Back before League champions had 10 passives, 5 actives, 3 conditionals, and a Bible, you had champions like Tryndamere – who are just auto-attack machines. And not only do you feel his age in his abilities, but you can also feel it in his character model. Skins can help put a band-aid on that while we pray for a VGU, so let’s talk about cosmetics and count down all of Tryndamere’s best skins.
11. Viking Tryndamere
Released: June 24th, 2011 Price: 750 RP The thing with Tryndamere skins is that you don’t get a lot of room to flex particles. In fact, most of his skins are just simple character model changes. Viking Tryndamere is one such skin – and it just feels a bit too lazy in my opinion. Unlike something like Highland Tryndamere of Sultan Tryndamere, the Viking theme just seems completely uninspired. I mean, dinos are already so huge in pop culture, do we need more? And his design is as stereotypical as you can get. Horned helmet, some fur around his neck, a huge jagged blade, and some golden armor. It doesn’t look bad, but it’s as vanilla as you can get.
10. Highland Tryndamere
Released: March 16th, 2010 Price: 520 RP Although I just praised this skin for being more original, that doesn’t mean I like it much more than the Viking design. I definitely dig the concept. But there’s one thing that’s a thorn in my side when it comes to this skin: the sword. I know certain players love this skin because the blade is actually a normal, believable size. But I disagree. You lose your intimidation factor and just look like some NPC! Yes, the actual armor design is pretty well-crafted. And even the splash art holds up well in my opinion – but I’m not walking around with this toothpick.
9. Demonblade Tryndamere
Released: August 1st, 2011 Price: 1820 RP We took quite a leap here, now didn’t we? Although this is Tryndamere’s most expensive skin, it did not hold up all that well over time. It was brilliant back in 2011. But most 975 RP skins far exceed it these days – and it definitely shows. The color palette is just really rough, to the point where it’s a bit heavy on the eyes. And the animations are ironically mostly untouched, so the idea feels like wasted potential. I love the design for the blade, and for the idea of this corrupted Tryndamere (which fits his champion fantasy rather well. But 1820 RP is just way too much for a skin this outdated.
8. Beast Hunter Tryndamere
Released: February 4th, 2016 Price: 750 RP Beast Hunter Tryndamere gets a very solid “nice” from me. As the name implies, this skin is all about hunting down beasts and using what you find to hunt even more beasts. Your blade looks like it was made from the carcass of one of your victims, and your armor looks like a collection of hard-shelled insects. You even get some tusks on your head piece. So overall, the skin is rather simple. And it offers no new animations. But I think it’s pretty alright for what it is. If you exclusively play Tryndamere in the jungle, this skin even becomes a bit funny/immersive.
7. Warring Kingdoms Tryndamere
Released: January 28th, 2014 Price: 975 RP I actually quite like Warring Kingdoms Tryndamere. It’s only nerfed in the rankings because of its price. I mean, 975 RP for a champion model redesign is still a bit ridiculous. But at least the champion model itself is really well made. I especially like how Riot designed the blade here, as its length gives his auto-attacks that extra visual oomph. And the dragon ornamentation makes him look like a badass. Tryndamere himself presents a nice balance of nobility and badassery, as he wears some pretty formal gowns, but also takes the chance to show off his bicep. Overall, the skin does everything it’s supposed to do – but just charges a bit too much for it.
6. King Tryndamere
Released: September 21st, 2010 Price: 520 RP Given Tryndamere’s lore, this skin just makes perfect sense. He looks as one would imagine a king to look, with a crown on his head, some white gowns, and some armor. But his sword looks a bit more interesting. With a glowing gem implanted in the middle, this sword definitely stinks of magic. Or exceptional wealth. Either or. I can’t say the skin is all that creative… but I do know that some Tryndamere mains see it as the best choice, because it stays true to the lore and keeps its simple. So we get a middle of the road ranking here.
5. Nightbringer Tryndamere
Released: September 23rd, 2021 Price: 1350 RP Let’s not kid ourselves: this is just Demonblade Tryndamere, but with a new name, more polish, and a slightly more reasonable price. He has that same demonic presence like he did before, wielding a really long blade that may or may not be alive – and wearing some ancient-looking armor. This skin does come with some new particles though, like a slightly more stylized W chicken, and a super Saiyan mode for your ult. But they aren’t anything to write home about. Honestly, the backing animation for this skin has a higher FPS than all of his abilities combined. So this skin is really good – but it’s also something we’ve already seen.
4. Nightmare Tryndamere
Released: June 7th, 2015 Price: 750 RP I was honestly surprised that more skins didn’t go for the horror route with this dude. He literally runs at you with a giant sword in hand, refusing to die out of sheer rage. That is terrifying! Nightmare Tryndamere only further proves my point, as it makes Tryndamere an executioner. I absolutely love the character model here. It has that level of creepiness you would see in Resident Evil. And the fact that we can’t see his face makes him slightly more mysterious. Plus with that mystery comes the chance for magic, which is why his Q and R make a little more sense in this skin. In fact, they just make me think of the Caretaker from Witcher 3. Yes, this skin reminds me of a lot of stuff, so what? I’ll admit that the sword looks a bit janky – but I still love the skin as a whole.
3. Blood Moon Tryndamere
Released: February 20th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP If you just want Tryndamere to make sense as a champion, this feels like the skin to do it. Since he gets the usual Blood Moon armor, doing things like healing himself after hurting others seems somewhat reasonable. And his ult now gets a neat little detail where runes will flash under his feet, making his immortality a bit more logical as well. Even his chickens now wear magic masks, so we know why his scare tactics work on literal monsters and gods. Logic aside, the skin also just looks really cool. The backing animation is pretty well done, the splash art is epic, and the price is good enough. Top-tier material baby!
2. Chemtech Tryndamere
Released: June 5th, 2017 Price: 975 RP Time to channel your inner Bane, I suppose. Although this skin just feels like an Urgot Lite version, I have to say I like it quite a bit. Just like with the previous skin, all of his powers here make sense once you take mysterious green goop into consideration. I also like little details, like the fact that his sword is directly connected to his arm (since he doesn’t have a hand), and that your W chicken is also wearing a mask. That makes the skin feel more alive. I will point out that Chemtech Tryndamere could have been even better had the ult been given a Mundo-like animation, and had the skin been given a voice changer. But I guess I can’t ask for too much from a 975 RP skin.
1. Sultan Tryndamere
Released: September 26th, 2012 Price: 975 RP If you’ve never played with this skin before, you might be thinking “how the hell is this the best Tryndamere skin?” Because at first glance it looks quite average. Sure, the champion model does look extremely manly. And the theme of Sultan isn’t one you see every day. Plus his saber just looks extremely dope. But all of that still feels like we’re coming up short if we’re talking about the best-of-the-best. Or at least, that would be the case, were it not for the fact that Sultan Tryndamere has a slightly better auto-attack animation. If you’ve been paying attention during class, you would know that auto-attacking is all Tryndamere players want out of life. They don’t need crazy animations and particles as long as they can crit you to death under tower. So Sultan Tryndamere, being the only skin that actively makes auto-attacking a bit smoother and easier, has to get the top spot here. 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.
