Over its 13 years of development, League of Legends has evolved a lot. With its ever-increasing standards for new content, new champions in particular, Riot Games has made an effort to keep its older champions updated for the evolving state of the game.
Champion reworks are some of the most exciting things to happen in League, taking old, deprecated champions and updating everything about them to modernize them. Narrowing it down to just the best is a hard ask, as every champion rework is great in its own right. Even so, this list counts down the absolute best of the best.
12 Udyr
Udyr was the last remnant of the "pizza feet" era of League champions, when every character had barely any polygons or animations. Fortunately, his rework delivered in spades with a beautiful model, gorgeous animations, and a full update to his Ultimate-tier Spirit Guard Udyr skin.
Udyr's rework retains his stance-based gameplay, keeping him as the only champion to lack a true ultimate ability. Instead, he can now enhance his stances to give them powerful bonus effects on top of their existing abilities. He now fully embodies the fantasy of a shaman embracing animal spirits to empower himself.
11 Pantheon
Pantheon's existence in early League was mostly defined by his power as a lane bully, and not much else. He didn't have an exciting story or thematic, but his rework reimagines him as a mortal man whose body was once possessed by a god, now wielding the slain deity's power for himself.
His rework retains his identity as a bully in the top lane, but adds incredible animations and voice work to back it up. His speeches about the failures of gods will hype you up to destroy your opponents in the top lane. Of course, his updated skins are just as incredible.
10 Evelynn
Early League players once joked that Evelynn had to be kept bad intentionally, due to how broken stealth was as a mechanic. Her rework not only kept the stealth, but made Evelynn into a seductress who charms her opposition into a false sense of security. Then, she unleashes her demonic powers and goes in for the kill.
Evelynn's succubus theme is genius, making her into a Bayonetta-esque character whose clothes are made out of living shadows. The generous detection range on her stealth prevents her from being too annoying, but you'll still want to keep an eye out.
9 Kayle
The only notable things about old Kayle were her relationship with Morgana as sisters, and her ability to tear through enemies like butter in the late game. Both of these aspects have been retained, but transformed into an exceptional new kit and lore.
Now a righteous protector hailing from Mount Targon, Kayle smites her enemies with unrelenting fury. She ascends over the course of the game, giving her a variety of benefits, including ranged attacks. Watch out when her wings come out and sword glows with power.
8 Urgot
As a strange marksman-tank hybrid, Urgot had no real place in the older days of League. His grotesque appearance was less terrifying and more so just an eyesore. Thankfully, his rework made him into one of the most terrifying and fun juggernauts in League.
Urgot retains his identity as a half-man, half-machine who walks around on spider-like legs, but he focuses much more on getting in your face. He assails you with rapid-fire before finishing you off by grinding you to paste in the meat grinder in his stomach.
7 Swain
For the Grand General of Noxus, Swain previously had little identity as a tactician. He was instead focused on his flock of crows, keeping him sustained in the middle of the fight. His rework managed to reconcile these two identities wonderfully.
Swain has multiple abilities that encourage you to think ahead, like his long-range, telegraphed Vision of Empire. Once his ultimate comes out, though, he becomes a monster in both the mid lane and in teamfights, stealing health from those around him and unleashing stored energy in a massive burst.
6 Poppy
Poppy is one of League's oldest champions, and thankfully her rework gave her a much-needed coat of paint. Originally envisioned as a Yordle ambassador, Poppy was mostly defined by her ultimate that made her totally immune to damage not dealt by her target.
Her rework removes this polarizing ability in favor of making her a speedy bruiser, with an ability that will stop dashing foes dead in their tracks when near her. She can still take enemies out of the fight with her ultimate, which launches them back towards their base.
5 Mordekaiser
Mordekaiser's rework kept him as an iron revenant, a ghostly form contained inside a hulking, metal suit of armor. That's really all it keeps, though, as Mordekaiser is now the king of the Realm of Death, ruling over the dead with a literal iron fist.
Mordekaiser is an appropriately tanky AP fighter now, crushing opponents with a swing of his giant mace and soaking up damage with a massive shield. His ultimate is really why you play him, though. He banishes a foe of his choice to his Realm alongside himself, forcing them into a 1v1 he's almost sure to win.
4 Warwick
Werewolves are a classic monster in fiction, and Warwick is one of League's classic champions. His rework recognized this by incorporating many aspects of his old kit, while modernizing others. He's still a fast fighter who drains his opponent's health for his own, but there's so much more.
Warwick's Blood Hunt mechanic is incredibly fun, He gains movement speed and attack speed when running towards foes below half health. He even gets a trail of blood to follow them through the fog of war, allowing him to leap out at them and tear them to shreds.
3 Sion
It's hard to believe that Sion's rework happened all the way back in 2014, and harder still to see how well it's held up since. Sion was one a strange, green zombie, whose only notable characteristics were his point-and-click stun and bad Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.
Now, Sion is a champion to fear, fully embodying the fantasy of being a hulking behemoth. He may be slow, but a single swing from his axe can devastate any foe. The unstoppable rampage from his ultimate ability is one of the most fun in all of League.
2 Nunu And Willump
It says something that players knew Nunu more for the infamous trolling strategies involving him rather than anything about his gameplay or lore. He was nothing more than an odd-looking little boy riding a yeti, and it was commonly said that his only role was to make the enemy jungler as useless as himself.
Nunu's rework wonderfully reimagines him, alongside his yeti, Willump. Their adorable designs and voice acting provide a stark contrast to most League champions, and their new kit is much more effective while still being great for new junglers. Few things are more fun than rolling it down mid with the biggest snowball ever.
1 Fiddlesticks
Fiddlesticks is League's most effective rework, for good reason. Once nothing more than a goofy scarecrow with no real lore, Fiddlesticks was changed into a living nightmare, the embodiment of fear itself. It retains many of its classic abilities while amping up the fear factor.
Fiddlesticks can place wards that look and act like itself, inflicting paranoia on the entire enemy team. Once you see the real one, it's often too late, as it's jumping out of the fog of war with its devastating ultimate. Every game against Fiddlesticks is as frightening as its new design would imply.