Jeffrey Hsu
Few have pursued power as relentlessly as Xerath. A slave born to the Shurima empire, childhood best friends with the resurrected emperor Azir, and the ultimate architect of Shurima’s downfall… all these describe Xerath, but none of these monikers are quite as apt as the Unbound Magus Ascendant.
Having abandoned his mortal body an eternity ago, Xerath has transcended the mortal coil to become an arcane being of pure energy. Unbound from the limits of flesh and the suppression coffin that entombed him, Xerath now seeks to wield his ever growing power to reshape the world as its new god.
With these traits in mind, we’ll be going over all of Xerath’s skins and ranking them from worst to best. You’ll find our pick for the best Xerath skin at #1 (last on this page). We’ll be judging each skin on how well it conveys his theme as an unbound being of pure energy, how much each one changes his abilities, and obviously how good the skin looks.
Let’s get started.
7/7
Battlecast Xerath
Released: October 2011 | Cost: 520 RP | Unique SFX: Yes – Minor | Chroma: No
While the Battlecast skin line tends to be quite excellent, turning the majority of champions into giant mechanical monstrosities that look like they belong in a Godzilla movie, the one for Xerath is incredibly… lackluster. It’s abundantly clear that this was one of Riot’s first attempts in the Battlecast line and it shows. Though we do give it some leeway as the skin came out in 2011.
His armor pieces are replaced with more mechanized bits, a slight mechanical sound effect is placed on his abilities, and the color of his energy is swapped to red. Overall, it’s not a terrible skin but is rather disappointing for a Battlecast skin, placing it at the bottom of our list.
6/7
Classic Xerath
Released: October 2011 | Cost: 4800 Blue Essence or 880 RP | Unique SFX: No | Chroma: No
While Xerath hasn’t received much in the makeup department since the massive texture update for most champions back in September 2014, his classic skin continues to set the theme one should expect from the champion. Brimming with pure magical energy, taking on a form bearing semblance to the coffin he was imprisoned in, and unbound from gravity itself (aka. Floating).
As the embodiment of magical artillery, each of your spells should have a shock impact to them. Each blow should feel like concentrated mana tearing through your enemies and raining death from above.
Fittingly, mana is traditionally blue in most games, and Classic Xerath is very blue.
5/7
Runeborn Xerath
Released: October 2011 | Cost: 750 RP | Unique SFX: No | Chroma: No
Despite having no special effects and being a rather simple skin, we rather like the Runeborn skin as it does a good job at conveying a sense of ancient magic. With a weathered stone look and vines creeping throughout his armor, Xerath certainly looks the part of ancient runes waking up and forming a creature of magic.
The color swap to green further enhances the druidic connection to runic magic and makes it feel as though Xerath was awoken from an ancient burial ground in a forest.
4/7
Scorched Earth Xerath
Released: July 2012 | Cost: 1350 RP | Unique SFX: Yes – Moderate | Chroma: No
Straight out of a dungeon hidden within a volcano, the Scorched Earth skin turns Xerath into an angry magma being whose dominion was disturbed. With magma actively flowing throughout him, all of Xerath’s abilities are enhanced with a fiery effect and leave lava craters in their wake.
Its most prevalent in his Q, as the lava coalesces and gathers into a huge fiery ball as you charge the ability. As a bonus, when you use Xerath’s ultimate, he forms a fiery ring around him as he burns away his foes.
3/7
Guardian of the Sands Xerath
Released: April 2015 | Cost: 1350 RP | Unique SFX: Yes – Moderate | Chroma: No
This skin is what we imagine Xerath would look like had he not betrayed Azir and all of Shurima. Had he undergone the proper path to Ascension, he would have been hailed as a Guardian of the Sands, decorated in the finest golden armor and royal purple cloth.
With his abilities augmented by the Ascension, Xerath wields the power of the sun itself. His charged abilities and orbs look like tiny golden suns that slowly grow in size before he unleashes them. With the golden winds of Shurima following in his wake, the enemies of Shurima will fear the Ascended Magus.
2/7
Arcana Xerath
Released: May 2021 | Cost: 1350 RP | Unique SFX: Yes – Major | Chroma: Yes (8 in total)
The latest skin to be released for Xerath, this one diverges heavily from all of his other appearances, as Xerath retains his human body! This skin was extremely close to being our #1 top pick for the best Xerath skin. Instead of being a creature of pure energy, Xerath has taken on a red hue to his mortal form and has bound armor to him with his vast magical power.
More importantly, all of his abilities have been augmented with new special effects. In a reference to the Eye of Horus from real life Egyptian mythology, Xerath summons forth portals inscribed with an eye symbol to cast his abilities from. Additionally, the four point star features prominently in his abilities, appearing as the core of his body when he ults and charges up his Q.
The entire skin does a fantastic job at making Xerath’s mastery of the arcane evident. However, it does feel a bit off to see Xerath as human and his model feels a bit chunkier than usual. Additionally, when he ults, the red mist that forms around him seems incredibly simple for a skin this complex, placing it as the second best Xerath skin.
1/7
Dark Star Xerath
Released: March 2020 | Cost: 1350 RP | Unique SFX: Yes – Major | Chroma: Yes (6 in total)
What’s the best Xerath skin? Sitting on our list at the number 1 position, it is undeniably the Dark Star skin. This skin does such a good job at cohesively maintaining Xerath’s theme as being of pure energy and being an ever growing threat while maintaining a cosmic feel.
With a black hole forming his core, Xerath’s abilities are all enhanced with cosmic noises and feel as though the nebula of space itself is torn apart when he casts. As a bonus, he even forms a planet under his target with his W before shattering it with a blast of dark matter energy!
His orbs formed from his abilities all look like black holes and dying stars being sent out to devour the light of those who stand in his path. This all culminates in his ult, as the vastness of space forms around him while he renders his opponent into cosmic space dust.
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And that’s it for our list of the best Xerath skins. Have any thoughts you want to share or disagree with our ranking? Then subscribe and leave a comment below! As always, maintain the advantage with the latest guides and articles here at High Ground Gaming.
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