A Brief Overview of Katarina
Katarina, also known as the Sinister Blade, is a powerful assassin champion in League of Legends who relies on snowballing and itemization to excel. Once she becomes fed, she becomes nearly unstoppable, with only hard crowd control posing a real threat. Without crowd control, opponents struggle to deal enough damage to survive her onslaught.
Katarina’s agility is her greatest asset, thanks to her active ability called Shunpo (E). This skill allows her to swiftly dash towards her target, making her both a formidable aggressor and a slippery opponent. Her unpredictability is particularly advantageous in lower ELOs, where players have a harder time anticipating her movements.
One of Katarina’s signature moves is her ultimate ability, Death Lotus. During this skill, she spins around, hurling blades at nearby champions and inflicting massive damage. Unless she is effectively crowd-controlled, she can easily eliminate any champions within her area of effect. Many of Katarina’s best skins enhance the visual effects of her Death Lotus ability.
Playing as Katarina is an exciting and enjoyable experience in League of Legends. If you manage to accumulate a lead in gold and experience over your opponents, you can easily snowball and dominate the game. For detailed information on how to maximize Katarina’s effectiveness through optimal builds, take a look at our data-driven builds, derived from the analysis of millions of recent League of Legends matches.
Review of Katarina Skins
13. Classic Katarina (No Cost)
The Classic Katarina skin is the plain, vanilla version of Kat. It’s not unattractive, but it lacks excitement and has been overused. If you’re seeking the best Katarina skin, let’s move on to more captivating options.
12. Sandstorm Katarina (975 RP)
The Sandstorm Katarina skin is rather plain and fails to justify its high price tag. It might have ranked higher if it were more affordable, but there are certainly better skins available for a lower cost. Although we appreciate the appearance of her blades, her overall outfit is unappealing. We consider this skin to be the worst choice among Katarina skins.
Moreover, Sandstorm Kat is a regular skin and does not require waiting for special release periods or legacy skin drops. This diminishes its desirability, as any player can easily obtain it.
11. Slay Belle Katarina Skin (975 RP)
Once again, we encounter another disappointing, high-priced skin for Katarina. Slay Belle may be somewhat amusing during the holidays, but it lacks the visual appeal found in her other skins. Her eye makeup gives her an angry, emo, mall helper appearance.
While the Christmas lights around her Ultimate add a nice touch, we do not recommend this skin when there are superior options available. Perhaps it can serve as a humorous skin during the holiday season, but otherwise, it is unattractive to wear on the Rift.
10. Tie: Bilgewater & High Command Skins for Katarina (975 & 750 RP)
Bilgewater and High Command skins bear similarities, making it difficult to choose between the two. Ultimately, we consider Bilgewater to be slightly less attractive than High Command, although both skins receive the same rating in our Katarina skins review due to their close competition.
In her High Command skin, Kat’s flowing red hair stands out more compared to her black hair in the Bilgewater skin. Additionally, her angular weapons in the Command skin evoke a more menacing appearance than her pirate scimitars.
While both skins are decent, neither can be regarded as the best Katarina skin available.
9. Mercenary Katarina Skin (520 RP)
This affordable 520 RP skin for Katarina is a great choice, outshining many higher-priced alternatives. Kat’s white hair stands out, and her simple green top and tight black pants create an appealing look. Moreover, her daggers exude a menacing aura.
If you’re on a tight RP budget but want to refresh Katarina’s appearance, this skin is the ideal choice. The only drawback is the lack of new particles or animations compared to her default skin.
8. Kitty Cat Katarina (975 RP)
Although this skin possesses visual appeal, it lacks new particles, animations, or sounds. For 975 RP, we expect more than minor model changes.
Cat lovers and furries may consider this the best Katarina skin, but there are superior options available for the rest of us.
7. Red Card Katarina (975 RP)
Red Card Kat is a decent Katarina skin, but it lacks additional animations or particle effects. We appreciate the vibrant red hair, which is also present in the High Command skin.
However, we question whether the “red card” theme truly suits Kat’s character. While the outfit looks good, it lacks any connection to a knife-wielding assassin. Overall, this skin ranks well but falls short of being the best Katarina skin.
6. Warring Kingdoms Skin for Katarina (975 RP)
Among the non-epic, non-legendary skins priced at 975 RP, the Warring Kingdoms skin reigns supreme in our review. It may not be as flashy as some other skins, but it perfectly captures the essence of a ruthless and ancient assassin.
The standout feature of this skin lies in Kat’s knives, which appear incredibly sharp and dangerous. Additionally, her outfit exudes elegance, differing from some of her other skins in a way that could be either positive or negative, depending on personal preferences.
If you prefer not to spend over 1,000 RP on a new Kat skin, this affordable option is a fantastic choice.
5. Death Sworn Katarina (1350 RP)
It’s difficult to rank Death Sworn Katarina so low on the list, considering its quality. However, given the abundance of outstanding Katarina skins, this skin falls short. As we delve into the realm of Epic skins priced at 1350 RP, we find skins with additional particles, animations, and sound effects.
What distinguishes this skin are Kat’s glowing teal blades, which match her hair color. Additionally, some nice pink highlights adorn her hands and sword grips, adding elegant touches.
Although we initially appreciated this skin, after a few games, it loses its allure. The teal colors overpower the skin’s subtler details, leading to a somewhat monotonous experience. If the theme and colors resonate with you, this skin is worth considering. However, if you’re not completely sold on it, keep reading for better options.
4. Blood Moon Katarina Skin (1350 RP)
Blood Moon is a superb skin choice for Katarina. It incorporates captivating color effects, with subtle purple and pink hues adorning her blades, without overwhelming the overall aesthetic like the Death Sworn skin.
When she wields her blades, they leave behind a trail of color, adding intrigue and drama to combat. Additionally, her recall animation features her disappearing into nothingness while emitting a cry, providing a significant visual transformation.
While Blood Moon does not claim the title of the best Katarina skin, it remains an excellent option worthy of consideration, nearly securing a place in the top three of our Katarina skins review.
The Three Best Katarina Skins
If you haven’t already fallen in love with one of Kat’s previous skins (many of which are superb), get ready for an exciting revelation as we present the top three Katarina skins.
3. Battle Academia Katarina (1350 RP)
Katarina’s Battle Academia skin ranks among the top Katarina skins available. It introduces impressive effects to her dagger and Shunpo abilities. Refer to the accompanying screenshots for a glimpse of these enhancements.
As evident in the screenshots, her blades transform into intriguing double-edged swords, departing from the conventional single-edged blades found in most of her other skins.
Furthermore, this skin features a remarkable recall animation. During her recall, she jumps onto a training platform before flawlessly slicing through a set of training dummies and returning to the Fountain.
2. Runner Up: Project Katarina (1350 RP)
Project Katarina stands out as a cool departure from other visually enticing skins released by Riot. In her Project skin, Kat is almost entirely clad in shiny black and grey armor.
Her blades, emitting a mesmerizing pink glow when viewed from different angles, steal the spotlight amidst the muted colors of her armor and hair. After all, the “Sinister Blade” deserves such attention.
While we admire this skin, its somewhat lackluster recall animation prevents it from securing the title of the best Katarina skin. The animation merely consists of sword forms performed within the blue light of the standard recall animation. This slight disappointment serves as one of the primary reasons why Project Katarina falls short of the top spot.
1. Best Katarina Skin: Battle Queen (1820 RP)
Katarina’s finest skin is undeniably her Battle Queen skin. As expected from a legendary skin, it features significant changes to her model, voice lines, recall animation, and particle effects. Watch the video provided below to witness these impressive modifications.
Additionally, the best Katarina skin also boasts the best chroma. The Tanzanite chroma is particularly beloved, with rich purple colors blending perfectly with the gold armor. Unlike other chromas that mix random colors in an ostentatious manner, this chroma exudes refinement.
We sincerely hope you enjoyed our review of Katarina skins. Please feel free to share your opinions on our ratings and our selection for the best Katarina skin. If your favorite Katarina skin differs from our choices, let us know!
If you’re expanding your skins collection, don’t forget to explore the top skins for Lux and discover the ultimate skin for Thresh.
