Crime City Graves

First time I saw Crime City Graves in a loading screen I thought someone modded a Godfather skin into League. Straight up gangster vibes. Been running this on Graves since season 4 and honestly its one of those skins that just feels right for the champion. No flashy particles, no over-the-top recall animation. Just Graves looking like he walked out of a 1920s speakeasy with a shotgun.

What Crime City Graves actually changes

So this is a Standard tier skin at 975 RP, and for that price you get a full model swap. Graves trades his usual outlaw look for a pinstripe suit, fedora, and what I think is a tommy gun-styled shotgun. The whole aesthetic screams prohibition-era crime boss. No new VFX on the abilities though. Your Q, W, E, R all look the same as base Graves. Voice lines stay base too. Kinda feels like Riot could have at least tinted the smokescreen darker or something, but for a 2012 skin at this price point I’m not gonna complain too hard.

The model itself holds up surprisingly well. The suit texture is clean, the hat has a nice silhouette that reads well in teamfights, and the weapon model is probably the best part. In lane you can tell immediately this isnt default Graves. Had a game last Wednesday where my support thought I was playing a different champion for the first three minutes. Not even kidding.

No new recall animation either. You just stand there looking menacing, which honestly fits the vibe. Not every skin needs to do a backflip. (Random aside: this skin pairs perfectly with the cigar-back era of Graves splash arts and I miss that energy.)

The Crime City line and where Graves fits

Crime City as a skinline is one of Riot’s older thematic groups. Graves dropped into it on April 2, 2012, back when the game looked completely different. OldGun-K handled the artwork on the splash. They captured that noir atmosphere well, Graves leaning against what looks like a vintage car with city lights behind him. The composition works.

The Crime City lineup includes Twitch, Miss Fortune, Braum, and a bunch of others. Could be wrong here but I think Graves was one of the earliest entries in this line. The whole concept makes sense for his character. Graves is already a criminal in the lore, an outlaw running jobs across Bilgewater. Putting him in a suit and giving him organized crime energy instead of wild west outlaw energy is a natural pivot.

Zero chromas on this one. What you see is what you get. Shop has it permanently so no need to wait for vault rotations or pray for a chest drop. 975 RP, always there.

Should you pick up Crime City Graves?

Real verdict: if you’re a Graves main looking for something clean and understated, this delivers. Not gonna lie, in my Diamond games I see maybe one Crime City Graves per season. Most people gravitate toward Battle Professor or Sentinel these days. But thats exactly why I keep coming back to it. Standing out in champ select by picking the skin nobody runs anymore hits different.

975 RP feels fair for what you get. The model quality punches above its weight for a Standard skin from 2012. You’re not getting new particles, no new voice, no recall animation. Just a solid reskin that nails the fantasy. If you want the full Legendary experience with new VO and ability effects, look elsewhere. But if you want Graves looking like he’s about to make someone an offer they cant refuse while you clear jungle camps at 2 AM on a Tuesday night, this is the one.

Been maining Graves with this skin on and off for years and the only thing I’d change is maybe adding some cigar smoke particles to the W. Missed opportunity there. But for the price, for the aesthetic, for the raw cool factor of running a mobster in bot lane or jungle, Crime City Graves earns its spot in the collection. Skip it if you need flashy VFX. Lock it in if you respect the classics.