Just two months after the release of Ambessa, Riot Games have another Noxian-based champion on the way in preparation for the new season, one that even fans ofArcanewill recognize.Mel Medarda, a member of the Piltover Ruling Council and newfound mage is coming to Summoner’s Rift as the 170 champion in League of Legends.
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Mel the Champion: What We Know
Without a champion spotlight, there are finite details to go off of when trying to figure out answers to the classic questions with any new champion hitting the Rift. What do her abilities do? What does her playstyle look like? What lane will she play in? While most of these questions will go unanswered for now, there are a few nuggets Riot has given to fans, along with the unique opportunity to pull concepts for Mel from what we’ve seen of her in Arcane.
Mel’s character arc in Arcane sheds some light on what to expect from the character. Through the show, we learn Mel’s mother, Ambessa, had an affair with a male mage that gave Mel an innate form of magic that she discovers and begins to understand across the two seasons of Arcane.
Especially in season two, we see Mel begin to useher magic in a battle against Ambessa and the Noxian mercenarieswhere she’s able to conjure barriers and shields that protect Caitlyn in her own fight.
When the Black Rose captures Mel, LeBlanc calls her an empath, explaining her deep connection to theArcane that comes out in the form of light.This light magic doesn’t just come in a defensive shield form as Mel uses this light magic to break free of the Black Rose’s tethered hold over her. Even in thelatest cinematic videofrom Riot Games and Arcane animators Fortiche, Mel makes an appearance washing up on a random shore in Noxus where she once again fights off Black Rose with her light magic disintegrating the tethers that once trapped her.
A Sneak Peek at One of Mel’s Abilities
Just recently, the Riot Games UK office gave fans a sneak peek of one of Mel’s abilities coming to the game called Rebuttal. Mel channelsRebuttal as a defensive counterspell to block and redirect incoming projectiles. Mel channels a light prism around herself and, when timed correctly, can redirect some of the most devastating projectiles in League of Legends. In the short clip provided Mel can be seen deflecting and redirecting Ezreal’s projectile ultimate Trueshot Barrage, Veigar’s point-and-click ultimate Primordial Burst, and Lux’s projectile Q snare Light Binding.
Here’s a sneak peek at one of Mel’s abilities: Rebuttal 🛡️pic.twitter.com/uTkWIJzQKc
— League of Legends // UK, IE & Nordics (@LoLUKN)June 06, 2025
In classic newest League of Legends champion fashion, Rebuttal already seems to be a game-changer. Rebuttal will redirect any point-and-click ability back to the original user, and with shorter range projectiles, will even bend back towards the original caster as seen with Lux’s Light Binding. Fans are already speculating what certain ability interactions will look like into Mel’s Rebuttal, along withwhat the cooldown time could be for such a powerful abilitythat doesn’t seem to be an ultimate ability.
What’s funny about Rebuttal is from a video game trope standpoint, a redirect ability is fairly common. Overwatch and Super Smash Bros to name a few, are games that feature characters with prominent redirect abilities, yet this is the first time League of Legends fans have seen something like this. Knowing Mel’s history from Arcane and seeing her new Rebuttal ability, it looks like LoL’s latest champion will act as a supportive mage that is expected to main as a support or midlaner. Until a champion spotlight video drops, fans are left to speculate as the new season of League approaches.
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