Luckily, skins are a thing in League of Legends. So we can always remedy her design a little bit. So this is my ranking across all of Shyvana’s skins, ranking them all from worst-to-best.
7. Ironscale Shyvana
Released: November 1st, 2011 Price: 750 RP When I saw the splash art for this skin, I definitely had my hopes up. However, it Fus Ro Didn’t live up to my expectations. The human form just looks a bit bland, as it’s just some chick in rather unimpressive armor. She literally looks like a side character. And if that wasn’t bad enough, even the dragon form sucks! Yes, putting a dragon in armor is cool. But only if it actually looks like dragon armor. This makes it seem like Shyvana’s human armor got stretched ten times its size to fit a glorified lizard. There are no new animations or particles either, so the skin truly doesn’t have anything going for it. Cool splash art – but everything else is mildly disappointing.
6. Super Galaxy Shyvana
Released: May 25th, 2016 Price: 1350 RP I already know I’m putting a bounty on my head with this spot. But I shall not be silenced. Super Galaxy Shyvana just isn’t Shyvana. Not even close. The human character model could literally be any female champion in the entire game. And the dragon form looks as intimidating as an unfinished Lego build. I’ll admit that the animations and particles are nice on their own, but they simply do not fit the champion at all. And the W doesn’t feel impactful, the E looks like Lee Sin’s Q moreso than Shyvana’s E, and the Q here is just okay. Sure, this is the most unique skin in Shyvana’s entire line-up. But with originality comes the risk of failure. And that’s how I see this skin. I know there are people who adore this skin, but I am not one of them.
5. Boneclaw Shyvana
Released: November 1st, 2011 Price: 520 RP I was initially convinced that this skin would be the bottom of the barrel, as it was among the oldest ones while also being the cheapest. But I was pleasantly surprised. Although it only offers a champion model change, I think the design holds up really nicely and gives us quite the interesting feel for Shyvana. The skin focuses more on her wild side, with bones being her primary decoration and armor, while only bits of fur and leather cover up the rest of her. And the dragon form is just brilliant here –it actually looks like an ancient creature that could destroy the world. Overall, Boneclaw Shyvana is an amazing skin with a low price. it only loses out to the following skins due to its lack of new animations and particles.
4. Ruined Shyvana
Released: January 21st, 2021 Price: 1350 RP I genuinely thought this would be the best Shyvana skin to date, but it ended up at the middle of the road. I just can’t fully support the human form. The way it was designed is too basic, and it doesn’t resemble Shyvana in the slightest. And the animations just feel a bit off. Especially the W. I get that having the mist substitute fire makes a lot of sense thematically, but it feels like it’s coming up from the ground – and not from Shyvana herself, which I found oddly irritating. But honestly, the dragon form is straight fire though. That thing looks like an ancient god of war, and I’m not even going to pretend like I’m not in love with it. Ruined Shyvana isn’t really that bad, honestly – but the human form nerfs its ranking.
3. Darkflame Shyvana
Released: May 28th, 2012 Price: 975 RP This might be me acting like a weeb, but Darkflame Shyvana has some serious Fairy Tail energy – and I love it. Keeping the animations fire-based, but making them appear a lot darker and more sinister, easily helped to fix lot of the issues I had with Ruined Shyvana. And the character models here are just cool as hell. The human form is completely covered in armor (cool and unique armor this time around). And the dragon from looks like the personification of emo kids, which I also enjoy quite a bit. Plus, all of this just for 975 RP! Unique character models, animations, particles, Riot is basically giving everything away!
2. Championship Shyvana
Released: October 13th, 2014 Price: 975 RP Now this is how you pull off dragon armor! I mean just look at that thing, it looks like an absolute war machine. The human form also looks quite fierce here, while still resembling the original character model. And the animations all feel well-suited too. I’ll admit that the particles are a bit too ice-focused for my liking, as there’s a dedicated ice skin anyway… but it works so well with the color palette that I can’t blame the design team for going after that route. Plus, this skin feels like it holds a certain legacy, being an old-school championship skin and all. Which is quite appropriate for a dragon character. So overall I love the skin, and it makes for some excellent flex material.
1. Ice Drake Shyvana
Released: April 29th, 2013 Price: 975 RP This is the only Shyvana skin that has a real dragon style, and it’s quite evident in the design – as this skin feels the most genuine when it comes to the original dragon theme. Shyvana’s armor looks very spikey and scaly. Plus she has a literal dragon head on one of her arms, and her dragon form looks wild and mystical… there’s a lot more but you get the gist. Plus, this skin just has a lot of impact. This is the only Shyvana skin where the W feels like a major cooldown, and not just a movement speed buff, as the sound effect hits hard. The E is also an actual icicle, which makes it look a bit more powerful than usual. And this skin is only 975 RP. Easy on the eyes and the wallet. I think Ice Drake Shyvana has actually been the best Shyvana pick for quite some time now – and I don’t think that status will change anytime soon, unless she gets a legendary skin. Note: this content was created under Riot Games’ “Legal Jibber Jabber” policy using assets owned by Riot Games. Riot Games does not endorse or sponsor this project.
