Red Guardian

"And what about you, Summoner? Do you not tire of the endless wars? Do you not yearn for something more, once the fighting is done?"

—Red Guardian^[src]

Red Guardian is a Science Champion. Being a Science champion, he has a class advantage against Mystic champions but a disadvantage against Skill champions.

Bio[]

Alexi Shostakov was one of the Soviet Union's most acclaimed pilots crediting them with air supremacy over the skies of Stalingrad and Kursk during World War II and thus granting him national recognition. As the Cold War flared, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev determined the Soviet Union needed its own equivalent to Captain America and seeing Shistakov's popularity, chose him to fill that role. The KGB then faked his death, training him in secret and turning him into a master of hand-to-hand combat and a highly skilled athlete.

Mechanics[]

Similar to Captain America, Red Guardian uses a shield in combat, however it’s not made of vibranium and thus is more susceptible to incoming damage. Red Guardian’s shield contains stacks of Durability which enhance it’s defensive capabilities. During combat shield Durability is lost whenever Red Guardian blocks an attack or throws a Special 2. Because Red Guardian’s shield is crafted from Ablative material, whenever it drops to 0 Durability it is Fractured and explodes in the Opponent’s face inflicting multiple Debuffs. Throughout his kit, Red Guardian has a variety of ways to trigger Debuffs on the Opponent. Building Debuffs on the Opponent for both damage and utility purposes is core to this champion, the more Debuffs the better!

Abilities[]

Ablative Shield:

Red Guardian can’t gain Buffs, whenever a Buff attempts to trigger he gains +1 Durability for his Ablative Shield instead. Cooldown: 0.80 seconds.
The Ablative Shield starts each fight at 9 Durability and can stack up to a max of 10. Each blocked hit removes 1 Durability.
Each Stack of Durability increases Perfect Block chance by 5%. Perfect Blocks, reduce incoming damage to 0.
While the Shield is intact, Red Guardian can block Heavy and Unblockable Attacks and gains X Block Proficiency.

Tier	Block Proficiency
	1233.33
	1333.33
	1400
	1500

Blocking a Heavy or Unblockable Attack reduces Shield Durability to 0, however all hits of the incoming Attack can be blocked.
When reaching 0 Durability the Shield is Fractured, entering cooldown for 18 seconds. When cooldown ends, the Shield is repaired at 7 Durability.

Developer Note: While his Ablative shield is active, Red Guardian is one of few champions who is able to block Unblockable attacks. Additionally, when blocking such an attack the Opponent will be stunned, giving Red Guardian a window to start a combo!

On Fracture:

Carbonadium shards from the Ablative Shield burst onto the Opponent, inflicting a Stun Debuff for 1.90 seconds.
Inflict a Trauma Debuff for 12 seconds, Trauma causes each hit to deal an additional 70% of the damage recently dealt as burst Physical Damage.

Developer Note: Red Guardian not only blocks Unblockable attacks while his shield is active, but he also flips the table on his opponent with a stun effect giving him an opening to immediately counter attack. This can be great in matchups such as the “Buff Toggle Unblockable” or any opponent who becomes Unblockable in their base kit.

Heavy Attacks:

Gain +X Attack Rating for each unique Debuff on the Opponent.

Tier	Attack Rating increase
	80.1
	200.85
	402.75
	687.15

Refresh all Slow, Vulnerability and Trauma Debuffs on the Opponent.

Developer Note: Stacking unique debuffs is a great way to deal high amounts of damage with Red Guardian and can give him a lot of damage potential when fighting on a node that puts debuffs on the opponent, or with synergy team partners that give him additional unique debuffs such as Mister Fantastic's pre-fight ability!

Signature Ability[]

Enhanced Combat Durability

Enhances Red Guardian's Ablative Shield, increasing its maximum Durability an allowing his Well-Timed blocks to prevent Durability loss altogether.

Enhanced Combat Durability

Maximum Durability for the Ablative Shield is increased by +1 for every 40 signature levels obtained. Max increase of +5.
Trauma, Slow and Fragility Debuffs last 30% longer.

Developer’s Note: Red Guardian’s Signature Ability is very important to upkeep his shield durability and will also increase the max cap on his durability! It’s important to note that the increase to durability works a little differently than other champions, increasing the durability cap at certain thresholds in the Signature Ability rather than a gradual increase at each level.

Special Attacks[]

Special Attack 1 - Shield Charge

On activation inflict a non-stacking Slow Debuff for 12 seconds reducing the Ability Accuracy of the Opponent’s Unstoppable and Evade effects by 100%. Opponents with a natural Class Advantage cannot be Slowed.
While the Opponent is suffering from Slow, Red Guardian’s Power Rate is increased by 25%.

Developer’s Note: Generally this Attack is always the best opener to use since it gives Red Guardian additional power rate while his opponent is slowed. This allows him to build to his other specials much quicker and can be maintained with his heavy attack!

Special Attack 2 - Ablative Bash:

On activation if the Ablative Shield was intact, gain +X Attack Rating throughout this Special.

Tier	Attack Rating increase
	170.88
	428.48
	859.2
	1465.92

If this Attack strikes the Opponent, the Ablative Shield is Fractured, removing all Durability. Each stack of Durability removed grants an additional +X Attack Rating to each hit of this attack.

Tier	Attack Rating increase
	64.08
	160.68
	322.2
	549.72

During this attack any Debuffs inflicted last 100% longer.

Developer Note: Red Guardian’s ideal loop is to use this attack to Fracture his own shield thus inflicting Trauma and Stun at +100% duration. This is also a great way to deal some huge damage because attack rating is increased for each stack of Durability and this damage will burst even more with the Trauma debuff!

Special Attack 3 - KGB Beatdown:

If the Ablative Shield is active, its Durability is set to max. If the Ablative Shield is Fractured, its cooldown ends immediately.
100% chance to inflict a Stun Debuff for 1.90 seconds.
Inflict a non-stacking Fragility Debuff for 20 seconds. When attacking a Fragile Opponent, increase Critical Damage Rating by X and decrease their Block Proficiency by 50%.

Tier	Damage Rating increase
	1040.63
	1125
	1181.25
	1265.63

Developer’s Note: KGB Beatdown is best used to repair the Ablative Shield when its cooldown gets too long to wait out. It’s also a great way to gain another unique debuff for longer fights, and the stun gives an instant opportunity to start the next combo!

Synergy Bonuses[]

To be added

Strengths and Weaknesses[]

Strengths:[]

Never gains a Buff
- Red Guardian can’t gain Buffs. This ability might not sound great on paper, but there are a lot of circumstances where having a Buff is actually a negative. When fighting Dormammu each time a buff expires you will degenerate, or when fighting nodes such as the “Spite” Node having a buff will cause the Opponent to gain Power.

Block Unblockable Attacks
- While his shield is active, Red Guardian can not only block unblockable attacks, but also stun any unblockable opponent who dares strike his shield, completely flipping the tables on them!

Burst Physical Damage
- One of Red Guardian’s main sources of damage comes from his Trauma Debuff that allows him to deal large amounts of burst physical damage. Trauma can be stacked multiple times to increase this damage even farther.

Weaknesses:[]

Reliant on Debuffs
- In order to get the most of his kit, Red Guardian needs to apply a lot of debuffs and maintain them throughout the fight. Any Opponent who can shrug or reduce Debuff duration will prove to be a significant challenge!

Reliant on Heavy Attacks
- Red Guardian needs to keep his debuffs on his opponent for as long as possible, he does this by landing heavy attacks. This is also where he gains additional attack per unique debuff on the opponent. If Red Guardian isn’t able to land the occasional heavy he is significantly less viable.

Low Health Pool
- Red Guardian is a fantastic damage dealer with some great damage reduction while his shield is active, however his base health is low, making each hit he takes very detrimental.