So you like League of Legends? I’m sorry to hear that but it happens to the best of us. Some find it from online advertising and others get dragged into it by friends…ahem.
Anyways you’re here now and you might be wondering wtf are yordles? Who are all the yordles? Why do people love yordles? While I might not be able to answer that last one for you, I’m here to tell you who all the yordles are in League of Legends and a little bit about each of them.
Just want the quiz? Skip ahead.
In order to keep this true to current lore, I primarily used LoL official site as my main resource, but somehow in my deep dive I couldn’t find an official definition for what yordles are. Still, I think LoL wiki sums it up quite nicely:
“The Yordle are a race of spirits who generally take the appearance of mammalian bipeds. They mostly reside in a mystical place known as Bandle City, though some of them have ventured out to live in numerous locations around Runeterra.”
Amumu
Let’s start things off with a controversial one. Many players have debated for years whether Amumu is a yordle or not, but let me either ruin or make your day Amumu mains. He’s 100% a yordle. Let’s go over some general info then I’ll prove it to you.
Amumu is considered a low difficulty tank, usually played in jungle.
He is a sad and lonely mummy from Shurima and he just wants a buddy. That’s going to be pretty difficult because he was cursed so that his touch basically kills you. Even League says that there are so many stories told about him that it’s hard to know what is the truth.
So how do I know he’s a yordle? League of Legends states it right in his lore. I pulled the quotes for you, but here’s the link if you want to see it with your own eyes.
https://universe.leagueoflegends.com/en_US/story/champion/amumu/
Proof of yordledom:
“Yet another story of Amumu tells of the first and last Yordle ruler of Shurima, who believed in the innate goodness of the human heart. To prove his detractors wrong, he swore an oath to live as a beggar until he made one true friend, convinced his people would rally to help their fellow Shuriman.
Though thousands walked by the disheveled Yordle, not one stopped to offer a helping hand. Amumu’s sadness grew until he eventually died of a broken heart. But his death was not the end, for some swear the Yordle still wanders the desert, forever searching for someone who might restore his faith in humanity.”
Corki
Corki is a moderate difficulty marksman, usually played in mid lane.
Corki is a retired pilot with a disdain for Bogies and a love for flying. He discovered machinery in Piltover, and was pretty good at building and modifying things, such as his copter that he added heavy weaponry to.
He is the leader of the Screaming Yipsnakes, a force of veterans, where he is known for being calm and collected under fire. He is so eager for a fight that he’s basically insane, but that seems to be commonplace for yordles.
Fizz
Fizz is a moderate difficulty assassin, usually played in midlane but can also make for a reliable jungler.
He is another one that people would like to claim isn’t a yordle, but come on guys there is no room for denial here. Yordles come in all shapes and sizes, even amphibious.
In ancient times Fizz protected the underwater civilizations of Runeterra whose people adored him. However, when their civilizations were destroyed by gigalodons (massive sharks), Fizz became distraught and fell into hopelessness. He literally drifted the seas for a millennia until he saw a boat for the first time and rose to the surface to inspect it.
He found a new civilization and those people also liked him so he decided to hang out around Bilgewater. He can use his trident to summon a dangerous creature and is known to take down greedy sailors. He is considered to be an especially mischievous yordle.
Gnar
Gnar is a high difficulty fighter, usually played in top lane.
Gnar is a primitive yordle, and possibly the oldest in the game which might explain his nickname, The Missing Link. He was in Freljord hanging out with other yordles his size but decided he liked to be around the “bigger yordles” more aka the Tetis. Gnar liked to collect things, his prized possession being the druvask jawbone he uses as a boomerang.
He left the Yetis to become a hunter but he felt the times change so he went to find them again. When he found them the abyss opened and he raged, growing in size and throwing a boulder at the monster. However the area froze due to Lysandra freezing the rift to stop the watchers from entering. Gnar was sadly caught in the ice in a slumber and was awoken hundreds of years later to an entirely different world. He is proof that yordles were not always highly intelligent and magical.
Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger is a high difficulty mage, usually played in mid lane.
Yordles usually rely on magic, but Heimerdinger is the leading yordle scientist, even becoming one of the best inventors not only among yordles, but in all of Piltover. Heimerdinger has created some of the most lethal machinery known. The level of his skill led to him becoming a professor at esteemed university in Piltover where he aims to answer some of the universe’s most challenging questions.
He is quirky and often seems like a mad scientist willing to do anything to get the results he wants. While he might be mad in some ways Heimerdinger is ultimately good and keeps safety and others’ best interests in mind.
League doesn’t offer a lot of information on their site on Heimerdinger, but we do get to see him in Arcane. While we all know that Arcane is not canon lore, it does give us a better look at his personality.
Kennen
Kennen is a moderate difficulty mage, usually played in top lane.
He was born in Bandle City where he was known to zap around from a young age. As an adult he spent time in both the spirit realm and the mortal realm. He felt an affinity towards Ionia, as the people there valued balance and he did too. He discovered the Kinkou, an order dedicated to maintaining balance, something Kennen had been striving to do alone for thousands of years.
Kennan became one of the only non-humans to join the Kinkou, where they valued him as being connected to the spirit realm as well. He became arbiter, tasked with finding ways to maintain the balance for the order and working with some of our favorite champions like Akali.
One of his biggest struggles was the imbalance the war with Noxus brought to Ionia. This imbalance has also caused past pupils to turn on him and others to leave the Kinkou.
Kled
Kled is a moderate difficulty fighter champion, usually played in top lane.
Kled is a legend in Noxus. Tales of him existed before it was even founded and he is still revered among the soldiers there to date. He has acquired every military honor and award and fought in every military campaign waged. He and his trusty steed, Skaarl, fight for no other reason than they want to.
Kled’s acts of bravery have inspired countless battles and even lead the “bloodiest melee ever found on the northern steppes.” He may ride with Noxus but he claims everything for himself. You could even call Kled a troll because he leaves “property of Kled” signs in his wake.
Lulu
Lulu is a moderate difficulty support champion, usually played in bottom lane.
She is arguably the sweetest yordle, but she lives in her own world. Lulu is a daydreamer and entirely goofy and whimsical. The best way to display that is the biography LoL gives us.
Lulu discovered an injured bird and when she attempted to help it, it turned into a fae spirit. Instead of leaving, Lulu decided to giddily give chase and was too distracted to notice it led her to the spirit realm. When she caught up to Pix (the fae spirit) he turned her walking stick into a magic staff. They instantly became BFFs.
She spent 1000 years in the fae realm developing bizarre powers that altered the physical. She travels looking for the glade in the spirit realm where she spent that time. For fun Lulu likes to turn kids into toadstools for a night and turn weapons to flowers during combat.
Poppy
Poppy is a moderate difficulty tank champion, usually played in jungle.
Poppy is a knight yordle in search of “The Hero of Demacia,” the rightful owner of her massive hammer. This hero is said to be the only person who can unlock the weapon’s full power, but anytime she passes it off, the new owner dies.
Poppy has always felt like an outcast among the other yordles. Where they are goofy, she is serious. Poppy realized she liked stability and structure when observing a military caravan. She valued their efficiency over magic. She became obsessed with their leader, Orlon, so she decided to reveal herself to him. He became her mentor and close companion and she assisted him in founding Demacia.
Orlon was the original owner of the hammer Poppy uses, and passed it to her on his deathbed. There she promised him to find the hero that was meant to wield it. Poppy is still on her quest, unaware that she may have already found its rightful owner.
Rumble
Rumble is a high difficulty fighter champion, usually played in top lane.
Rumble was always considered a runt by his peers, but he didn’t care. He would rather be around machines than people anyways. He was quick to learn mechanics and good at it too. So good that he was recommended to the Yordle Academy of Science and Progress in Piltover. He turned away the opportunity though because he viewed giving humans yordle technology as selling out.
In fact, one day when Heimerdinger brought a group of his students from the academy to Bandle City, Rumble confronted them. His quick temper always got in his way, but this time was especially bad. He was beaten up and deemed “an embarrassment to enlightened yordles.”
He left the city for months and built his mech suit. When he returned he promised to show how great yordle technology really is.
Teemo
Teemo is a moderate difficulty marksman champion, usually played in top lane.
Teemo is a deadly part of the yordle special forces unit known as the Scouts of the Mothership. When Teemo was training there was always a noticeable difference in him during combat exercises. While he is normally very kind and enjoyable he has no chill so to say when fighting. While defending Bandle city he doesn’t care who he kills or what he has to do to protect it.
Teemo is specifically known for how efficient he is at solo missions. He has been more successful than any other yordle at them, and spends a lot of time alone. During this alone time he makes his own poison for his dart blower. Despite being a solo act, he lately has been working with Tristana who is also a part of Bandle City’s Special Forces.
Tristana
Tristana is a moderate difficulty marksman champion, usually played in bottom lane.
Tristana is a curious yordle who was always intrigued with the world outside Bandle City. She traveled through pathways in the spirit realm to observe the material realm, always staying hidden. That was until she saw a group of people destroy a bandlewood, a safe haven for yordles. That day they permanently destroyed a yordle gateway.
It was that day that Tristana decided to become a protector of the bandle woods. She modeled herself after human guards, as they were protectors as well. She realized the humans used weapons to help them guard things and so she made her own, Boomer.
Other yordles have strived to become like Tristana who now protects the bandlewoods from all threats. This group is called the Bandle Gunners, and while Tristana trains them, she prefers her solo work.
Veigar
Veigar is a moderate difficulty mage champion, usually played in mid lane.
Viegar wasn’t always an evil yordle. He began his journey among humans by joining a group of celestial mages to learn their magic. Mordekaiser found this group of mages and wanted to weaponize their powers. He noticed Viegar was a yordle who already had an affinity for magic so he slaughtered the rest and kept Viegar as a captive. During his time as a prisoner Mordekaiser forced Viegar to more and more evil spells and acts until Viegar was permanently altered by it physically and mentally. He became consumed by evil and couldn’t remember his life before it.
It was with Viegar’s powers that Mordekaiser became more powerful. However after countless years he too fell and Veigar escaped. After he broke free he did not return to who he was before, but instead leaned into his new evil ways. He aims to become the most feared villain of all time, but with little success. Some of his actions even seem helpful at times, but his intentions are always vile.
Vex
Vex is a low difficulty mage champion, usually played in mid lane.
Vex wasn’t like other yordles. She was gloomy and a loner, preferring the company of her own shadow. She learned how to manipulate it, but was never truly happy in Bandle City. The day that the Mist invaded Brandle City the other yordles fought it back, but Vex followed it back to its source. She enjoyed the mist because when she was with it none of the “normies” bothered her.
The mist changed Vex and now her shadow was animate and she gained the ability to spread her despair to others. Viego found her there in his Shadow Isles and realized she could help him achieve his goal of expanding the Black Mist. He and Vex both enjoyed the idea of turning the world into a miserable place and so she agreed to assist him.
Once she realized Viego’s true intentions were to bring back his wife and therefore seek happiness, Vex felt betrayed. Vex abandoned Viego, letting the Sentinels of Light defeat him. She returned home where she thought she would be ill received due to her change. Her yordle parents welcomed her though, and she left Brandle City once again to go back to the Shadow Isles where she belonged.
Ziggs
Ziggs is a moderate difficulty mage, usually played in bottom lane.
Ziggs was born to be a tinkerer and strove to become like Heimerdinger one day. He worked on major inventions and eventually made a name for himself. The Yordle Academy of Science and Progress in Piltover invited him to display his skills but Ziggs never cared much for safety. During his demonstration his invention exploded causing part of the academy to be destroyed.
When they asked Ziggs to leave in disgrace a surprise attack by Zaunite agents took place. They took the professors as captives. The Piltover army couldn’t break the professors out of jail and were forced to work alongside Ziggs to create an explosive strong enough to break them free from their prison. These explosives were proudly named “hexplosives.” Ziggs was awarded the honorary title of Dean of Demolitions. His time at the academy was cut short after meeting Jinx where they enjoyed making explosives together in Zaun.
Bonus Champion
So while this champion isn’t exactly a yordle it felt disrespectful to leave them out. They come from Bandle City and lived alongside a yordle sorceress named Norra.
Yuumi is a low difficulty support champion, usually played in bottom lane.
Yuumi is a cat who lived an easy life, but when her yordle companion suddenly disappears, Yuumi has to work with a magic book to try to find her. While on her search Yuumi has made other companions like Braum who she protected from snow spirits in exchange for fish. Yuumi was once able to track her master’s scent to the Shuriman ruins. However there was a dangerous monster there, and she and Book barely escaped. So their quest continues to find Norra and live a peaceful life again.
And now … the quiz!
So that’s the yordle squad. Maybe there were some that surprised you or maybe you’re a yordle super fan and already knew all of this. Either way, I had fun learning a bit more about all the yordles.
I created a quiz with all the research I did for this article so if you enjoyed it, take:
What League of Legends Yordle are you?
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