Their skin releases slowly become few and far between. Their numbers are only good for a week every now and then. And they quietly fade out of the meta. Our favorite time wizard got this treatment – but it’s too soon to give up! Sure, his kit might not be all that flashy. But through the power of cosmetics we’re going to make him shine. And to that end, let’s look into all of Zilean’s skins and see which ones truly stand out.
6. Time Machine Zilean
Released: April 12th, 2011 Price: 520 RP This skin was cool in concept, but failed in execution. On the splash art we can see Zilean portrayed as a scientist, working hard to crack the puzzle known as time. A very obvious Back to the Future type deal. However, the skin itself is just meh. They took the base skin, darkened the colors a bit, added a little transistor thing at the front that’s too small to see, as well as some goggles and called it a day. It’s a very cheap skin. And it’s a very old skin. But I can’t help but feel bad for the good concept that was ruined here. At least it is rare, if you’re into that sort of thing.
5. Groovy Zilean
Released: July 27th, 2010 Price: 520 RP Although this is a chroma-level skin, at least it’s clear and obvious. There are no new animations or stand-out features, but it’s obvious that some love was put into the skin. In-game you can see his funky colors, put on some Bob Marley, and absolutely chill – while absolutely infuriating your enemies. But if you actually zoom into the character model, you’ll see some clever details. There are hearts on the gears of his clock, a yin-yan sign on the clock hand, and a peace sign hidden underneath his beard. So this skin definitely isn’t lazy when it comes to details.
4. Old Saint Zilean
Released: December 23rd, 2009 Price: 520 RP Man, this champion is old. Unlike the previous skin, you don’t have to look all that hard to see the important details with Old Saint Zilean. My dude put on his best Santa Clause outfit and went to town! With snow covering his clock, candy canes sticking out and a giant candy cane clock hand, Zilean is in the Christmas spirit for sure. It’s kind of a waste that there are no new animations, since swapping the bombs with presents or random toys would have made the skin a lot more fun. But I guess I can’t ask for too much when the skin is this old and this cheap.
3. Shurima Desert Zilean
Released: September 8th, 2010 Price: 975 RP I fully expected this skin to be another simple recolor, but it honestly took me by surprise. Sure, Zilean himself doesn’t look all that different. He was just given some fancier red clothes and a cloth to contain his massive hair. But his clock looks brilliant. They went with a sun-dial/ancient technology sort of approach, making the clock out of rock and covering it with engravings and magical red stones. The skin also features a new Q animation, with the bombs being recolored to better suit his new theme. It’s definitely a very unique skin. And given just how cool his clock looks, I would suggest giving it a try.
2. Sugar Rush Zilean
Released: December 17th, 2019 Price: 1350 RP This is the newest Zilean skin – and oh boy does it show. Zilean is given completely new animations here that are actually up to par with some of the more modern champions. They also made him the most lovable hilarious goofball ever. His backing animation literally has him making some humanoid gingerbread characters, which makes me suspect he is in fact the Muffin man. His Q now has him throwing muffins at people. And all of the sound effects are just zany. If you love playing Zilean, chilling out and just having a blast (even if that means losing the game sometimes) then I can see no better skin than this one. Well…
1. Blood Moon Zilean
Released: May 10th, 2015 Price: 975 RP Blood Moon Zilean just offers great value, and is a must-have for any aspiring Zilean main. It fixes everything that was out of date with his original design. His auto-attacks no longer look like you’re throwing dirt at your enemies. His ult has a very distinct and specific sound effect, and his Q is just clean as all hell. In fact, his Q is so clean that you have two ways to see when it’s going to explode. There’s the usual circular counter, but there’s also an eclipsing effect on top of that. Little details like this just add so much to the visual appeal. The character model even looks like a noble vampire here – and his clock has been re-created to look more like an evil altar of some sort. The skin makes him look powerful and menacing, too. Which is a vibe we can all get behind. 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.
