Cosmic Sting Skarner

First time I saw Cosmic Sting Skarner load into my game I thought someone was playing a different champion entirely. The silhouette reads completely different from base Skarner. Purple and gold celestial armor, constellation patterns running across the shell, the whole scorpion fantasy reimagined as some kind of cosmic entity. Played against one in a ranked game around 2 AM on a Wednesday, season 11 I think, and the VFX genuinely distracted me in a teamfight. Not gonna lie, I bought it the next day.

What Cosmic Sting actually changes on Skarner

For an Epic skin at 1350 RP, Cosmic Sting Skarner delivers solid value on the visual side. New VFX across the board. His Q pulses with stellar energy, these swirling purple and gold particles that trail behind each swing. The E projectile looks like a comet streaking across the lane, way more satisfying to land than base. Impale on R drags enemies through what looks like a miniature galaxy. Clean stuff.

The recall animation is where Riot put extra effort. Skarner channels cosmic energy and basically becomes a constellation himself before warping back to base. Been running this skin in Diamond for a while now and the recall still doesnt get old. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, which is expected at this price point. Standard for Epic tier.

Model-wise the armor plating shifts from rocky crystal scorpion to this sleek celestial design. Gold trim on dark purple. The tail stinger glows with that signature Cosmic line energy. Could be wrong here but I think the auto attack animations feel slightly snappier with this skin, even though thats obviously just perception. In the bot lane specifically during ganks the stinger trail is way more visible than base, which I guess helps your ADC read your engage better.

The Cosmic line and where Skarner fits

Released November 24, 2020. Late into season 10, right before preseason chaos. Terence ‘Terrylefruit’ Cantal and West Studio handled the artwork, and they captured the celestial theme perfectly. The splash has Skarner floating through deep space surrounded by star formations. Banger composition.

The Cosmic skinline is one of Riot’s more consistent thematic sets. Cosmic Lux, Cosmic Destiny Nami, Cosmic Hunter Varus – they all share that deep space purple-gold palette. Skarner fits naturally into the lineup. Kinda feels like he was designed for this theme from the start, the scorpion shape translating into a constellation creature just works.

8 chromas total for Cosmic Sting Skarner. Tanzanite goes deeper into the purple space vibe and I think it reads better than the base in most lighting. Obsidian flips the whole skin dark, almost void-adjacent, which hits different on the Rift. Citrine swaps to warm gold tones – nice contrast but not my pick. (Random aside: the Tanzanite chroma has been my desktop wallpaper since like March 2021 and nobody has questioned it yet.) Shop has it, permanent availability, so no vault anxiety.

Is Cosmic Sting Skarner worth 1350 RP?

Okay, the real question. For Skarner mains this is a no-brainer. Before the rework there were maybe four Skarner skins worth considering and Cosmic Sting sat comfortably at the top. The VFX package alone justifies the Epic price. Q particles, E comet trail, R galaxy drag – every ability got meaningful visual upgrades.

Played maybe 200 games with this skin across seasons 11 and 12. The clarity on abilities is genuinely better than base, which matters when you’re trying to peel for your backline or lock down a priority target in late-game teamfights. Seen maybe 5 other Cosmic Sting Skarners in my games total, so it’s rare enough that you wont run into mirrors constantly.

If you one-trick Skarner or even just pull him out for jungle clear sessions in specific comps, 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. Only real competition is Battlecast Alpha if you prefer the mecha aesthetic, but Cosmic Sting wins on VFX quality. Top pick for Skarner mains. Simple change from base – huge impact on how the champion feels to play. That ranked game where my Kayn inted top and I had to hard carry from jungle, this skin made the experience at least visually enjoyable while I was spamming ganks pre-6. Worth it.