The Laser Bird and the Bear Flip Are Back as League Classic Welcomes Three Champions

A raven that refuses to leave you alone, a bear charging forward to throw you over its shoulder, and a spider waiting for the right moment to descend: three familiar threats have returned to the Rift. Swain, Volibear, and Elise are now available in League Classic, giving players another opportunity to revisit champion designs from League of Legends’ earlier years.

Their arrival brings back abilities that shaped how these champions approached a fight. Ravenous Flock and Majestic Roar headline the latest showcase, while Elise adds her own combination of ranged pressure, transformation, and single-target damage. For returning players, there are old habits to rediscover; for newer arrivals, there are some very different versions of familiar champions to learn.

Swain Unleashes Ravenous Flock Again

Classic Swain returns with the raven-focused kit that preceded his later redesigns. Decrepify sends his bird after a target, applying a slow and damage over time while the enemy remains within range. Nevermove creates a delayed area of damage and roots, giving him a way to hold opponents in place.

His Torment adds another damage-over-time effect and increases the damage that target takes from Swain. The interaction encourages him to combine his spells against an opponent rather than treat each ability as an isolated attack.

Then comes Ravenous Flock. Swain transforms into a giant raven, sending smaller birds towards nearby enemies before they return to heal him. Keeping the transformation active consumes increasing amounts of mana, making resource management central to his staying power. Carrion Renewal, his passive, restores mana when he kills an enemy.

The result is a mage whose threat grows when opponents remain within reach. Slowing a target, catching it with a root, and maintaining pressure creates the conditions for his flock to work. Staying in the fight is tempting, but every extra moment also raises the question of how much mana he can afford to spend.

Volibear Brings Back the Flip

For Volibear, the instantly recognisable return is Rolling Thunder. His Q grants movement speed, with a greater boost when running towards enemy champions, before his next attack flips the target over his head.

That displacement changes the encounter immediately. Reaching an opponent can move them into a position they did not choose, giving nearby allies an opening to follow up. The approach itself remains visible, however, so finding the right angle matters.

Majestic Roar damages and slows surrounding enemies while fearing minions and monsters. His ultimate, Thunder Claws, adds chain lightning to basic attacks, supporting sustained fighting once he reaches his target.

His other tools reinforce that pattern. Chosen of the Storm provides a low-health heal on a long cooldown, while Frenzy builds attack-speed stacks and unlocks a bite whose damage increases against wounded enemies.

Riot identifies this as Volibear’s 2011–2018 version, before Majestic Roar gained its later knockback and anti-dash interactions. He also arrives as the winner of Council Vote #2, making his inclusion a return players helped choose.

Elise Combines Two Forms of Pressure

Elise retains the defining structure of her kit: a ranged human form and a melee spider form, each with its own abilities.

Her paired Q spells give that transformation a clear offensive rhythm. Neurotoxin deals bonus damage based on the target’s current health, while Venomous Bite benefits from the health the target is already missing. That creates a natural progression from opening pressure to a close-range finish.

Cocoon stuns the first enemy it hits, while Rappel makes Elise and her Spiderlings untargetable before she chooses a target to descend upon. Skittering Frenzy provides attack speed and healing on hit, making its timing relevant when she commits to spider-form combat.

Riot notes that this older Elise places more power in her Q abilities, highlighting her burst damage and potential in the top lane.

That gives her a different pace from the other two additions. Swain wants opponents to remain under pressure, and Volibear wants to reach them and keep fighting. Elise asks players to recognise when an opening is strong enough to commit, then use her transformation to finish the sequence.

More Than Familiar Faces

All three champions join through patch 26.22, expanding a mode built around earlier champion designs. League Classic’s roster brings back original versions of numerous champions, allowing players to explore abilities that later updates changed or replaced.

The appeal of this release lies in the decisions those abilities create. Swain’s rising mana consumption, Volibear’s approach and displacement, and Elise’s transitions between forms each demand attention in a different way.

Whether the first stop is the laser bird, the charging bear, or the Spider Queen, these arrivals give players three distinct reasons to return to Classic—and three more threats to remember when loading into the next match.