Riad: The Outcast of the Oasis

Who is this guy?: Riad is a Shuriman Lizard Vastaya who is adept at camouflaging into his surroundings. He looks like he’s about 16 in human years and was trained to be a lethal killer in the name of protecting his very insular community. Now, he’s on a quest to save his home, which happens to be a magical oasis that is also invisible. Did I mention that he has a dagger that can turn into a slingshot? Yeah.

No, I meant, what is this guy?: Oh, whoops. He’s an AD assassin, and he’s as squishy as you’d expect one to be. His attack range is 200. Honestly, he’d make a decent jungler or midlaner depending on how you tune him. His level 6 gank and roam is something else...

Playstyle: He’s very jumpy and pretty hard to pin down. He almost resembles a skirmisher sometimes, able to keep his enemies at arms reach until he closes in for the kill. In return for these strengths, his typical “one-shot” combo is pretty telegraphed as well as being longer than usual. Also his stealth is very situational since it relies on terrain, making up for his mobility.

I know we're kind of a dead community when it comes to giving each other feedback, but if you think of something to say, even if it's stupid, feel free to comment!

Lore:

Somewhere in the Shuriman desert, the rumored Wandering Oasis remains hidden, but its seclusion is under threat. While the vastayan protectors of the Oasis fiercely defend it, its cloaking magic is draining away every day, a process that began the same day a mysterious cataclysm rocked the eastern seas of Runeterra. Soon, Shurima’s best kept secret might not be so secret anymore.

Riad, a glass-tailed lizard born into the secluded community within the Wandering Oasis, was taught to continue the tradition of his ancestors: to dedicate his entire life to the Oasis, to protect his family at all costs, and most importantly, to never let anyone on the outside see him.

But the Oasis was long overdue for some rule bending. As he saw his home dwindle more and more every day, Riad began looking outward for answers. Could the outside world hold the key to his community’s salvation? There was only one way to find out.

The elders rejected his ideas, but Riad had sworn an oath to protect his home and his people. Whatever they had been doing wasn’t working anymore, and Riad knew the only way to spark change was to do it himself. He left, knowing his community may never forgive his decision.

Entranced by the new sights and sounds, but focused on his mission, Riad travels around Runeterra in search of answers… and somewhere out there, the last surviving Oovi-Kat might end up being his only hope.

Full Kit:

All details that would not be included in the actual tooltip are marked as spoilers. If you just want to get a general idea of the kit, then skip the spoilers. If you can’t tell, I'm experimenting with making champ concepts easier to read, let me know what you think. All damage is physical unless otherwise specified. Scroll down for a shortened version of his kit.

Passive: The Glass-Tailed Lizard

Fracture Lines: Riad’s Q abilities apply a Tension stack to affected enemies for 4 seconds, stacking up to 3 times, with the duration refreshing on subsequent stacks.

At 3 stacks, Riad’s next basic attack against the marked enemy will consume Tension to deal bonus damage, increasing with their missing health. This effect has no cooldown.

Skitter: After casting an ability, Riad’s next movement input within 1 second will begin with a very short dash (200 units). This dash can’t go through terrain on its own. >![ The first cast of Q2 (Eburnean Slingshot) doesn’t count as an ability for the purposes of this passive. ]!<

Q1: Venom-Laced Dagger

[CD: 7.5 - 5.5] [Range: 480 on both sides]

Active: Riad swings his dagger twice, damaging enemies in a narrow arc in front of him, and then behind him after a .7 second delay. Enemies hit are damaged and envenomed, taking magic damage over the next 1.5 seconds.>! [ Hitting an enemy that is already envenomed does not stack its damage or refresh the duration. ]!<

For each dagger swing that hits an enemy champion, 30% of this ability's cooldown is refunded.

![ This ability can apply two Tension stacks on the same enemy. Also, it has a cast time that can be canceled with a passive dash. ]!<

W: Desert Mirage

[CD: 18–10] [Effect Radius: 500] [Casting Range: up to 200]

Passive: While within the radius of a Dust Cloud, Q becomes Eburnean Slingshot. Both Q's have their own cooldowns that keep ticking in the background when not in use.

Active: Riad stirs up a large Dust Cloud near his position, lasting 6 seconds or until he leaves. While within the Dust Cloud’s radius, Riad gains bonus movement speed, and ignores terrain collision.

Being inside terrain grants him True-Stealth, or Obscurity. Casting an ability or attacking breaks the stealth for at least .5 seconds. Riad can recast this ability to end it early.

![ True sight instead grants enemies obscured vision of his position. If Riad exits the radius into a piece of terrain, there is a 1 second delay before the effect wears off and he is forced out of the wall. Riad’s Passive Dash (Skitter) can be used to jump over very, very thin walls at the edge of this ability. ]!<

![ This ability’s cooldown begins on the first cast. ]!<

![ Enemies cannot see the radius if Riad was out of vision upon casting it. The radius will appear to them when Riad does. However, as long as they are in the general vicinity, they can always see the VFX that plays when it dissipates, even if he never enters their vision. ]!<

Q2: Eburnean Slingshot:

[CD: 3] [Range: 450-900]

First cast: Riad begins charging up a shot for up to 3 seconds, slowing his movement by 20%. The charge increases this ability’s range and damage over the first 1.5 seconds. This does not break stealth. At max charge, the shot also gains bonus % max health damage.

Second Cast: Riad lets loose a glass pellet from his slingshot in the target direction, damaging and briefly slowing the first enemy hit. If the pellet hits an enemy, it bounces back towards Riad’s location, landing on the ground for 3 seconds. Riad can pick up a pellet by walking over it, resetting this ability’s cooldown and refunding 50% of its mana cost. If the pellet fails to hit an enemy, it drops to the ground at the end of its range.

Minions always take max damage from this ability, no matter the charge time.

![ Pellets will lock onto Riad’s position after he moves, similar to Gnar’s boomerang. This helps make sure that Riad is able to direct pellets back into his W zone.]!<

![ Depending on how long Riad charged this ability, the pellet will bounce back further. The distance the pellet bounces is calculated as half of the pellet’s maximum range upon being fired. This means that if Riad lands a fully charged shot on an enemy in melee range, the pellet will bounce over and past his location, forcing him to move backwards to pick it up. ]!<

E: Rock-Bound Tumble

[CD: 12-8] [Range: 350]

Riad Dashes through the target enemy, damaging them and knocking them a short distance towards his original position. Riad lands a set 300 units behind his target’s initial position.

After reaching his target, the second part of this dash cannot pass through terrain. This ability applies on-hit effects.

R: Shatter Shot

[CD: 120/90/60] [Range: 1000] [Detonation Radius: 500]

Riad shoots a magic-infused pellet in a target direction. Upon hitting a piece of terrain or an enemy champion, or if it reaches its max range, the pellet shatters, damaging and slowing all enemies hit, and creating a Dust Cloud (W) around its location.

Upon the pellet shattering, Riad Vanishes (Like Yi Q). The screen centers on the circle created by the detonation, and Riad can recast this ability for the next 2.5 seconds.

Recast: Riad reappears at the target location within the Dust Cloud’s radius, empowering his next attack to gain 75 bonus range, deal bonus damage, and apply a Tension stack to his target. Using this empowered attack will also cause the Dust Cloud stirred up by this ability to dissipate early (so he isn’t stuck with his Q2).

If this ability isn’t recast in time, Riad automatically reappears in the center of the Dust Cloud.

![ The first cast of this ability stops upon hitting terrain, however it passes through terrain that is already within a Dust Cloud (W). Riad can use his R in tandem with his W to hit enemies across terrain. ]!<

![ Riad can only recast to reappear in the Dust Cloud created by his R, not his W ]!<

![ Vanishing cancels his Q and E if it happens mid-ability ]!<

Abridged Kit:

Passive 1: Q1 and Q2 both apply a three hit passive. At 3 stacks, the next AA deal bonus execute damage.

Passive 2: Kalista’s martial poise except with abilities. Cannot go through terrain.

Q1: Dagger: Two-part figure-8 skillshot that damages enemies in the target direction, and then behind Riad in the opposite direction. The CD is reduced 30% for each section of the figure-8 that hits a champ.

W: Dust Cloud: Drop a circle the size of Akali’s passive. Inside, ignore terrain collision and become stealthed while inside walls. Inside the zone, Q1 becomes Q2. . .

Q2: Slingshot: Line skillshot that can be charged to increase range and damage like Pyke Q. Ammo falls to the ground and can be picked up for CD and mana refund. This has a separate CD from Q1.

E: Dash: Shorter-ranged Quinn vault, except you dash through your target like Fizz Q.

R: Shoot a projectile that explodes into a circle. When it explodes, you disappear from the game like Yi Q. Recast to reappear anywhere inside the circle.

Combos:

His combos look pretty convoluted, mostly because there’s a passive dash woven between every ability. Sometimes you’re using the dash to get into AA range; other times to move out of W’s radius; other times to move further from the enemy to get a fully charged Q2; you can also use it to pick up a pellet dropped by Q2. So many possibilities.

Bread and butter:

Q1->P->E->P->AA

Using E mid-Q animation allows you to hit the same enemy twice with Venom-Laced Dagger, applying two Tension Stacks. This is really important when trying to burst down enemies. Weaving in your passive dash allows you to get into E range. The second passive gets you in auto range, after having dashed through them.

Alternatively, you can use flash to hit the second side of Q on the same enemy.

Poke:

W -> P -> Q2 -> Passive towards pellet -> Repeat 2-3

Basically, you can just spam Q2 while inside your W zone.

It’s important to note that his W isn’t always centered around Riad’s position. It can be offset from his location. Casting it behind you leaves 250 units of spance between you and the edge, allowing you to dash out of it with two Passives.

This next combo combines this knowledge with his Bread and Butter combo to smoothly switch between Q2 and Q1 for a quick Tension proc:

W behind you -> Passive 200 units forward while charging Q2 -> Q2 -> Passive out of W range -> Q1 -> P-> E -> P -> AA

All-in Combo with Flash: Good luck understanding this garbage

Q1 -> P -> E -> P -> W -> P -> Q2 -> P -> AA (Tension) -> Grab Pellet -> Q2 -> P (out of W) -> Q -> Flash -> P -> AA (Tension)

My Attempt at Numbers and Scaling:

If you’re curious:

P: Tension Mark Procc: deals 35-150(+80% bonus AD) + 4.5% (+3% per 20 lethality) of the target’s missing health physical damage.

Q1: Venom-Laced Dagger: Each swing deals 45-125 (+50% bonus AD) physical damage. Venom deals 30-75 (+40% bonus AD)(+20% AP) over 2 seconds, damage alternates between physical and true every other tick. The initial hit and DoT venom count as one ability hit for stuff like Conqueror stacks.

W: Desert Mirage: 20-40% bonus MS.

Q2: Eburnean Slingshot: Base damage: 32-90 (+32% bonus AD) physical damage. Deals up to 250% damage based on charge time. Maximum charge deals 3% (+1% for every 80 bonus AD) max health bonus physical damage.

E: Rock-Bound Tumble: 40-160 (+40% bonus AD) physical damage.

R: Shatter Shot: 60/150/240 (+50% bonus AD) physical damage. Empowered Auto deals 50/100/150 (+80% bonus AD).