Strike Paladin Lucian

First game I played with Strike Paladin Lucian was around 1 AM on a Wednesday, one of those “just one more” ranked sessions that turned into five. Locked it in bot lane without even checking the splash properly. The mech-knight aesthetic hit immediately. Not sure if it’s just me but Lucian skins tend to blur together after a while, and this one actually broke that pattern. Clean lines, heavy armor plating, glowing energy core in the chest. Felt like piloting something out of a different game entirely.

VFX and the mech fantasy

The Steel Valkyries line gives Lucian a full mech suit and the VFX follow through on that promise. Q fires this tight beam of concentrated energy instead of the usual Lightslinger bolt. Reads crisp in lane. W sends out a projectile with a harder metallic edge to it, and the detonation mark on enemies has that sci-fi targeting reticle vibe.

E dash leaves behind a trail of exhaust particles. Small detail but it sells the mech movement. Ult is where it gets good though. The Culling turns into this rapid-fire barrage of energy rounds with a heavy blue-white color scheme. Been running this in Diamond bot lane and the ult VFX actually feel more readable than base Lucian in chaotic teamfights. Could be wrong here but I think the projectile contrast against the Rift is just better.

Recall animation is new. Lucian does this whole power-up sequence with the mech suit, energy channeling through the frame. Solid work. Voice lines stay base, no VO refresh, which is standard for a 1350 RP Epic tier skin. Thats fine honestly, TJ Storm’s base Lucian voice already carries enough weight.

Steel Valkyries and where this skin fits

Released August 25, 2022. Mid season 12. David Villegas and West Studio handled the artwork, and they captured something specific with this one. The splash has Lucian in full paladin armor, weapons drawn, energy crackling. It reads like a mecha anime key frame more than a League splash.

The Steel Valkyries skinline is one of Riot’s sci-fi military lines. Camille got Strike Commander in the same batch. Lucian fits the paladin archetype naturally given his whole purifier identity in base lore. The translation works. (Random aside: the Steel Valkyries splash arts collectively might be the most wallpaper-worthy set Riot put out that year.)

9 chromas total for Strike Paladin Lucian. Obsidian is my pick, the dark plating with minimal glow gives the mech a stealth ops look that reads way cleaner in game. Tanzanite goes deep purple and honestly changes the whole mood of the skin. Ace chroma has this pink and dark grey split that’s polarizing but I’ve seen maybe 4 people use it in my games all season and it stands out. Shop has it, permanent availability at 1350 RP.

Worth the 1350 RP?

Lucian has a stacked skin catalog. High Noon is the Legendary everyone defaults to. Project exists. Pulsefire exists with the prestige variant. So where does Strike Paladin land? Honestly somewhere in the upper third. The VFX package is tight, the model is distinct enough from other Lucian skins, and the mech knight direction gives him something none of his other skins really do.

Spammed this in Diamond for about three weeks straight after it dropped. The auto attack animations with the new particles felt smooth, and Lucian mains know how much the AA feel matters on this champ when you’re weaving between abilities and proccing Lightslinger passive. Kinda feels like the skin was designed by someone who actually plays ADC.

1350 RP feels fair for what you get. If you main Lucian and want something different from the High Noon or Project aesthetic, Strike Paladin is the pick. Skip it if you already own three Lucian skins and dont play him regularly. But for Lucian one-tricks looking for variety in their rotation, this sits comfortably as a top pick. Real talk though, the Obsidian chroma version might be the best looking Lucian skin period if you factor chromas into the equation.