And very few characters benefit from this more than Gnar, as his Mega and mini form usually get two completely distinct designs. But among all of the Gnar skins, which one is the best? That’s what I’ll try to determine as I rank all of his skins from worst to best, considering each skins’ features, overall appeal, and price tag.
8. SSG Gnar
Released: July 20th, 2018 Price: 1350 RP Fair warning straight from the get-go: Gnar doesn’t really have any bad skins, so this ranking is nitpick city. And even though this is an E-sports skin, it actually doesn’t fall into the common pitfall of making the entire skin around team flares and such. There is a slight mention of the team in the backing animation, as you either eat some bananas or slurp spaghetti out of the Worlds’ cup, but that’s about it. The character model has some strong Bengal tiger vibes – and I have to say that Riot absolutely nailed the Mega Gnar form. That being said, the base form is just okay in my eyes. He does look cute, but it’s nothing over the top. And considering his boomerang isn’t all that interesting either in this skin, it slightly lowers my rating. Also, there’s a different Gnar skin that has a very similar vibe but costs less – so I would hardly ever opt for this one.
7. Dino Gnar
Released: August 13th, 2014 Price: 975 RP Maybe it’s because this is a release skin, but I’ve simply grown tired of Dino Gnar. Don’t get me wrong, it has some really nice features, and it offers a great deal for its price. But I am not as hyped about it anymore. The base model here is trying too hard to be cute, if you ask me. But the Mega Gnar form definitely makes up for it. In terms of new animations, both backing animations are really solid, the Mega Gnar Q is quite nice as you chuck buildings at people, and the transition from one form to another is one of the most impressive animations where we get to see Gnar’s costume coming to life. Overall, this skin is objectively very decent. But it simply doesn’t get me as hyped as most of the others, so it has to rank lower on my list.
6. El Leon Gnar
Released: June 1st, 2016 Price: 750 RP This is definitely Gnar’s best budget pick. It’s only 750 RP while still putting in some nice work. The base character model is basically how everyone saw Rey Mysterio in the old days, while your Mega form has you become a straight up lion. But jokes aside, I really love the design for Mega Gnar on this skin. In terms of animations, you don’t get any new backing animation here – but you do get to throw pipes at people, which is equally as important in life. Overall, El Leon Gnar isn’t the type of skin that will completely blow you away. But it does what it needs to do, it does it well, and it does it for a low price. So it’s bound to be perfect for someone.
5. Super Galaxy Gnar
Released: October 16th, 2017 Price: 1350 RP Super Galaxy Gnar is quite beloved among Gnar mains, and here are some of the reasons why:
The whole skin is a Gurren Lagann reference The splash art is absolutely brilliant The name “Mecha Gnar” is bound to make any dad joke enthusiast happy And lastly, who doesn’t love robots?
You also throw guns at people, which is so on-character that it’s honestly brilliant. All of this being said, why isn’t this skin higher up? Well, because the character models aren’t really doing it for me. Base Gnar just looks like normal Gnar, but dressed up. And Mecha Gnar looks like a generic giant robot. The sound effects are cool though, and the Q animations for both forms are clean. But I honestly prefer my Mega Gnars distinct and organic. Overall, I do love the idea behind this skin. And I will never complain about anime references. But the following skins in our ranking just do a slightly better job when it comes to character models.
4. Gentleman Gnar
Released: July 14th, 2015 Price: 975 RP This is honestly one of the swaggiest skins in the game – and it’s really hard not to love it. You look like this pristine little chap one second, and then like a horrifying depiction of capitalism in the next. In your base form, you throw canes with your auto-attacks, and a pocket watch for your Q. And if that wasn’t funny enough, Mega Gnar throws Big Bens around just to showcase how much his time-teller power has grown. When it comes to the backing animations, I honestly can’t tell which one I like more here. Because the base form has you gnaw on your pocket watch, while your Mega form has you strike a serious pose and then fall down like a sack of potatoes. When it comes to goof skins, Gentleman Gnar is pure gold. But if your goal is to look consistently cool, there are a few better options.
3. Snow Day Gnar
Released: December 10th, 2015 Price: 975 RP Considering Gnar’s lore states that he was frozen in ice for a couple of millennia, this skin could easily pass as his default. Sure, your base form is wearing modern clothes and a literal icepick. But let’s not bring logic into this. But Snow Day Gnar really brings some great value to the table, with ice particles present on your transformed W, E, ult, and even as your passive fills up. This really adds some immersion to the design – and it feels less surprising when you start throwing frozen penguins in your Mega form. Speaking of your Mega form here, the character model design is the perfect blend of terrifying and adorable. I both want to call him a good boy and stay far, far away. Overall, a lot of players have praised this skin for its simple yet clean design, and the feeling of being a rejected Ice Age character. So I will follow the trend.
2. Astronaut Gnar
Released: May 28th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP I’m going to be honest with you here and say that base Gnar could have been a literal PNG of a squirrel, and this skin would have still been in my number two spot simply for Mega Gnar. You can really see that the designers had some fun with this one. And it’s just amazing as it combines elements of the regular Gnar we all know and love, the usual alien archetype, and a mushroom hallucination. Sure, Astronaut Gnar does also have other cool features, like Gnar throwing satellites at people, eating aliens and entire ships (depending on your form), and throwing space boomerangs at people. But I honestly care about Mega Gnar the most. Although I will say that the sound design is a close second in terms of sale pitches, since the ability sound effects coupled with the new voice filter make for quite the interesting experience.
1. Elderwood Gnar
Released: January 6th, 2022 Price: 1350 RP In my head, this was barely a competition. Because I absolutely love skins that allow monster characters to remain monster characters. No fancy suits or pajamas here, just your usual mystical forest guardian! I seriously can’t stress enough how good the character models are here, with the base form using a really bright color palette and a bone mask to create something truly magical. And then there’s your Mega Gnar form that looks like it came straight out of Shadow of the Colossus. How could you possibly refrain from throwing money at Riot for this design? And that‘s not even mentioning the fact that Elderwood Gnar has some truly beautiful new animations and particles, all very druid-y in nature, and all equal parts beautiful and mysterious. I could honestly gush about this skin forever, so I’ll cut myself off and just state the obvious: this is the best Gnar skin if you ask me. Note: this content was created under Riot Games’ “Legal Jibber Jabber” policy using assets owned by Riot Games. Riot Games does not endorse or sponsor this project.
