Ruined Pantheon

First time I saw Ruined Pantheon load in, I thought someone modded the game. The whole vibe is so different from base Pantheon that it took me a second to register this was the same champion. Been running this skin since it dropped in season 11 and the corrupted aesthetic just lands perfectly on a warrior character. Something about a guy who literally fought a god now getting consumed by the Black Mist hits different narratively.

How Ruined Pantheon actually looks in game

The model is where the money went. Pantheon’s armor has that cracked, corrupted look with green-black mist seeping through the gaps. His shield and spear both carry the Ruined aesthetic, jagged edges and that sickly green glow. Not gonna lie, the silhouette reads cleaner than I expected for 1350 RP.

VFX got a full rework. His Q thrust and empowered Q throw leave trails of Black Mist, and the W stun impact has this burst of green energy thats pretty satisfying to land. E shield wall gets the Ruined treatment too, dark mist particles replacing the golden Targon visuals. The R is the highlight though. Grand Starfall coming down with corrupted energy instead of celestial fire changes the whole mood of the ability. Played maybe 30 games in a row one weekend just to see that R animation from different angles.

Recall animation is new. Pantheon struggles against the Ruination, which ties into the Sentinels of Light event story. Voice lines stay base, no VO refresh on this one. For an Epic tier skin that’s standard.

(Random aside: the way his spear pulses during the recall genuinely made me think there was a visual bug the first time I saw it.)

The Ruined skinline and release context

Ruined Pantheon released July 8, 2021. Right in the middle of the Sentinels of Light event, which was either Riot’s most ambitious narrative push or biggest mess depending on who you ask. The Ruined line included a bunch of champions corrupted by Viego’s mist. Pantheon fit the theme naturally since Atreus’s whole identity is about defying cosmic powers, and watching him fall to the Ruination carries real weight.

Yan Kyohara and West Studio handled the artwork. They captured this moment of Pantheon mid-corruption, the spear raised but the mist already consuming him. Solid composition.

9 chromas total. Cursed is the standout, that black and gold combo reads like a prestige version honestly. Amethyst shifts the corruption to purple which gives it more of a Void feel than Ruined, kinda cool in its own way. Pearl goes pale and ghostly, almost Spirit Blossom adjacent. The rest are there if you want variety but those three are the ones worth looking at. Could be wrong here but I think Cursed was an event-exclusive chroma, so check if its still available.

Worth 1350 RP for Pantheon mains?

Real verdict: Ruined Pantheon sits comfortably in the upper half of Pantheon’s skin catalog. Dragonslayer is the main competition at the same price point, and I think Ruined edges it out on VFX quality. The green-black palette is more distinctive on the Rift than you’d expect. In my Diamond games last season I saw maybe 4 or 5 other people using this skin, so its not oversaturated either.

Still in the shop. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. New model, full VFX suite, new recall. Standard Epic package but executed above average. If you main Pantheon and want something darker than his usual Targon golden boy look, this is the pick. Been maining Pantheon with this in ranked since about season 12 and I keep coming back to it over Pulsefire.

Skip it if you already own Ashen Conqueror though. That skin covers the “dark corrupted Pantheon” fantasy at a higher tier. But for the price? Ruined Pantheon earns its slot. The Ruined line had some misses across champions but Pantheon wasnt one of them.