Gnar/Background

Time marches on for most, but not. A yordle born millennia ago, Gnar was captured and trapped in true ice, frozen–quite literally–in time. Civilizations formed and fell as the prehistoric yordle vacantly stared on, but nothing–not even true ice–could confine Gnar forever. After breaking free, he wandered Runeterra until he found himself taken in by his yordle descendants. But, as they would soon discover, there’s a beast behind the boy.

Lore
Main=
 * Narrated by

"The jungle does not forgive blindness. Every broken branch tells a story.

''I've hunted every creature this jungle has to offer. I was certain there were no challenges left here, but now there is something new. Each track is the size of a tusklord; its claws like scimitars. It could rend a man in half. Finally, worthy prey.  As I stalk my prize through the jungle, I begin to see the damage this thing has wrought. I step into a misshapen circle of splintered trees. These giant wooden sentinels have stood over this land for countless ages, their iron-like hides untouched by the flimsy axes of anyone foolish enough to attempt to cut them down. This thing brushed them aside like they were twigs.''

''How can a creature with this level of strength disappear so easily? And yet, even though it has left this unmistakable trail of destruction, I have been unable to lay my eye upon it. How can it appear like a hurricane then fade into the jungle like the morning mist?''

''I thrill in anticipation of finally standing before this creature. It will make a tremendous trophy.''

''Passing through the clearing, I follow the sound of a stream to get my bearings once more. There I see a small shock of orange fur, crouching, waiting. I spy on it from a distance. A tiny fish splashes out of the stream and the creature scrambles for it, diving gleefully into the rushing water. To my joy, I realize it's a. And a hunter, at that!''

''This is a good omen. The beast will be found. Nothing will escape me.''

''The yordle's large ears perk up and face towards me. He runs on all fours with a bone boomerang in hand, quickly stopping in front of me. He babbles.''

''I nod in appreciation at the young yordle and venture onwards. I traverse the difficult terrain with ease, trying to pick up any sign of my quarry. As I try to pick up his scent, a distraction. I'm startled by strange chittering. The yordle followed me. I cannot allow him to disrupt my hunt. I face him and point into the distance. He looks at me quizzically. I need to be more insistent, good omen or no.''

''I rear back and let out a roar, the wind whipping the yordle's fur and the ground rumbling beneath us. After a few short seconds, he turns his head and, with what I think could be a smile, he holds up his small boomerang. There can be no further delay. I snatch the weapon out of his hand and expertly throw it into a tree, impaling it high amongst the branches. He turns and scrambles for it, jumping frantically.''

''I barely get ten paces when a roar shakes me to my very spine. The deafening crack of stone and wood echoes all around. Ahead, a giant tree crashes across my path. The bone weapon of the yordle juts out from its trunk.''

An unearthly growl rises behind me.

I've made a terrible mistake."

Quotes

 * Upon Selection


 * Attacking




 * As




 * Movement




 * As



Gnar chases his tail.
 * Joke


 * As




 * Dance




 * As




 * Taunt


 * Taunting an enemy




 * Taunting an enemy




 * Taunting an enemy




 * Taunting an enemy




 * Taunting an enemy




 * As




 * Laugh




 * As




 * When transforms into

Development
 was designed by Gypsylord.

Champion Insights: Gnar
By Gypsylord Let’s talk transform!

''Transform champions have historically been some of the hardest to balance in League of Legends because they frequently end up with a dominant form: pre-4.10 Nidalee worked best in human form unless she needed to execute or run away, and Jayce happily sits in cannon form for the bulk of his games. Giving both forms unique strengths and weaknesses is meaningless when they can just transform at will to lose the weaknesses they had. Let’s look again at Jayce: How’s a melee champion supposed to fight him in a one-on-one scenario if Jayce can duel just as well up close and has the option to transform into an effective ranged champion?''

''Here’s the central question we posed ourselves: how can we create a new transform champion that feels fundamentally good to play as and against? Our answer was to make a champion with identifiable strengths and weaknesses in both forms, then limit the player’s ability to control which form they play in. After months of testing, we ended up with the (sometimes) adorable ball of fluff known as Gnar.'' ''So how’s he different? Well, Mini Gnar’s one of the most mobile champions in the game. He boasts good sustained damage and kites incredibly well, but when he does get caught, he dies fast. On the other hand, Mega Gnar is a colossus. He’s tanky and surprisingly bursty, with strong area of effect and crowd control to boot. But he’s slow, meaning his enemies can pretty much get away simply by walking in the opposite direction. Removing control of the transform from Gnar means that he has to anticipate when he’s about to pop (or er... unpop?), and position and prepare to play in a completely different way, adding extra complexity and depth to his gameplay. This also means that – for the first time – learning how to play during the transitions between Gnar’s forms is just as important as mastering the play styles of his two forms.''