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Background

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League of Legends’ newest champion, Taliyah, hails from the Shurima and builds upon the lore of the desert kingdom. Taliyah was born long after the fall of Azir’s empire, after Shurima was turned to a barren wasteland. Her family was part of a tribe of nomadic weavers and they raised her to appreciate the nature and beauty of the desert. From a young age, she was able to control the rocks and stones of the desert. Her powers first manifested when she rescued one of her goats who was stuck on a rock wall. She tried to keep her powers a secret from her tribe, but when it came time for her coming of age ceremony, her powers surfaced and was revealed. Most of her fellow peers weaved using a spindle, loom, and thread, but Taliyah found out she could weave the earth itself. Although she feared that her tribe would not accept her, they all stood together with her when it came time. Even though she was accepted, Taliyah knew her powers were dangerous and set out on her own to make her own path.

Her first destination was Noxus, where she was told that people with similar powers to hers were accepted and even revered. A captain of Noxus offered her a chance to travel with him to practice her powers at sea. However, it turned out the captain only wanted to abuse her power and have her become an over glorified weapon to further his own cause. When Taliyah found out, she escaped and wandered around in Ionia before finding Yasuo and trained with him. Her journey came full circle when she heard about Azir’s return and his intention to enslave all of the tribes in Shurima. She returned home to find her people and prevent Azir from accomplishing her goal.

Gameplay

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Photo Credit: League of Legends Blog

Taliyah is an area-of-effect mage that excels at fighting in chokepoints and cutting off enemy escape. Her passive is Rock Surfing, which allows her bonus movement speed when near terrain or structures. This is useful when returning back to lane from the fountain, or when approaching a target. Her Q is Threaded Volley, where she unleashes 5 stone shards in the target direction. Using Threaded Volley creates “Worked Ground” which allows Taliyah extra movement speed, but only allows Threaded Volley to hurl one Stone Shard if used again. Taliyah’s W is Seismic Shove which allows Taliyah to mark a location and after a brief delay, hurls up the enemy. She can recast the move to choose a direction to knock the target in. Her E is Unraveled Earth which scatters 18 boulders over the ground in front of her, similar to Zigg’s Minefield. Anyone who dashes over or are knocked through the boulders are hit by them. Her ultimate is Weaver’s Wall which summons a massive wall of rock. She can choose to surf on top of the wall or destroy the wall before the time it naturally fades away.

As mentioned before, her abilities allow her to control large areas of the map. Unraveled Earth is extremely good in chokepoints to prevent enemies from pushing forward or chasing your team. Seismic Shove is a form of light crowd control which can help initiate fights. Her ultimate is one of the most powerful in the game as the wall it creates is counted as terrain. It is very useful in cutting off or splitting the enemy team, but the drawback is that it could block your team also. Expect Taliyah to be played in the mid-lane or jungle due to the flexibility her abilities give her.