Champion Reveal: Aurelion Sol, the Star Forger

[UPDATE: Aurelion Sol is now on the PBE for testing!]

Here's the champion reveal for our upcoming champion Aurelion Sol, the Star Forger, including a look at his kit and abilities, gameplay, and more!
Continue reading for more information!

AURELION SOL THE STAR FORGER 

"Aurelion Sol is mere weeks from his Rift debut, and he's bringing one hell of a big bang along for his grand entrance. He’s a medium range mage who deals devastating sustained area of effect damage with his orbiting stars. And when he’s got somewhere to be, the Star Forger can take to the skies, flying over terrain while nurturing his very own fledgling apocalypse. 

ABILITIES

PASSIVE: CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE 

Three stars constantly orbit Aurelion Sol, dealing magic damage and applying spell effects to enemies they strike.

Q: STARSURGE 

Aurelion Sol fires the core of a newborn star in a target direction that explodes—dealing damage and stunning all nearby enemies—upon reactivation or once it travels beyond his stars’ maximum orbital range. Aurelion Sol can travel alongside Starsurge, and by keeping it close he’ll nurture it, growing it in size so that it damages and stuns a wider area when it explodes.

W: CELESTIAL EXPANSION 

Aurelion Sol pushes his stars out to his outer ring, significantly increasing their power. Celestial Expansion costs mana to cast and drains mana every second the ability is toggled on. Once he toggles the ability off or runs out of mana, Aurelion Sol pulls his stars back.

E: COMET OF LEGEND 

Passive: Aurelion Sol builds up increasing movement speed as he travels continuously in the same direction, and loses speed on sharp turns. Some of this speed is stored away as Escape Velocity stacks, which are lost entirely whenever he takes damage from an enemy. 

Active: Once Aurelion Sol maxes his Escape Velocity stacks, he can activate Comet of Legend to pull in his orbiting stars and take flight, traversing over terrain for a long distance. He cannot turn once his course is set, and enemy damage will bring Aurelion Sol back to earth, restoring his orbiting stars.

R: VOICE OF LIGHT 

Aurelion Sol shoots out a long wave of starfire in a target direction that damages and slows all struck enemies. Nearby enemies caught in the blast are also knocked back to Aurelion Sol’s outer ring.

LANING

Aurelion Sol, unlike most champions in League, deals the lion’s share of his damage with his passive. Center of the Universe sets up a constant game during laning, with Aurelion Sol looking to maneuver his stars into his lane opponent, who, in turn, has to keep on move to avoid them. Its sheer threat will often send his opponent back to safety, giving the Star Forger the perfect opportunity to unleash Celestial Expansion and ramp up his cyclical damage. And as these two play out their duel, Aurelion Sol will inevitably deal great swathes of collateral damage to the enemy minions, who’ll wither under the persistent barrage of starfire. All this area of effect punishment means that Aurelion Sol has a super easy time shoving his lane, even while he focuses on his duel.

Of course, all this passive pushing is likely to attract the enemy jungler’s attention, forcing Aurelion Sol onto the defensive. This is a clear weakness of the celestial dragon’s because, outside of a couple last-minute big red button abilities, the Star Forger has very few defenses inside his orbiting stars. One of his options comes in the form of Starsurge, which he can essentially double tap to stun his face-to-face enemy before making his way to safety. The other comes once he hits level 6.

So, instead of waiting for the enemy minions to bounce back, Aurelion Sol often works best bringing his might to bear elsewhere. Comet of Legend’s flight is powerful, but its range—especially at early ranks—is pretty limited. The Star Forger mitigates this by roaming toward his target, building up his escape velocity stacks as he approaches his take-off spot. Once he’s picked enough speed, he can take to the skies with Comet of Legend, gliding over the last walls as he prepares his assault. Starsurge is crucial here; by casting it before or as he flies, Aurelion Sol can actually keep pace with his flourishing star, expanding its size and threat as he draws closer to his hapless victim. Timing is vital, as is communication, but when Aurelion Sol successfully hurtles into another lane with a colossal world-destroying comet by his side, well... he’s definitely going to leave a mark. 

“Instead of waiting for the enemy minions to bounce back, Aurelion Sol often works best bringing his might to bear elsewhere.”

SKIRMISHING

By mid-game, Aurelion Sol should have some of his essential items, granting him enough raw presence to threaten the enemy team while aiding his own. He doesn’t jive well with raw AP, but instead thrives with tanky AP items that provide him and his team with utility. It’s this utility—alongside Aurelion Sol’s passive threat—that gives the Star Forger such a huge presence around neutral objectives. He can set up outside dragon, for instance, and dissuade the enemy team from contesting by body-blocking with Center of the Universe while his allies secure their objective. The enemy jungler will have to avoid cycling stars as well as Starsurge, or else vacantly stare on in stunned silence as the Star Forger’s team successfully smites their winged target.

Things only get hairier for the enemy team once Aurelion Sol gains access to his ultimate, Voice of Light. The ability can devastate entire teams when the Star Forger positions inside one of the jungle’s tight corridors. And by unleashing Voice of Light down one of these pathways, Aurelion Sol won’t just wreck enemy squishies, but also knock back any approaching tanks or fighters looking to claim an apparently easy kill. Kiting’s a simple enough thing when he moves to rejoin his team, with items like Rylai’s Crystal Scepter repeatedly slowing his pursuers while Comet of Legend’s passive kicks in, accelerating Aurelion Sol’s retreat. 

“Aurelion Sol can set up outside dragon, for instance, and dissuade the enemy team from contesting by body-blocking with Center of the Universe.”

TEAMFIGHTS

Aurelion Sol has a couple of options when it comes to teamfighting. One is to carefully position himself behind his team’s frontline, whittling down his distant enemies with Celestial Expansion while saving Starsurge to stop enemy assassins from ruining his day. Voice of Light plays a key role here, too, blowing back divers or withering away his clustered targets’ health bars. This tactic requires a beefy frontline capable of distracting or otherwise preventing the enemy team’s killers from breaking through, but is generally the safer, more reliable method.

Then there’s the other option, where Aurelion Sol flies into the heart of the enemy team with a huge freakin’ megastar by his side. As grand as this entrance can be, it requires incredibly precise timing with Aurelion Sol’s team to pull off. Smash your way in too early and the Star Forger will only last a couple of seconds before meeting his maker; too late and his team will have already lost a four vs five teamfight.

But time it right and he’ll pave the way for his team’s entry—or follow up on an ally’s initiation—with a massive area of effect stun. Once he’s landed, he’ll need to stay on the lookout for enemies who can encroach inside his stars, particularly if Starsurge is still on cooldown. And if he hasn’t used his ult to eject enemy divers from his proximity, the Star Forger can turn to Voice of Light to finish off fleeing stragglers who haven’t yet perished beneath his brutal, unending attacks. 

“Aurelion Sol requires a beefy frontline capable of distracting or otherwise preventing the enemy team’s killers from breaking through.”

“The heavens diminish without my attention.”

- Aurelion Sol, the Star Forger

SYNERGY 

WORKS WELL WITH: 

• Braum - the Heart of the Freljord  -  Braum provides Aurelion Sol with plenty of beefy frontliner bulk for the enemy team to contend with. He’ll happily slow enemy divers with Winter’s Bite and block their onslaught with his standard Stand Behind Me into Unbreakable combo, all while Aurelion Sol chips away at his enemies’ health bars with Celestial Expansion. Also, the Heart of the Freljord and the Star Forger both have super strong peeling ults if any baddies still manage to break through. 
• Sivir - the Battle Mistress  -  Where Braum provides slows and shields—in the literal sense—Sivir’s all about speed. She provides her team with her customary chase/reposition tool with On The Hunt, before pairing up with Aurelion Sol to form a terrifying mass attacking duo through her Ricochet and Boomerang Blade and his Celestial Expansion and Voice of Light. If the enemy team stays grouped, they’ll die together; if they split up… well, that seldom works out, either. 
• Tahm Kench - the River King  -  Tahm Kench can chow down on Aurelion Sol to become a horrific, star-wielding maniac in team fights. The Star Forger’s stars will continue orbiting him even when he’s exploring the hidden depths of the River King’s gastrointestinal system, meaning everyone’s favorite catfish-frog-thing can happily speed his way around the enemy team, using Thick Skin to absorb the enemy team’s beating while withering his targets away under repeated rounds of star-based pain. 

STRUGGLES AGAINST:

• Akali - the Fist of Shadow  -  Akali has all the tools needed to expose and poke at Aurelion Sol’s weaknesses. Remember, he has very few defenses inside his orbiting stars, so if a heavy damage dealer, like... say... an assassin, can get up close to personal to Aurelion Sol, he’s screwed. Enter Akali, who can Shadow Dance her way past the Star Forger’s passive before artfully slicing him up into a really expensive pair of shoes.
• Graves - the Outlaw  -  Not only can the Outlaw use Quickdraw to dart away from—or inside—Aurelion Sol’s orbiting stars, he also packs more than enough firepower (thanks to End of the Line and Collateral Damage) to fire the celestial dragon over to the land of the gray screen. And even if the big blue dragon survives Graves’ bullet bonanza, the Outlaw can simply lay down a Smoke Screen and walk away from his blinded adversary.
• Nidalee - the Bestial Huntress  -  There are a couple of ways Nidalee can ruin Aurelion Sol's day. There’s her terrifyingly pointy long-range spears, of course, that’ll leave the Star Forger whimpering for mercy. But even if he gets close enough to land a few stars on the Bestial Huntress, she can just shapeshift before pouncing in and ripping Aurelion Sol apart in melee form.

We’ll be back soon with the story detailing how we forged the Star Forger. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on League’s next champ below!"