Elderwood Hecarim

First time I saw this skin load in, I thought someone modded Hecarim into a completely different game. Elderwood Hecarim takes the Shadow of War and turns him into this ancient forest spirit thing, covered in bark and moss and glowing amber energy. Not what you expect from a champion whose whole identity is “ghost centaur charges at you and you die.” Been running this in Diamond for a while now and honestly the transformation from undead cavalry to woodland guardian hits harder than most Epic skins manage.

What Elderwood Hecarim actually changes

The model rework is substantial for a 1350 RP skin. Hecarim’s armor is gone, replaced with twisted roots and living wood that wraps around his body. His weapon becomes this massive branch-like glaive with leaves still attached. The whole silhouette reads differently on the Rift. Darker greens and browns with those signature Elderwood amber accents running through the cracks in his bark-skin.

VFX got a full pass. His Q procs send out these leafy green slashes instead of the standard spectral swipes. Rampage feels crunchier somehow, might just be the color contrast against the map. W healing circle becomes this ring of roots and nature energy pulling from enemies around you. Looks clean in teamfights when you’re diving the backline and need to sustain through the burst.

E charge-up is where it gets good. The spectral gallop turns into this rushing trail of leaves and branches, and the impact on hit scatters foliage everywhere. Satisfying. His R, Onslaught of Shadows, sends out these woodland specters instead of ghost riders. Could be wrong here but I think the ult riders look like deer spirits? Hard to tell at full speed when you’re engaging on four people in dragon pit. The recall animation has Hecarim communing with nature, roots growing up around him. Standard Elderwood fantasy stuff but well executed.

Voice lines stay base, no new VO. For an Epic tier thats expected. The visual package carries the skin on its own.

The Elderwood line and where Hecarim fits

Released November 25, 2015. Season 5 was winding down around then. Victor ‘3rdColossus’ Maury nailed the splash, the composition with Hecarim emerging from a dark forest canopy is one of the better Elderwood pieces in the whole line. The amber glow in his eyes against that deep green backdrop. Strong work.

Elderwood as a skinline is one of Riot’s more consistent themes. You got Bard, Veigar, Ahri, Ornn all in there. Hecarim was an early addition and I think he fits the fantasy better than half the roster they added later. Something about a centaur becoming a forest creature just works narratively. The Elderwood skins pull from this ancient fae-meets-Ent aesthetic and Hecarim’s bulk sells the “ancient tree spirit” angle perfectly.

No chromas available for this one. Straight base Elderwood or nothing. Kinda feels like Riot missed an opportunity there, a dark autumn variant with reds and oranges would have been incredible. But it is what it is. Shop has it at 1350 RP, permanent availability so no vault anxiety.

Where Elderwood ranks in the Hecarim lineup

Real verdict: Elderwood Hecarim is a top three Hecarim skin and I will die on that hill. The competition is High Noon and Cosmic Charger mostly, with Arcana sneaking in depending on your taste. But Elderwood does something the others dont. It completely reimagines what Hecarim looks like without losing his gameplay clarity.

1350 RP feels fair for what you get. New model, full VFX, new recall. Not gonna lie, I’ve had games where teammates in champ select comment on the skin and that’s always a good sign. Last Thursday in a ranked game my jungler asked if it was new. Skin came out in 2015 my guy. That’s how well it holds up visually even against skins released years later.

(Random aside: the loading screen art for this skin has been my Discord avatar for like two years and nobody has ever identified it correctly. They all think its some indie game character.)

If you main Hecarim or even just play him in the jungle rotation, Elderwood is the pick. Played maybe 200 games with it across multiple seasons and the VFX still look crisp on the current Rift. The green particles read well against Summoner’s Rift terrain without blending in too much. Skip this only if you already own High Noon and don’t want two Hecarim skins competing for lock-in priority. For everyone else grinding jungle clear and looking for a skin that actually transforms the champion feel, 1350 RP well spent for mains. Been daily driving this since season 10 I think or 11 dont remember, and I keep coming back even after trying every other Hecarim skin in the shop.