Arcanist Kog'Maw - Splash, Price & Chromas

Not gonna lie, when I first saw Arcanist Kog’Maw on the PBE cycle back in summer 2020 I thought Riot was trolling. A void puppy in a wizard hat? Carrying a little spellbook? Looked ridiculous in the preview. Then I actually loaded into a game with it and the VFX completely sold me. Been running this as my default Kog’Maw skin since patch 10.14 and I dont see that changing anytime soon.

The wizard void puppy actually works

So what does 1350 RP get you here. New model obviously: Kog’Maw wearing a dark purple robe with gold trim, oversized wizard hat that flops around when he walks, and a magical tome strapped to his side. The color palette shifts from void purple-green to deep arcane blues and golds. Solid change.

The VFX are where this Epic tier skin earns its price. Q shoots out a swirling arcane bolt instead of the standard void goop. W range indicator gets these faint runic circles, and the enhanced auto attacks leave little magical particle trails on impact. Played maybe 40 games in Diamond with this last season and the W particles specifically feel cleaner to track your attack range with. Could be wrong here but I think the visual clarity is genuinely better than base.

E lays down a field of glowing arcane sigils instead of the green void puddle. Looks way more distinct on the Rift, especially in teamfights where ground clutter gets messy. R is the standout though. Each Living Artillery shot drops with this magical burst effect, runic circles expanding outward on impact. When you’re spamming R in late-game sieges the screen just lights up with arcane energy. Banger effect.

Recall animation has Kog’Maw flipping through his spellbook, trying to cast something, and predictably it blows up in his face. Cute without being overkill. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, which is expected at this price point.

Arcanists skinline and the details

Arcanist Kog’Maw dropped July 9, 2020 alongside the rest of the Arcanists batch. David Villegas and West Studio handled the artwork, and they captured the whole “magical creature who has no idea what hes doing” energy perfectly in the splash. The Arcanists line is one of Riot’s more charming thematic sets. Kog’Maw fits naturally next to Arcanist Zoe and the others because the whole concept is champions playing with magic they barely understand.

8 chromas total if you want variety. Obsidian is my pick, turns the whole robe dark and gives the VFX a shadowy edge that reads well against most map backgrounds. Rainbow is the wildcard option, genuinely colorful in a way that pops hard in bot lane. Rose Quartz has this soft pink thing going on that I’ve seen maybe twice in my games all season (random aside: my duo partner bought Rainbow day one and refuses to use anything else). Fair warning, the base purple-gold is strong enough that chromas feel optional here.

Still in the shop at 1350 RP. Standard Epic pricing.

Should you lock in Arcanist Kog’Maw?

Real verdict: this is a top pick for Kog’Maw mains. The VFX clarity on W and R alone justify the price if you’re playing ADC Kog’Maw in ranked. Last Tuesday I had a game where I was sieging mid with R spam around 2 AM and the arcane explosions just felt right. Clean impact, good audio feedback, satisfying loop.

If you’re comparing against the rest of his skin catalog, Arcanist Kog’Maw sits comfortably in the top three. Pug’Maw has the meme factor, Battlecast has the Legendary features, but Arcanist hits the sweet spot between visual quality and price. Kinda feels like Riot put extra care into the Arcanists batch overall.

1350 RP feels fair for what you get. The model is charming, VFX are clean across all abilities, and the recall is a nice touch. Skip it if you already own Battlecast and dont play Kog’Maw enough to justify a second skin. But for anyone climbing with the void puppy in their ADC pool this season, Arcanist is the one to grab. S-tier Kog’Maw cosmetic for the price bracket, no question.