Cosmic Paladins Nunu & Willump

First game I played with Cosmic Paladins Nunu & Willump was around 1 AM on a Tuesday, duo queue with my support main buddy. Loaded into the Rift and immediately noticed how different Willump looks when you’re rolling through river. The whole cosmic theme turns this goofy yeti-and-kid duo into something that actually feels intimidating in the jungle. Not sure if it’s just me but there’s something about the starfield textures on Willump that makes ganking bot lane feel more dramatic than it has any right to be.

How Cosmic Paladins changes the kit

Willump’s model is the star here. Completely reworked with deep blue and gold cosmic plating, constellation patterns running across his arms and chest. Nunu sits on top looking like a tiny celestial knight. Pretty clean redesign for an Epic tier skin.

The Q chomp has new VFX with cosmic energy particles that burst on contact. Looks good in jungle clear, gives you that visual feedback when you’re consuming camps at speed. W is where it really shines though. Been running this in Diamond for maybe 40 games and the snowball turning into a rolling cosmic orb with trailing stars is genuinely one of the better ability reskins Nunu & Willump has gotten. You can see it from across the lane when you’re rolling in for a gank, which honestly might be a slight competitive disadvantage because the enemy ADC spots it faster. Worth it for the style points.

E snowballs become little cosmic projectiles. Subtle change but they read well against the Rift background. The R blizzard zone gets a full cosmic overlay with swirling galaxies and nebula effects. Locked a Jinx inside it last week near dragon pit and my team was pinging the VFX in chat. Voice lines stay base, no new VO for this one. Standard for 1350 RP. The recall animation is new though, Nunu and Willump do this constellation-mapping thing thats actually pretty charming.

Could be wrong here but I think the auto attack animations feel slightly different too. Might just be the new particle colors messing with my perception. Either way the whole package reads as cosmic without being too busy on screen during teamfights.

The Cosmic line and release context

Cosmic Paladins Nunu & Willump dropped August 30, 2023. Late season 13. Huyy Nguyen and West Studio handled the artwork, they captured the paladin fantasy well in the splash. Nunu holding that cosmic lance with Willump towering behind him in full celestial armor. Solid composition.

The Cosmic skinline is one of Riot’s more consistent themes. You’ve got Cosmic Queen Ashe, Cosmic Reaver Kassadin, Cosmic Enchantress Lulu. Nunu & Willump fits the line naturally since Willump already has that magical creature energy. Turning him into a cosmic guardian instead of a yeti just works. (Random aside: I have the splash as my Discord server banner and nobody has complained yet.)

8 chromas total for this skin. Obsidian is my go-to, the dark cosmic look hits harder than the base color scheme. Amethyst leans into a purple constellation vibe that reads really well on Willump’s armor plates. Pearl is clean if you want that bright celestial paladin look. Rest of them are fine but those three stand out from the pack. Shop has it at 1350 RP, permanent availability so no rush.

Comparing to other Nunu & Willump skins

Nunu & Willump doesn’t have the deepest skin catalog. Space Groove exists and it’s fun but very different energy. Nunu Beelump is the meme pick. Papercraft is creative but niche. Cosmic Paladins sits in this sweet spot where it’s both visually impressive and not too over the top for ranked play. Been daily driving it over everything else in my Nunu & Willump rotation since about October 2023.

For jungle mains who play Nunu & Willump as a comfort pick for engage comps, this skin just feels right. The cosmic VFX on W rolling into a teamfight, the R zone looking like you’re trapping people in a galaxy. It adds weight to a champion that sometimes feels too playful for serious ranked games. Season 13 I was spamming Nunu in Diamond 2 and this skin made the grind more bearable, real talk though.

Should you buy it?

Verdict time. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. New VFX across the board, solid recall, strong model changes on both Nunu and Willump. No new voice lines but thats standard at this price point. The Cosmic theme elevates Nunu & Willump without losing the champion’s identity.

Skip it if you already own Space Groove and only play Nunu occasionally. But if you main Nunu & Willump or even have them in your jungle rotation for when you need reliable engage and peel, Cosmic Paladins is the pick. Arguably the best Nunu & Willump skin if you want something that looks competitive on the Rift without going full joke mode. The Obsidian chroma specifically turns it into S-tier territory. 1350 RP well spent for mains, maybe wait for Your Shop if you’re on the fence.