Most Evil Champions, According To The Lore

One of the unexpected side effects of everyone watching Riot’s Arcane, both season 1 and season 2, is that people are suddenly becoming interested in the League of Legends lore again. Since the story of Vi, Caitlyn, and Jinx did so well, who’s to say that the next story can’t do equally as well focusing on a League of Legends character from another Region, like Noxus or Ionia? Or, what about a story focused on the more ‘evil’ Champions?

Of course, the world of Runeterra isn’t quite so black and white, but there are a decent amount of characters that can be realistically described as evil (no, not “hated” Champions). Here are some of the best examples.

Updated December 1st, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: There are a lot of different Champions in League of Legends. In fact, at the time of writing this, there are over about 169 Champions in the game currently, which is just absurd. And, each and every League character has their own expansive backstory, history, ties, relationships, and motivations, which can be pretty overwhelming. In fact, outside of like the incredibly obvious evil characters like Mordekaiser or Fiddlesticks, it might be difficult for someone without a ton of knowledge of League lore to figure out who’s ‘good’ and who’s ‘bad’ in the roster. So, with that concept in mind, let’s take an expansive look at the full roster in League of Legends and talk about some of the most evil characters that Riot Games has ever created.

9 Mordekaiser

The Iron Revenant

The most obvious example of pure evil in the Runeterra universe is Mordekaiser. He’s so evil, in fact, that someone as powerful and equally as twisted as Leblanc seems to be entirely focused on stopping him from coming back.

Mordekaiser, or the man who used to be known as ‘Sahn-Uzal’, is a Warlord from a bygone age, before even the Rune Wars. He basically conquered the entire world for the sake of proving his faith in his dark religion to reach the equivalent of ‘Valhalla’, known as the Hall of Bones. But when Mordekaiser died and found that the afterlife was just an endless expanse of fog, he cracked and became a being of pure rage and hate. Now in the afterlife, Mordekaiser is literally building himself an undead empire using the souls of those he killed as his building blocks, biding his time until he returns to destroy Runeterra.

8 Naafiri

The Hound of a Hundred Bites

Going right from one of the most ‘pure evil’ examples to one of the more confusing ones, let’s take a look at a new champion AKA Naafiri. Naafiri is one of the Darkin, an ancient race of inherently evil and incredibly powerful lifeforms that were eventually sealed inside a variety of different weapons. Normally, these weapons are touched by humans and the aforementioned humans then become the host for the Darkin, completely taken over by them. Aatrox, Kayn, and Varus are all examples of Darkin or of people taken over (whether partially or completely) by a Darkin-possessed weapon.

Naafiri, however, due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, ended up taking control of a whole pack of Shuriman Dune Hounds. Now, with their consciousness fractured across multiple feral lifeforms, none of the dastardly plans Naafiri had are possible anymore, even if Naafiri thirsts for blood. But, the longer Naafiri inhabited these beasts, the more they learned to respect the ‘pack mentality’ which in itself is not evil in the slightest, meaning that over time Naafiri is almost becoming less evil.

7 Xerath

The Magus Ascendant

Probably the best-written ‘evil’ character, Xerath single-handedly buried Shurima beneath the sands. Once the sworn brother (and slave) of Azir, Xerath spent his life learning, ruminating, and scheming, all unbeknownst to his brother. As a human, Xerath did anything for both Azir and his plans, even going so far as to use dark magic to make sure Azir’s mother wouldn’t birth a more worthy heir.

But his ultimate crime comes on the day of Azir’s Ascension, where the new Emporer was set to become a demi-god-like being similar to Nasus and Renekton. But just as Azir was about to undergo to process, Xerath pushed him off the platform, killing him. The process meant for Azir didn’t work as intended on Xerath. While it turned him into an entity of pure energy, it also wiped out all of the inhabitants and structures in the beautiful city of Shurima.

6 Singed

The Mad Chemist

The surprise favorite character for a lot of people watching Arcane, Singed is pretty twisted in both the League and Arcane lore (which are actually different). Functioning as a pure antagonist to all things Hextech, Singed believes in the potential of natural and alchemical science more than magic.

This obsession caused his descent into villainy. The types of experiments Singed has done in pursuit of innovation are sickening, and he’s the most obvious example of a ‘mad scientist’ in League.

5 The ‘Demonic’ Champions

The Ancient Fear, Agony’s Embrace, The River King, & The Eternal Nightmare

Demons, in the world of Runeterra, are basically evil spirits that came into being as a byproduct of the hate, torment, and suffering during the Rune Wars. After they gained shape, these Demons slowly gained more power, sentience, and physical form over time as they siphoned the essence from others. All of the Demons (so far), seem to encapsulate one specific emotion, as it seems to be the one that tastes the best to them. There are four demons confirmed so far:

• Fiddlesticks: A Demacian-borne menace and folktale ‘boogeyman’ who is solely focused on making its victims feel as much Fear as possible before devouring them.
• Evelyn: A demon obsessed with drawing victims in using her expertly crafted voluptuous human female forme, only to feast on their Lust (and their life) once they’ve let their guard down.
• Nocturne: A demon very similar to Fiddlesticks who feeds on Terror and Fear, but usually through nightmares and endless sleep.
• Tahm Kench: The recent ‘Demon’ Champion to come out, and one with an endless stomach that feasts on all of the Greed in Bilgewater and even Zaun using deals and contracts.

4 Veigar

The Tiny Master of Evil

Veigar, a relatively beginner-friendly Champion, was once a much more innocent Yordle who joined the early Noxite mages in their studies of celestial magic. But once Mordekaiser took control of the lands, he killed these mages for their lack of battle prowess and kidnapped Veigar, as he wanted to use the young Yordle as his own immortal enchanter.

For centuries, Veigar did just that, until his own memories and magic became just as twisted as the place he was bound. Funnily enough, once Vegiar found himself free of the Immortal Bastion, he doesn’t actually commit all that much genuine villainy, but he believes that he does, and that’s all that really matters.

3 The Voidborn

The Entire Collection of Voidborne Champions

Like the demons, the Voidborne are a group of evil characters that are hard to separate. To be fair, creatures from the Void aren’t really choosing to do evil; rather, they’re just acting as their biology tells them to, as they were given form and sentience by the Watchers in the Void. However, their deeds are still heinous compared to most other Champions. Not all Void-associated Champions are evil (for example, Kassadin and Kai’Sa do not fit here) but there are five that do fit the definition.

• Cho’Gath is one of the oldest Champions, and yes basically has almost no lore. He suddenly came into being in Runeterra one day, and as soon as he was given life Cho’Gath knew hunger. His sole purpose in life is to eat and grow, no matter who (or what) he eats.
• Vel’Koz is basically the longest-lasting Voidborn ‘scout’ of the Watchers. It has been scouring the highs and lows of Runeterra since the early days of history, learning, studying, and deconstructing, all for the sake of giving The Watchers more intel.
• Kog’Maw is basically a tiny version of Cho’Gath. Like Cho’Gath, Kog’Maw is best known for his ability to devour anything and everything, no matter how much or how large it is. But unlike Cho’Gath, Kog’Maw does this to learn about and understand the world around him. All this is to subtly say that he eats people too.
• Kha’Zix: Where Vel’Koz was created to learn, Kha’Zix was created to hunt, and to hunt the most capable warriors in Valoran more specifically. Given an innate ability to adapt to his surroundings, Kha’Zix is the ‘hunter’ and/or the ‘assassin’ Champion of the Voidborn.
• Rek’Sai, like Kog’Maw and Cho’Gath, is another eater Voidborn, but Rek’Sai tunnels and digs by eating, which can actually be more destructive. She’s like a bloodthirsty shark that can swim through just about anything.
• Bel’Veth is the leader of the Voidborn overall, and basically a ‘perfect’ being crafted by the Void to slowly devour, convert, and overtake all of Runeterra. What Bel’Veth devours, she leaves new twisted replicas behind her. Bel’Veth is by far both the most evil of the Voidborn and simultaneously the least evil, as she is just following the ‘logic’ she was given at birth and doesn’t seem to relish or enjoy any of the mass destruction she participates in.

2 The Shadow Isle Champions

The Spider Queen, The Shadow of War, & The Chain Warden

Once known as the Blessed Isles, the Shadow Isles used to be a region of life, knowledge, and a storehouse for immense magical artifacts. Thanks to a certain Undying King (AKA Viego), it’s now a nightmarish region covered in Black Mist that corrupts anyone who dies in its wake. Characters like Vex, Viego, Kallista, and Maokai are all a bit too complex to be considered evil, but here are a few Champions that are a bit purer in their dastardly ways.

• Elise: A member of Noxian nobility who murdered her husband, went to the Shadow Isles, and was turned into a spider-esque abomination by Vilemaw. She now works for LeBlanc in exchange for a steady supply of victims to sacrifice to her spidery god.
• Hecarim: A glory-obsessed man who was once the head of the Iron Order under Viego’s command. He has now been mutated and merged with his trusty steed to give his current appearance. Still obsessed with conquest, glory, and bloodshed, Hecarim is at the frontline of every Black Mist invasion.
• Thresh: A fiend who was once tasked with guarding cursed artifacts deep underground in Helia of the Blessed Isles, but was soon corrupted by these curses and became a shadow of his former self who was sickeningly obsessed with torture. After the Harrowing, Thresh is now able to bind souls to his lantern and torture them for all eternity.

1 Jhin

The Virtuoso

Finally, Jhin is the closest thing Runeterra has to a pure human psychopath: a twisted serial killer. Once a prisoner in Ionia, Jhin was eventually freed by a shadowy cabal behind the actual council of Ionia, Jhin is free again to create his ‘art’.

Now, he works both as an assassin-for-hire by this association and also as a part-time psychopath, creating what he believes to be works of art in the deaths of others. Using his gun as his brush, Jhin is truly one of the most sadistic and twisted characters Riot has ever released.