What is a Vastaya in LoL? Runeterra race, explained

League of Legends has many races and species created just for its Runeterra lore and perhaps chief among them ranks Vastayans⁠, animal-like characters like Ahri, Xayah, and Rakan who are very much fantasy characters.

There’s more to Vastayans in League than just being “animal-like” though. Here’s everything that defines Vastaya champions and who they really are.

Vastayans in Runeterra, explained

The Vastaya are a chimeric race from Runeterra descended from enlightened mortals. Chimeric means “formed from parts of various animals”⁠—a description pretty bang-on for most League Vastayans.

These original Ionian mortals created the chimeric race when they claimed the power of the shapeshifting Vastayashai’rei in the spirit realm. This power gave the mortals animalistic characteristics alongside their human forms. Their descendants then evolved to become the many characters we see today.

There’s no real rhyme or reason to modern Vastayans; they are sexually dimorphic and their physical attributes are more closely tied to their domains. They are split into animal-like, human-like, and shapeshifter varieties. As examples for each, think about Xayah (animal-like), Ahri (human-like), or Neeko (shapeshifter).

There are three main Vastayan tribes in Runeterra, each of which is then split into its separate sub-tribes. They are:

Tribes of the Sea

• Crimson Razorscale
• Marai (fishlike)
• Makara
• Raylu

Landwalker Tribes

• Bryni (rabbit-like)
• Fauhwoon (goatlike)
• Juloah
• Kepthalla
• Khonlui (rhinobears)
• Kiilash
• Lhotlan (birdlike)
• Oovi-Kat (chameleonlike)
• Ophelis
• Ottrani (goatlike)
• Shimon (monkeylike)
• Sodjoko
• Vesani (foxlike)
• Vlotah

Tribes of the Sky

• Besheb
• Chyra
• Strig

Wider League and Runeterra lore has also mentioned several other tribes that don’t fit into these three major groups, including the Canghapi and Skard.

Every Vastayan champion in LoL

League has eight Vastayan champions, at the time of writing. The first Vastayan champ introduced to Summoner’s Rift was Wukong, who debuted in 2011. Ever-popular mage Ahri then followed two months later.

The Vastayan race has become an iconic part of Runeterra’s lore in recent years, even stretching to Legends of Runeterra through Daani and Ting.

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

• Ahri
• Aurora
• Nami
• Neeko
• Rakan
• Rengar
• Wukong
• Xayah

Several League characters also have Vastayan heritage, including Nidalee (through her shapeshifting), Sett, whose mother was Vastayan, and Udyr.