With all of the hype surrounding the latest Champion being introduced to the League of Legends universe in Yuumi, The Magical Cat, it’s about time we take a look and ask some of the important questions about the first feline to hit the rift (sorry Rengar).
Spoilers - if you’ve never read an OmegaLoL article … we’re probably not going to actually answer or ask any of the important questions. Rather, we’ll most-likely delve into the very opposite.
It very well could be that we fabricated this OmegaLoL topic purely as an excuse to post many cat gifs on our website.
What Exactly is Yuumi?
The name of the Champion states that it is a “Magical Cat”, but do cats actually exist in the world of League of Legends? Or is Yuumi part of a different race in League lore that has yet to be disclosed?
The answer is yes. Yuumi is indeed a cat. According to Yuumi’s lore page on the League of Legends Nexus, the character is clearly labeled as a cat. A feline companion of one Norra, a very powerful Yordle enchantress.
“I love cats” said CLG’s support player BioFrost in a reacts video.
But if cats exist? What is Rengar? Is he just the large bipedal version of Yuumi?
The answer to that is no. Rengar is a rare breed of Vastaya, who are magical half-humans half-creatures from a sacred land called Runeterra. Other Vastaya hybrid beings include Ahri, Nami, Wukong, and of course Rakan and Xayah.
In the Yuumi reveal trailer, they go a little far with the cat jokes, as the champion gets excited at the prospect of fish. Will this affect any of Yuumi’s abilities in game? Will she automatically get hit by Fizz’s fish ultimate? Will she run slower or faster through the river? Will she do more damage against Nami?
“I f****** LOVE cats” added BioFrost.
Now that the cats out of the bag, we will still have to wait until Yuumi hits the public beta environment to find out.
If I Fits, I Sits.
One of the biggest questions regarding the recent trailer and champion reveal is the book. League of Legends Reddit is almost convinced that Yuumi is an Aery creature, which we’ve already proven wrong. However, they (Reddit) are also convinced that the Book named “Book” (hilarious right? Of course a cat would call it by what it is) is just a deeper look at the Unsealed Spellbook item.
So if League of Legends is just taking items already in the game and making champions out of them, does that make them extremely clever? Or extremely lazy? Our vote is for clever.
According to the lore, Yuumi’s Book is the Book of Thresholds (which has nothing to do with Thresh). This tomb was used by Yuumi’s enchantress master to travel safely between realms. This master in question was then apparently lost to a realm so dangerous that it destroys the portal to get there when they arrived. So, in search of their master, Book and Yuumi have teamed-up for adventure. Yuumi's bio includes a paragraph regarding their understanding of each other.
Yuumi never paid the book much attention until one starless night, when she returned home from luring moon-moths with her shiny light to find Norra missing. She saw the book on her master’s desk and flipped through its pages in a panic, noticing that some were torn out entirely. Unable to read its title, Yuumi cried out to it in distress, calling it, simply, “Book”. In response, the book wiggled, and Yuumi was surprised to learn she could understand thoughts amidst the rustling paper. Despite not having a voice, Book made itself loud and clear. Yuumi learned that Norra had gone somewhere so perilous, she had destroyed the portal as she traveled.
The most confusing part is whether the cat or the book is in control. Perhaps it’s both. At times, Yuumi is seen riding the book, while others would show the book clamped onto Yuumi’s back as one would hold a cat to direct them.
Luckily, the relationship between Yuumi and the Book of Thresholds seems to be a fair and mutual one, so we don’t have much worries there.
Go Hard Cat Memes
It’s kind of brilliant if you sit back and think about it. League of Legends players have always been heavy purveyors of memes, and the internet loves cats. So, in giving League of Legends a new certified feline champion, and leaning into the mems a little bit (one of her abilities is called Zoomies!) players get the best of both worlds.
It would, then, be a shame if Riot Games doesn’t go full steam ahead with the meme treatment. This semi-oblivious, overly-cheery cat could be the perfect vehicle for Riot and Reddit to shake hands.
That being said, there are some obvious choices of memes to incorporate.
- Limecat
This image of a cat with a carved up watermelon on its head in the shape of some medieval knights helmet would make for a perfect skin in the Champions line-up.
- If I Fits Recall
Much like a recently released Rengar recall animation, if there isn’t an opportunity to put Yuumi playing inside a box, then Riot has definitely messed up here.
- Keyboard Cat
In loving memory of the recently passed Keyboard Cat, there has got to be an ode in here somewhere to the internet's favorite feline. Whether it be an intro animation or even just a voice-line, Keyboard Cat has got to show up somewhere.
- Nyan Cat
Another prime opportunity for a skin, or just some in-game FX surrounding Yuumi’s fast movement, there’s got to be a Nyan Cat rainbow.
Which cat memes do you think Riot should embrace and bring to the rift with Yuumi, the Magical Cat?
At the end of the day, it seems that a ton of people are very excited that Riot Games is adding a cat champion to the game. We’re probably only a few days away from getting to try out Yuumi’s current build on the test servers, and she is currently set to release to the public in mid-May along with the League of Legends game patch 9.10 post-Mid-Season Invitational.
Keep it locked on Twin Galaxies for guides and tips when Yuumi the Magical Cat finally hits the servers.
