Lunar Guardian Nasus

First time I saw Lunar Guardian Nasus load in, I thought someone was running a custom skin. The gold and crimson armor, the lion motif across the whole model. Looked nothing like any Nasus skin I’d seen before. Played maybe 40 games with it that first month and honestly its one of those skins that just feels right on the Rift the second you lock in.

What the skin actually changes

So Lunar Guardian Nasus turns the dog god into a celestial lion guardian. Big shift. The armor is this deep crimson and gold plating with traditional Lunar Revel ornamental design running through it. His staff transforms into this massive jade and gold polearm that catches light during Q stacks in a way thats pretty satisfying to watch.

The VFX overhaul is where this Epic earns the 1350 RP tag. Q empowered strikes drop golden particles on impact. Been stacking in top lane with this skin since season 8 and the Q pop just hits different compared to base. Spirit Fire (E) lays down this red and gold sigil pattern instead of the usual purple circle. Feels cleaner to read in teamfights honestly.

Wither (W) gets golden particle trails. Not sure if it’s just me but the slow effect visually reads harder on enemies when it’s that bright gold color. Ult is the real showpiece though. Nasus grows into this massive armored lion deity with swirling golden energy around him. The size increase combined with the ornamental armor makes you look genuinely intimidating when you pop R and walk at their backline.

New recall animation too. Nasus does this ceremonial lion dance pose. Nice touch.

Voice lines stay base. No VO refresh for an Epic, standard stuff.

The Lunar Revel line and release context

Lunar Guardian Nasus dropped February 8, 2018. Right in time for Lunar New Year that year, obviously. Part of the Lunar Revel skinline alongside Lunar Guardian Warwick if I remember right. Kelly Aleshire nailed the splash art on this one. The composition with Nasus standing guard over what looks like a celestial gate. Portfolio worthy piece.

The Lunar Revel line has always been one of Riot’s more consistent thematic sets. Kinda feels like they put extra effort into the Chinese New Year releases. Nasus fits the guardian lion aesthetic naturally since he’s already got that canine-divine thing going on. Smart pick for the skinline.

4 chromas available. Ruby swaps the color scheme to full red and darker gold, which honestly reads a bit too similar to the base version for my taste. Turquoise is my go-to though, the teal and silver combination looks clean against the Rift’s green tones especially in bot lane river fights. Pearl goes white and light gold for a more heavenly vibe. Meteorite I’ve barely touched, the brown tones dont grab me.

Legacy vault skin so you cant just grab it any time. Gotta wait for the vault rotation or get lucky in Hextech crafting. Seen maybe 5 of these in my Diamond games all season, which is part of the appeal honestly.

Worth the 1350 RP for Nasus mains?

Real verdict: Lunar Guardian Nasus sits in an interesting spot. The VFX work is solid for an Epic tier skin. Q stacking feels rewarding visually. The model redesign is dramatic enough that it genuinely feels like a different champion walking around. (Random aside: the loading screen splash is my second monitor wallpaper at this point.)

Competition is tough though. Infernal Nasus exists at Legendary tier with full VO. Space Groove Nasus does the weird funk thing. Armored Titan goes hard on the mecha fantasy. But for pure aesthetic quality at this price point, Lunar Guardian holds up.

If you main Nasus and you see this pop up during a vault sale or in Your Shop, grab it. 1350 RP well spent for mains. The Turquoise chroma alone makes it worth keeping in rotation. I grinded ranked with this skin through most of season 8 and kept coming back to it even after picking up newer Nasus skins. Could be wrong here but I think the golden VFX on Q stacks are the most satisfying of any Nasus skin below Legendary tier. Last Tuesday around 2 AM I was splitpushing top with 600 stacks and the Q bonks with this skin just never get old. Skip it if you dont play Nasus though, this isn’t a “buy it because it looks cool in collection” skin. It’s a skin that earns its spot through gameplay feel.