Lunar Eclipse Leona

Not gonna lie, the first time I saw Lunar Eclipse Leona load into my game I had to double-take the champion portrait. Leona looking like a villain. The entire color palette flips from warm golds to cold silvers and deep purples, and it changes how you feel playing her. Completely different energy. I locked this in for maybe 40 ranked games straight when it dropped back in November 2018 and the amount of “nice skin” comments in all chat was wild.

The dark side of Leona’s kit

This is a Legendary skin so everything changes. New model, new VFX on every ability, new voice lines from Wendee Lee, new recall animation. The whole package. Leona’s Q feels heavier with the lunar particles, this dark crescent impact that slams into whoever you’re stunning. Looks brutal in lane.

W is where it gets interesting. The shield effect wraps Leona in this eclipse aura, dark purple and silver swirling around her. In teamfights when you pop W and dive the backline the visual noise actually helps sell the threat. Played against a Jinx last week who flash-healed my engage purely because the VFX made it look scarier than it was. Could be wrong here but I think the skin genuinely gives you a psychological edge.

E, the Zenith Blade, leaves this trail of moonlight when it connects. Clean animation, easy to track. Not a gameplay advantage obviously but it reads well. The R though. Solar Flare becomes Lunar Flare essentially, this massive dark eclipse crater that slams down. Best ult VFX on any Leona skin, period. The impact zone has these concentric rings of purple and silver energy and the slow field afterwards looks menacing. Been playing support in Diamond for years and landing a five-man ult with this skin just hits different than default.

Recall animation has Leona channeling dark celestial energy, kneeling with her blade planted. Short and clean. No goofy dance, no meme recall. Fits the tone perfectly.

Voice lines carry this skin hard

The new VO is what separates Lunar Eclipse Leona from just being a purple chroma on steroids. Wendee Lee shifts the delivery from righteous paladin to something colder. More calculating. Lines reference the eclipse, the balance between sun and moon, the corruption of light. Theres a weight to the voice that base Leona doesnt have.

(Random aside: I use one of her kill lines as my notification sound and my duo partner hates it.) The interactions with Solar Eclipse Leona are a nice touch too if you ever run into one in game. Rare but it happens. Saw it once in a normal around 1 AM on a Tuesday, both Leonas on opposite teams. The lobby went crazy.

Kinda feels like Riot put extra effort into the Eclipse line specifically because it was their first real “dual legendary” release. Solar and Lunar Eclipse Leona launched together, same patch, same price, pick your side. The Eclipse skinline as a concept really started here before expanding to other champions later. This was the foundation.

Release context and the Eclipse line

Lunar Eclipse Leona dropped November 27, 2018. Late season 8. Esben Lash Rasmussen nailed the splash, the composition with Leona descending from a darkened sky with that crescent blade is one of the better splash arts in the game. Portfolio piece for sure.

The Eclipse skinline has grown a lot since then. Senna, Aatrox, Sivir, others joined later. But Leona remains the cornerstone. Both versions. The lore behind it positions Lunar Eclipse as the darker counterpart, the one who embraced the moon’s power instead of the sun. Simple concept, strong execution.

No chromas on this one. 1820 RP Legendary, what you see is what you get. Permanent shop availability so no vault anxiety. You can grab it whenever. I think the lack of chromas actually works here because the purple and silver palette is so specific to the lunar fantasy that recoloring it would dilute the identity. Not every skin needs eight color variants.

Should you buy Lunar Eclipse Leona?

Real verdict: if you play Leona at all, this is either your first or second skin purchase for her. The competition is Solar Eclipse (same tier, opposite vibe) and maybe PROJECT Leona if you like the tech aesthetic. Lunar Eclipse wins on atmosphere. The dark celestial theme, the VO, the ult VFX. Full Legendary price, earns it.

Been maining Leona with this skin on and off since season 9. Maybe season 10 dont remember exactly when I switched from Solar to Lunar but it stuck. The engage fantasy just reads better in the darker palette. You W flash into three people and the purple explosion sells the play. My ADC knows when I lock in Lunar Eclipse I’m looking for all-ins pre-6 and diving after.

Skip Solar if you have to pick one. Lunar Eclipse Leona is the better executed of the pair. The color contrast against Summoner’s Rift is stronger, the VO tone is more interesting, and the ult crater looks cleaner from a readability standpoint. 1820 RP well spent for mains. If you’re only playing Leona once a month in ARAM, probably wait for a Your Shop discount. But for anyone climbing with her in ranked, this is the skin. Top pick for Leona mains and I dont see that changing anytime soon.