League Classic Champions: Aatrox, Caitlyn, Irelia, Karma and Quinn Join in Patch 26.20

Five more League Classic champions have been pulled out of the game’s history and dropped onto the Fields of Justice in Patch 26.20. Riot’s own description of the group is that they have no business forming a band together, which is fair.

Aatrox, Caitlyn, Irelia, Karma and Quinn are live now, each frozen at a specific point in their past. Some of these kits will look unrecognisable to anyone who started playing League of Legends after 2018.

Here is what each one actually does, and what else changed in Classic this patch.

Which League Classic champions are new in Patch 26.20?

All five arrive as snapshots rather than remakes. Riot picked a version from a specific window of League’s history and shipped it as it was, bugs and all.

Aatrox (three patches into his life)

This is the headline addition. Riot snapshotted Aatrox when he was three patches old. He only ever received four balance changes before the 2017 rework, and a second rework followed in 2018.

He is an attack-focused fighter who hurts himself to get stronger.

• Passive, Blood Well: his basic abilities damage him to fill the Blood Well, granting bonus attack speed. If he dies, the Blood Well empties and he revives on the spot.
• Q, Dark Flight: flies up and crashes down, damaging and knocking up enemies in the area.
• W, Blood Thirst / Blood Price: a toggle. Blood Thirst heals him more the lower his health, Blood Price deals bonus damage and costs him health. Both trigger every third attack.
• E, Blades of Torment: two projectiles that damage and slow everything they pass through.
• R, Massacre: damages nearby enemy champions and grants bonus attack speed and attack range.

A revive passive with no modern counterplay tuning will produce some memorable moments.

Caitlyn (2011 to 2015)

Riot notes that when Caitlyn first launched, some players complained she was too similar to Miss Fortune. That has aged well.

• Passive, Headshot: every few attacks she fires a headshot for bonus damage, charging faster while attacking from brush.
• Q, Piltover Peacemaker: a piercing shot dealing less damage to each target it passes through.
• W, Yordle Snap Trap: roots and damages the first enemy champion to step on it, with a maximum of two traps down at once.
• E, 90 Caliber Net: knocks her backward while damaging and slowing the first enemy hit.
• R, Ace in the Hole: a channelled single bullet that other enemy champions can body-block.

Irelia (2010 to 2018)

The original Trinity Force poster child. Riot points out she has been Q-max, W-max and E-max at various points in her life, so there is genuine build freedom here.

• Passive, Ionian Fervor: bonus tenacity scaling with how many visible enemy champions are nearby.
• Q, Bladesurge: a dash that applies on-hit effects and refunds its cooldown plus some mana on a kill.
• W, Hiten Style: passive healing on attacks, with bonus true damage and stronger healing while active.
• E, Equilibrium Strike: slows the target, or stuns them instead if their health percentage sits higher than hers.
• R, Transcendent Blades: four blades fired in sequence, each damaging everything in a line and healing her.

Riot describes the ultimate as definitely not just a wave clear tool, which tells you exactly what it was used for.

Karma (2011 to 2013)

Arguably League’s first battlemage, and nothing like the modern enchanter. This Karma gets stronger as she gets lower.

• Passive, Inner Flame: bonus ability power based on missing health.
• Q, Heavenly Wave: a cone of blades. Empowered, it also heals allies based on their missing health.
• W, Spirit Bond: a tether that hastes allies and slows enemies caught in the line. Empowered, all movement speed effects double.
• E, Soul Shield: a shield that also damages enemies around the target when empowered.
• R, Mantra: available from level one, holds up to two charges, empowers her next basic ability.

Quinn and Valor (2013 to 2015)

The version where the ultimate genuinely swapped you into a different champion.

• Passive, Harrier: Valor marks nearby enemies for bonus damage on Quinn’s attacks.
• Q, Blinding Assault: damages and blinds enemies in an area.
• W, Heightened Senses: passive attack and move speed on Harrier procs, active reveals a large area.
• E, Vault: a dash that knocks back, slows and marks the target.
• R, Tag Team: Quinn leaves and Valor arrives as a fast melee skirmisher with modified abilities. Recasting fires Skystrike and brings Quinn back.

Which League Classic champions got nerfed?

Classic got a real balance pass this patch, not just new additions.

Fiora remains the mode’s most dominant top laner even after her last round of nerfs. Riot did not want to touch the ultimate again, so her W bonus attack damage drops from 15 to 35 down to 10 to 30.

Graves arrived both wildly popular and arguably the strongest champion in the mode. His attack animations have been sped up, which genuinely improves how he feels to play. The rest is less fun for him. Base attack damage falls from 54.1 to 50, AD per level from 3.1 to 2.5, and ultimate cone damage from 140/250/360 plus 120% bonus AD to 140/230/320 plus 100%.

Fizz came out right behind Graves as an AP assassin problem. Riot pulled in lighter versions of nerfs from 2013 and 2015. His Q ratio drops from 60% to 40%, and his W active ratio from 35% to 20%.

On the other side, Kennen and Nautilus both got help. Kennen’s W passive damage now scales off bonus AD, which specifically supports AD builds. Nautilus received two bug fixes, including a shield that was not factoring in armour or magic resistance at all, plus damage and shield buffs.

Classic tank items finally get health regen

Several Classic tank items were underperforming for a simple reason. They had almost no health regeneration.

• Spirit Visage: 4 health per 5 seconds to 20
• Force of Nature: 20 to 40
• Warmog’s Armor: 10 to 30
• Banshee’s Veil: now filters under Health instead of Ability Power in the shop

Spirit Visage going from 4 to 20 is a fivefold increase on a stat that was effectively decorative before.

When does the Classic Act II Battle Pass arrive?

Not this patch. Riot confirmed the Act II Battle Pass lands with Patch 26.21, so Classic players get the League Classic champions now and the progression track in two weeks.

Patch 26.20 is also the Worlds 2026 patch, and it restricts replay access alongside everything above. Our 26.20 balance breakdown covers the Summoner’s Rift side, and the HEARTSTEEL skin rollout covers the cosmetics.