SSG Rakan

Locked in SSG Rakan the day it dropped back in July 2018 and honestly not gonna lie, it hit me different than I expected. The whole Samsung Galaxy Worlds line had this clean esports energy that just worked on certain champs, and Rakan is one of those champs. Something about throwing him into a jersey and giving him that trophy-lift recall just feels right for a support who’s always in the middle of everything. Been maining Rakan on and off since season 8, and this skin still gets rotation time even with all the newer options.

What SSG Rakan actually brings to the table

So the VFX on this one got a proper update. His Q throws out this blue-white energy that reads cleaner than base, and the W ground slam has Samsung’s blue color palette baked into the particles. Feels like Riot put in decent work here for an Epic tier. The E dash trails carry that same icy blue which honestly helps in teamfights when you’re trying to peel for your ADC and everything is chaos on screen.

The recall is the highlight though. Rakan lifts the Summoner’s Cup, full celebration energy. If you played support through Worlds 2017 and watched CoreJJ (back on Samsung) lock in Rakan, this recall is basically a love letter to that run. (Random aside: I still remember watching that series at like 3 AM on a Saturday and losing my mind when they reverse swept.)

Voice lines stay base, no new VO here. Standard for Worlds skins at that price point. The model swap puts Rakan in Samsung’s white and blue uniform with gold accents. Clean silhouette. Not sure if it’s just me but the cape movement on this skin feels slightly different from base, might just be the color contrast playing tricks. The R engage looks solid with the blue trail, makes your Grand Entrance read well in lane and in late-game fights around dragon pit.

The World Champions 2017 line and release context

SSG Rakan dropped July 20, 2018 as part of the World Champions: 2017 set. Rudy Siswanto and Pan Chengwei handled the artwork, and they captured the vibe perfectly. The splash has Rakan mid-dance with the Samsung jersey, trophy energy radiating off of him.

The World Champions 2017 skinline covered the whole Samsung roster. You had SSG Ezreal, SSG Jarvan IV, SSG Taliyah, SSG Xayah, and SSG Gnar alongside Rakan. The Rakan and Xayah duo skins from this set are probably the cleanest matching pair in the entire Worlds catalog. Been running both with my duo partner in Diamond and the coordinated splash loading screen is a nice touch.

One chroma exists for SSG Rakan. The Elite variant shifts the palette toward purple and lighter blue tones. Kinda feels like it loses some of the Samsung identity with the color swap but if you want variety its there. 1350 RP for the base skin, which is standard Epic pricing.

Should you pick up SSG Rakan?

Real verdict: SSG Rakan sits in a weird spot. Its a good skin with clean VFX and a meaningful recall animation. The World Champions theme gives it emotional weight that purely fantasy skins dont carry. Problem is Rakan has some stacked competition now. Star Guardian Rakan exists. Elderwood exists. Arcana exists. Those skins push harder on visual flair.

But here’s what SSG Rakan has that they dont. Simplicity. No over-the-top particle storms, no thematic overload. Just a clean esports skin that lets you focus on hitting your W engage and peeling the backline without visual noise. Played maybe 40 games with this last season and the readability is genuinely better than some of his flashier options.

Legacy vault skin, so you cant just grab it whenever. Gotta wait for the vault rotation or get lucky with Hextech crafting. Worth 1350 RP if you main Rakan and care about the competitive legacy angle. Could be wrong here but I think this ages better than people give it credit for. Three things stood out after extended use: recall animation, VFX clarity, and the clean model. Skip it if you already own Star Guardian or Arcana though, those cover different fantasies at the same price point. For Rakan one-tricks who want the full collection, this is a must-have piece of League history. Top pick for Rakan mains who value clean design over spectacle.