Battle Academia Katarina

Battle Academia Katarina gives the Sinister Blade an anime academy student makeover and it fits better than you would expect. May 15, 2019 release alongside the first Battle Academia wave with Ezreal, Lux, Jayce, and Graves. Atey Ghailan did the splash showing Katarina in her academy uniform mid-dagger throw. The whole “assassin student at a superpowered school” concept works because Katarina’s kit is already flashy enough to belong in a shonen anime.

Academy daggers in action

The model puts Katarina in a red and black academy uniform with modified daggers that have an energy-blade aesthetic. Shorter skirt, thigh-high boots, the usual anime academy tropes done well. Not gonna lie the design walks a fine line between anime fan service and actually cool champion design and I think it lands on the right side. Bouncing Blades on Q throws an energy dagger that bounces between targets with red particle trails. The bounce kill on a minion wave has a satisfying red flash. Preparation on W drops daggers around Katarina with energy circle indicators that pulse before she picks them up. The W dagger pickup reset into E feels snappy with the energy effects.

Shunpo on E blinks to a target or dagger with a red flash effect. Death Lotus on R channels the spin with energy daggers flying outward in rapid succession. The R channel on Battle Academia specifically has these red energy streaks that make the spin look faster than base. Could be just the particle color contrast against the green Rift but the R visual always felt more urgent to me on this skin. Jumped into a 3v3 skirmish at dragon pit with this skin last week and the R channel painted the entire pit red for 2.5 seconds. My support Thresh lanterned out mid-channel and I almost didnt notice because I was staring at the particle effects.

Eight chromas: Ruby, Formal, Sapphire, Tanzanite, Obsidian, Catseye, Rose Quartz, and Pearl. The Formal chroma puts Katarina in a white and gold variant that looks like dress uniform. Obsidian goes dark and menacing. No new voice lines. Tara Platt’s Katarina voice applies. New recall. 1350 RP in the shop. Part of the Battle Academia skinline.

Among Katarina’s options

Katarina has Battle Queen at Legendary which is her premium pick with full voice rework. Battle Academia sits in the Epic tier alongside stuff like Death Sworn and Slay Belle. At 1350 RP with 8 chromas Battle Academia is strong value for Katarina mains who want variety without Legendary pricing. The Formal chroma alone is worth considering if you want a different look from the base red.

Maybe just my experience but I see more Battle Academia Katarinas in Diamond than any of her other Epic skins. Could be the anime aesthetic attracting the Katarina player demographic or could just be that the skin genuinely looks good in game. (sidebar: every Katarina player I know has at least three of her skins and still defaults to either this or Battle Queen depending on the mood) The R channel visual with the red energy streaks is honestly one of the better looking Death Lotus variants across all her skins. Top pick for Katarina mains who want anime energy without Legendary pricing.