noon needs a Legendary cowboy. Monster Tamers just said "here's three good Epics, take it or leave it." Fair warning, that also means none of the three have new voice lines. Base VO across the board. Standard for 1350 RP but worth knowing if you're expecting the full Legendary treatment.

At 1350 each you're looking at 4050 RP for the complete set. Thats roughly $30 USD depending on your RP bundle. For three skins with new models, textures, VFX, SFX, and recall animations? Feels fair. Not a steal but fair. I grabbed the bundle when it launched. No regrets two years in.

The lack of a Prestige or Mythic variant is notable. Every major skinline these days gets at least one Prestige edition. Monster Tamers got nothing. Further evidence that Riot might have pulled back on the line earlier than planned. A Prestige Monster Tamer Veigar with a powered-up monster companion would print money. Riot if you're reading this, you know what to do.

(Sidebar for Veigar mains specifically: this is your second-best skin after Final Boss depending on taste. Different vibes entirely but both S-tier.)