Steel Legion Skins

Steel Legion is one of those skinlines that feels like it came from a completely different era of Riot's design philosophy. Two skins, both dropped in 2013, both built around this militarized techno-knight aesthetic that Riot never really revisited. Been playing Garen and Lux on and off since season 3 and honestly the Steel Legion versions still hold up better than some 2024 releases. Not sure if it's just me but there's something about the chunky armored look mixed with electric blue energy that just reads clean on the Rift. Small line, big impact.

What Makes Steel Legion Stand Out

Kinda feels like Riot took the Demacia aesthetic and asked "what if these guys had actual military tech instead of just swords and shields." The result is this industrial power-armor vibe. Heavy plating, visible energy conduits running through the armor, electric blue VFX on abilities. Both skins share a consistent color palette: gunmetal grey, dark steel, and that signature crackling blue energy that ties everything together.

The splash arts hit hard for 2013 standards. Garen looks like he walked out of a mech anime, full plate armor with glowing joints and this massive electrified sword. Lux gets the same treatment but leaner, more scout-class armor with her baton channeling lightning instead of light. The visual consistency between the two is actually impressive considering how different Garen and Lux play.

What separates Steel Legion from similar armored lines like Mecha or PROJECT is restraint. No over-the-top transformations, no holographic displays floating around the champion. Just solid armor design with integrated energy effects. Played a ranked game last Thursday where I had Steel Legion Garen and my duo was on Steel Legion Lux. The bot lane Jinx asked if we were cosplaying Warhammer 40K. Fair comparison honestly.

(Random aside: the Steel Legion aesthetic would print money if Riot brought it back for modern champions. Imagine Steel Legion Pantheon or Steel Legion Darius. Just saying.)

The VFX work is where the skins earn their keep. Garen's spin gets this electric field effect, his ult drops with crackling energy instead of the standard golden sword. Lux's abilities all swap to blue-white lightning themed particles. For skins from over a decade ago, the particle work reads surprisingly well in teamfights. Could be wrong here but I think these were some of the first skins where Riot really committed to full VFX overhauls on non-Legendary tier.

Best Steel Legion Skins

With only two skins in the line this is more of a head-to-head comparison than a tier list. Real talk though, both skins deliver but for different reasons.

Steel Legion Garen is the standout. Epic tier at 1350 RP, and it earns every point. The model is a complete transformation from base Garen. Gone is the cape-and-armor fantasy knight, replaced with this walking tank of electrified plate mail. His E spin in particular looks incredible with the Steel Legion treatment. Blue lightning arcing off the blade as he spins through a minion wave. Been running this in Diamond games since season 4 probably and the skin still gets comments in lobby. One game around 1 AM a Darius top said "nice skin old man" which I think was a compliment.

The ult is the real selling point. Instead of the giant golden sword dropping from the sky you get this concentrated beam of electric energy. Looks brutal. Feels satisfying. Every time I execute someone with it I swear the visual feedback makes the kill hit different than base Garen ult.

Steel Legion Lux sits at Standard tier, 975 RP. Its a solid skin but you can feel the lower price point compared to Garen's version. The model changes are good, armor design is clean, but the VFX feel slightly less polished. Her Q binding looks great with the electric projectile, and her ult laser in blue-white is arguably better than every other Lux skin except Elementalist. Not gonna lie, for 975 RP this was a steal back in 2013 and still holds value today.

My pick? Garen wins this one. The model quality jump from base to Steel Legion is bigger on Garen, and the Epic tier VFX package makes the difference. But if you main Lux and want something different from the eight million sparkly magical girl options she has, Steel Legion is the one skin that goes full military.

The Champion Roster

Two champions. Garen and Lux. Thats it. Smallest skinline in the game alongside a handful of other two-skin lines. Both are Demacian, both make thematic sense for a militarized tech upgrade. The brother-sister dynamic between Garen and Lux in the lore actually makes this feel intentional rather than random.

Garen fits the Steel Legion concept perfectly. Hes already a frontline engage champion who runs at people and spins. Put him in power armor and the fantasy just clicks. You lock in Steel Legion Garen and your team knows you're here to splitpush top lane and delete anyone who contests you. The armored look matches his playstyle: tanky, in-your-face, no finesse required.

Lux is more interesting because she's the opposite gameplay archetype. Backline poke mage, long range, wants to never get touched. Putting her in military armor creates this weird contrast that actually works. She looks like a tech-enhanced artillery unit, which is basically what Lux is in a teamfight comp. Might be overthinking it but the Steel Legion Lux fantasy is "what if the mage had an exosuit" and I think thats cool.

Who should get added? If Riot ever revives this line, and they probably wont, the obvious picks are other Demacians. Jarvan IV would be perfect. Already has the prince-commander vibe, already wears heavy armor. Give him a Steel Legion treatment with electric flag and lance and its an instant buy. Galio too. Imagine a Steel Legion Galio with lightning wings. Fiora could work if they went more rapier-mech pilot instead of full tank.

(Sidebar: the fact that Riot made two Steel Legion skins in 2013 and never touched it again is one of those decisions I'll never understand. The line had legs.)

Tier and Price Breakdown

Simple breakdown here. One Epic at 1350 RP, one Standard at 975 RP. No Legendaries, no Mythics, no Prestige editions. Total cost to own the complete Steel Legion collection is 2325 RP. Cheapest full skinline completion in the game probably.

The Epic tier Garen skin carries the line from a quality standpoint. Full model, new VFX, new recall animation. For 1350 RP in 2013 this was premium content. Compared to modern 1350 RP Epics it holds up surprisingly well. The VFX are clean even if they're not as flashy as something from 2024.

Standard tier Lux at 975 RP is the budget option. New model, some VFX changes, but you can tell the budget was lower. No unique recall animation, base voice lines stay. For context, 975 RP skins barely exist anymore in Riot's current pricing model. Everything is either 1350 or higher now. So Steel Legion Lux is from a pricing era that doesnt exist anymore.

Are they worth the RP? For Garen mains, absolutely. Steel Legion Garen competes with God-King and Dreadknight as his best skins. For Lux mains, its harder to recommend when Elementalist exists at 3250 RP and does everything better. But if you want a non-magical, military Lux? This is literally your only option. Fair warning, neither skin goes on sale frequently since they're permanent shop items from 2013.

Both skins sit in the shop permanently. No vault rotation, no loot exclusive nonsense. You can buy them right now for the listed RP prices. Season 13 I picked up Steel Legion Garen during a My Shop discount and havent taken it out of rotation since. Maybe 300 games on it across ranked and normals at this point.