What is a Yordle in LoL? Runeterra race, explained

You’ll have seen Yordles running around in League of Legends for as long as you’ve been playing, whether it’s been months or more than a decade. Or maybe you’ve just heard the race mentioned in Arcane on Netfix. Either way, they’re very cute and among the most loved characters in Runeterra.

Only, exactly what these little fuzzballs are isn’t totally clear. Here’s what Yordles actually are and how they fit into the grand scheme of League’s huge lore.

Yordles in Runeterra, explained

Yordle is the name of a race of natural Runeterran spirits who mostly appear as short furry bipedal creatures. League lore says they usually live in mystical places like Bandle City, though they do appear elsewhere.

Riot’s history for the race suggests they existed before Runeterra became material and were originally nomadic. As more humans and humanoid races began to inhabit the lands, Yordles began using a magic called “Glamour” to appear more like short humans⁠—a defense mechanism to keep them safe.

Yordles don’t die and age very slowly. They are rarely taller than one meter and generally clock in at around 50 to 80 centimeters. Nearly every Yordle has four digits on their hands and are usually fuzzy.

Hilariously, the made-up name “Yordle” came from a dream veteran Riot developer Paul Bellezza had about Yoda and Yaddle from Star Wars.

Every Yordle champion in LoL

League has eight Yordle champions, at the time of writing. The little race’s history on Summoner’s Rift dates all the way back to 2009 when Tristana and Teemo⁠—who some would argue is the most iconic Yordle⁠—were released. Veigar and Amumu followed soon after, though Amumu was originally described as a little boy before later being credited as part of the Riot-designed species.

Outside human characters, of which there are dozens, Yordles actually rank as one of the most prolific species across the Runeterra game universe.

Here’s all the Yordles you can play in League:

• Amumu
• Corki
• Fizz
• Gnar
• Heimerdinger
• Kennen
• Kled
• Lulu
• Poppy
• Rumble
• Teemo
• Tristana
• Veigar
• Vex
• Ziggs

There are also several other named Yordle characters to be found across Runeterra’s lore, including Norra and Kobuko, but neither have made it to League’s roster yet.