Mel arrives to the Rift this season and is available for free.
The second Arcane character to make a leap from Arcane to League of Legends is arriving this week with Mel Medarda finally confirmed as the next LoL champion ahead of Riot's Noxus-themed 2025 season.
Mel joins her mother Ambessa in LoL with Riot Games showing off a little of her kit as part of the season preview. Her Rebuttal ability marks a new gameplay mechanic in the MOBA and one that is sure to cause plenty of headaches on the Rift.
Mel's first LoL ability revealed — Rebuttal
The new LoL season teaser shows off several of Mel's champion design elements, but most notably, we got a look at one of her new abilities. Rebuttal sees Mel create a shield that can reflect projectiles and spells back to their caster.
In the clip, Mel surrounds herself with a prismatic shield just before Jinx's Super Mega Death Rocket hits. The rocket is then absorbed by the shield and fired back in Jinx's direction. As Riot's Head of LoL Studio Andrej "Meddler" van Roon says in the clip, targeted spells used against Mel's shield will be directly reflected back to whoever cast them.
From Veigar's Primordial Burst to Caitlyn's Ace in the Hole, Mel can send these spells directly back to where they came. They'll also share the same modifiers such as damage over distance or time. For non-targeted abilities, those will be sent back in the direction of the caster at the moment they hit the shield.
This ability doesn't confirm Mel as a support but definitely leans into rumors suggesting the Soul's Reflection won't be out in front dishing out damage. These rumors began the moment we saw Mel seemingly shield Jayce and the Piltover council during the climactic end to Arcane Act 1.
This is the first time we've seen proper spell reflection in LoL, and Mel's Rebuttal may not be the only time we see it on the champion. It also opens up spell reflection for other uses in LoL like on other champions or as a separate item.
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Save your Blue Essence: Mel can be unlocked for free
That's not all we got to see of Mel in the season one preview. Meddler and LoL executive producer Paul "Pabro" Bellezza revealed the new champion can be unlocked for free in 2025.
Seasonal missions will arrive with the new patch, with the final reward of one such mission unlocking Mel, meaning your Riot Points and Blue Essence can be used elsewhere if you so choose. That probably won't stop some fans who will want to get their hands on the Arcane character in LoL sooner rather than later.
For those waiting to see the rest of her kit, you need not wait long! Mel's champion breakdown and trailer will arrive later today, Jan. 9, alongside season one 2025 and patch 25.S1.1.
That's all for now. Stay tuned to esports.gg for more LoL news and coverage.
