League of Legends Announces Newest 170th Champion

The first Dev Update of 2025 was jam-packed with all sorts of things for players to learn about. While we got a look at a lot of different, exciting things, one of the main ones for League of Legends players will be the 170th Champion making a debut: Mel Medarda, the daughter of the previous Champion, Ambessa Medarda. This is where Riot Games revealed the first-time mechanic coming to their latest Champion, which will be projectile reflection, which has already caused a tad of controversy in the community.

Essentially, Mel will be able to return any projectiles sent her way with a brief one-second shield that will be her W ability. Set with a 30-second cooldown, she'll be able to return anything from ultimates to basic abilities, so long as she manages to do so before it hits her. Shown off were returns to Ezreal ultimate, Jinx ultimate, Veigar ultimate, and many more, most of which we got to see in the official gameplay trailer for Welcome to Noxus throughout the Mel section.

Mel Medarda will be dropping on the Summoner's Rift in the next patch, which, according to the updated Patch Schedule for 2025, will be on January 23, 2025, on a Thursday.