Darkflame Shyvana

Picked up Darkflame Shyvana from a mystery chest last month and honestly wasn't expecting much since I'm usually running Championship or Ruined. After about 40 games though, this skin's grown on me in ways I didn't see coming.

The E feels way more responsive compared to other Shyvana skins, especially when you're trying to mark multiple targets in a teamfight. Her dragon form Q has this satisfying crunch that makes last hitting feel cleaner somehow. But what really sold me was during a baron fight where I ulted over the pit wall and the visual clarity on my W made it super easy for my team to follow up. With Championship, sometimes the particles blend into river fights and teammates miss the engage window. The darker flame effects on Darkflame actually pop off better against Summoner's Rift's terrain, which I think gives you a slight edge when your team needs to track your position.

Compared to base Shyvana or even Ice Drake, the auto attack animations feel less clunky, especially when you're weaving them between abilities for that Conqueror stack. The recall animation's nothing special but who cares when the in game feel is this smooth. Is Darkflame Shyvana worth it if you already own her better skins? Probably not unless you catch it on sale or get lucky like I did. But if you're choosing your first Shyvana skin, this one's surprisingly solid for an older release. It's purely cosmetic advantage but those cleaner animations might save you from inting a dive or two. Not quite pay to win but definitely pays to feel good while you're farming up for that two item spike.