Runeborn Xerath

Picked up Runeborn Xerath from a mystery chest last week and honestly wasn't expecting much since I'm usually running Guardian of the Sands. After about 40 games though, this skin's grown on me way more than I thought it would.

The Q charge feels noticeably smoother than base skin, and there's something about the rune particles that makes it easier to track in teamfights. His W has this satisfying thud when it lands that Guardian doesn't quite match. But the real difference is the ult. Those projectiles are cleaner and I swear I'm hitting more shots in dragon fights because the visual doesn't obscure as much. Just yesterday I sniped their fed ADC through baron pit wall and the clarity on those ult shots probably made the difference between a hit and a miss. The E stun has this crisp sound cue that helps with timing too.

Compared to other Xerath skins like Battlecast, Runeborn feels less clunky overall. It's not pay to win or anything but the animations are definitely more responsive. My experience with Runeborn Xerath has been surprisingly positive for a 750 RP skin that's been around forever. The recall animation is pretty basic and the model shows its age up close, but in actual gameplay it holds up really well. And considering how cheap it is, you're getting solid value if you want something different from base.

Is Runeborn Xerath worth it? For the price, absolutely. It won't blow your mind visually but the gameplay feel is clean enough that I've been picking it over my 1350 skins. Sometimes the older, simpler skins just work better for grinding ranked.