Master Yi is one of my favorite champions. He just feels so satisfying to play, and expectedly so is one of the most played champions in the game.
Master Yi has a LOT of skins- so it can be hard to weigh which ones are the best. So, I made a list of the best Master Yi skins.
This list is no fluff, I am not made out of money, so I wouldn’t want to waste my money on a bad skin either. If a skin is bad, I will tell you to avoid it.
Here’s the Best Master Yi skins, but I go super in-depth about every skin if you scroll down. This list is ranked from WORSE to BEST (the bottom one being the best).
- Ionia Master Yi
- Samruai Master Yi
- Snowman Master Yi
- Chosen Master Yi
- Assassin Master Yi
- Headhunter Master Yi
- Blood Moon Master Yi
- Cosmic Blade Master Yi
- Eternal Sword Yi
- PROJECT Yi
- PsyOps Yi
Ionia Master Yi (POOR, 975 RP)
Ionia Master Yi looks kinda cool, Master Yi comes to the rift with red armor and a slightly different sword, but that’s where the fun stops.
No special animations, nothing. And in my eyes, the skin is GROSSLY overpriced. Stay clear of it, spend your money on a different skin.
Samurai Master Yi (POOR, 520 RP)
Master Yi comes in a samurai suit. It’s an old skin, and it’s very dated. The samurai outfit kind of looks cool, and he has a samurai sword- but there’s nothing else to it.
No animations, no special effects, nothing. Perhaps if this skin was redone in the future then I’d rank it higher. But I’d advise you spend your money elsewhere unless you’re a super big samurai fanboy.
Snowman Master Yi (AVERAGE, LEGACY)
This skin is Master Yi in Snowman form.
The best part? He carries around a carrot to smack his enemies with as a sword.
Look, this skin isn’t even obtainable anymore as it is a legacy skin. It was made as a gimmick skin, and not much else.
There aren’t really any cool animations or special effects to this one. Sure, his ultimate gets a blue aura, but other than that, the skin is bland.
It was made as a joke skin, and unless you’re a Master Yi one trick that wants every skin, or you’re someone super into Frozen the movie- I’d save your RP somewhere else. Plus, you can’t even buy it right now.
If you do get it in a chest, you might as well use it- but personally, I wouldn’t.
Chosen Master Yi (JEDI Skin, AVERAGE, 520 RP)
Chosen Master Yi is namely used because Yi is a Jedi!
He gets a lightsaber that changes colors depending on the ability he uses, and he gets a cool Jedi outfit too.
But, other than that, there are no special animations.
I’d put the skin higher on the list, but nobody is really buying this unless they specifically want the lightsaber.
If you’re a super big Star Wars guy, then I’d recommend buying it. But, if you’re not that into it, your RP is best spent elsewhere.
Assassin Master Yi (AVERAGE, 390 RP)
For some reason, Assassin Master Yi is like a favorite in the Master Yi main community.
I’ll say, it doesn’t look bad. Master Yi is in a black/grey suit, with a very sharp grey sword. But other than that, not much else changes. No special animations, nothing.
While his outfit looks cool, the skin is just very basic, and I’d suggest you would spend your RP elsewhere.
Let’s just say that you NEED a Master Yi skin (I really don’t like the base skin), and you only have the 390RP to buy it- I’d say maybe. It’s better than nothing, but I would still save your RP for a better skin on this list.
Headhunter Master Yi (AVERAGE, 975 RP)
Headhunter Master Yi is a great ‘budget’ Yi skin. It’s not bad, it’s not great, but it’s better than the default skin in my opinion.
What really makes this skin cool are the chromas, as you can basically change Master Yi and his sword into whatever color you want.
It’s a very basic skin. Your sword becomes bigger and has a glow, and you wear more black/gray armor instead of Master Yi’s traditional green state. But, overall, the skin is really basic and doesn’t change much in terms of animations or special effects.
Again, the chromas are the nice thing about this skin. But other than that, it’s an alright skin.
If I were you, save up your RP for a better skin on this list. 975 RP is way too much for this skin, and this skin is more of something you’d use if you got it out of a box or something.
Simply put, this skin is better than the average one, but not really worth spending any RP on. Spend your RP elsewhere.
Blood Moon Master Yi (GOOD, 1350 RP)
Blood Moon Master Yi is one of Master Yi’s MOST controversial skins. It was just barely released around a year ago, and the best way to describe the controversy is, “shouldn’t it have been cooler?”.
Blood Moon skins have a reputation for being these AWESOME and crazy skins that you can only get every other year. But, Blood Moon Master Yi- while it has its strengths- falls shorts in many aspects.
Let’s start with the good first, then talk about the bad.
First of all, the skin looks really sick! Master Yi looks like a blood moon menace, with a dark red theme to compliment it. Let’s just say, you won’t be worried about Yi’s appearance with this skin.
His sword looks SWEET. It’s this red and dark purple blade that is just begging for first blood on the rift.
His Q is alright, it’s pretty simple and it shows a small red translucent dust whoever Master Yi is alpha striking to.
His W, meditate- is where Riot really had an opportunity to make this skin great and failed to do so. He has a very standard meditate, that’s probably worse than the base skin. It has 4 blood moon logos that surround you during the meditation. The problem? The healing is green.
Riot really messed up here. Everything else on this skin is dark red, but his meditate throws this random green explosion for no reason. Needless to say, many Master Yi fans weren’t happy with that one.
Yi’s E is also kind of weird. It adds a strange cyan hue to the blade, which I personally don’t like. I think it’s more of a preference thing- as it doesn’t look that bad if you’re open-minded.
The ultimate is REALLY COOL. It shows this extremely dark red-black cloud surrounding you as you charge into battle with tiny red flairs coming out of it. Plus, Master Yi turns super dark, basically into this void monster as the Blood Moon sets.
Master Yi also has a cool blood moon recall animation. AND, he has a lot of Chromas with the skin that recolor the whole outfit AND sword!
Overall, this skin is good and competes with Cosmic Blade and Eternal Sword, but many Master Yi mains will find themselves gravitating to the other skins.
This is namely because Riot just had a lot of potential with this skin, and didn’t quite reach it. (Especially considering the failed meditation animation and colors) There’s a lot that’s cool about this skin, and a lot that’s bad.
But, you wouldn’t really regret buying it. It has its’ strengths, and its weaknesses. I think most Master Yi mains just don’t like playing it because it had so much more potential that it just isn’t worth their RP compared to other skins.
But alas, it’s definitely a way better skin than anything ranked below this.
Cosmic Blade Master Yi (GOOD, 1350 RP)
Cosmic Blade Master Yi is actually super interesting. I personally really like it, but many people disagree.
Again, even though I think this skin is the best, I am making this list based on other Master Yi players’ opinions.
The biggest takeaway you need to know about this skin is: the animations are awesome, but the skin itself doesn’t look that great in-game.
The biggest problem most people have is that, while the skin has cool animations, outside of that- it is very lackluster. While many can argue that “well, that’s the same for most Yi skins”- not entirely.
He has a basic recall animation, basic auto-attack sequence, basic death, and no special effects when attacking or combatting.
The best way to describe this is: all animations, barebone everything else.
But to me, I’m someone that likes that style of skin. And if you’re someone who also likes that style of skin where there isn’t much happening unless you’re using an ability, this skin might be perfect for you. (In fact, this is the skin I primarily use)
The coolest thing about this skin is his sword. His sword is like this cosmic blade that has a little void star in it. It looks super cool.
Master Yi’s Q has a very unique alpha strike animation different than the other skins. He draws a line from every enemy he is alpha striking to, it kind of looks like a geometry thing is happening on the screen. Many people agree that it feels kind of slow though, so be wary of that.
His meditate in my eyes is lackluster, it is somewhat cool, but I feel like Project and PsyOps do a better job. It’s nothing to scoff at, but it is just a simple green orb that circles you.
His E is actually really cool. It changes the hilt and lower part of your space blade purple, so you get this beautifully vibrant blue/purple mix.
The ultimate is the best part of this skin. It’s like you summon a Starfire around you, as you charge in there is this blue space aura filled with tiny orbs and stars flying away from you.
Again, when you’re using all the abilities, this skin looks SUPER cool, but outside of it- not so much.
Also, many Master Yi players have attested to the clunkiness of this skin. It can feel very weird at times, but- it’s not as bad as some skins.
I’d say you could argue Eternal Sword Yi/Cosmic Blade Yi all day, they are both very good skins for Yi though, and you won’t regret either. But generally speaking, PsyOps and Project are the main picks for Yi players.
Eternal Sword Yi
Eternal Sword Yi is a REALLY COOL skin. While most Master Yi mains will say PROJECT Yi or PsyOps Master Yi are better in every way, tons of them still keep Eternal Sword Yi as their pocket pick.
The coolest part about this, is well- his sword. His sword glows a vibrant gold, and is much bigger.
Many people joke about this skin being the “Irelia Yi”- as he looks like Irelia and the skin has a very ‘Ionian’ vibe to it.
Plus, his meditation shows 4 swords surrounding him.
His E, with his empowered auto attack turns his sword blue.
When Master Yi ults, he gets this beautiful cyan trail behind him and he floats in the air.
Master Yi’s color scheme is a dark blue and gray scheme with some hints of gold. He has gold and cyan accents, which actually look really cool (even if they sound disgusting).
The biggest thing about this skin is “Master Yi’s face reveal”. For the longest time, nobody had seen Master Yi’s face, as it was never public on any skins (he has that weird 9 eye thing on him).
This skin also has some cool Chromas- and your sword will somewhat change colors with the Chroma.
This is why I personally placed Eternal Sword Yi over Cosmic, while they are both super cool- the way the chromas affect the sword cannot be understated. It really makes the skin super awesome as you can change the color as you see fit.
While this skin may not be as smooth or as cool as PROJECT Yi or PsyOps Yi, it is definitely one of the better skins and one that you wouldn’t regret playing.
PROJECT YI (GREAT, 1820 RP)
PROJECT Yi is Master Yi’s 2nd best skin. However, many people can make the case that it is better than PsyOps. Honestly, they both have their strengths and weaknesses- so you can really argue either skin is #1.
Regardless, PROJECT Yi and PsyOps are basically undisputedly better than the rest of the skins. At least, according to most Master Yi mains. (everybody has their own preferences!)
PROJECT Yi is actually a really cool skin. And, it’s kind of old, so chances are- you’ve seen it on the rift before.
PROJECT Yi basically turns him into a robot. He gets a super cool ‘mech-like’ suit, and gets a ton of robotic changes with it.
His color scheme goes from green-yellow to Orange, black, and white.
His blade turns into this super awesome serrated futuristic sword. Think of almost a lightsaber, but not quite. (Obviously, Chosen Yi has the lightsaber).
Master Yi’s Q is really cool, and shows a split second ‘projection’ of himself teleporting to the enemy.
His ultimate is really cool, and lights up his mech outfit to a glowing orange. And it emits this barrier of orange rings that follow him. Plus, his sword doubles in length and has this flame emitting from it.
His meditate is in my eyes, my favorite of all skins. It has him sit on top of a platform while surrounded by translucent green “computer screens” surrounding him. It truly does look like he is a robot launching his ‘healing’ code or something- idk it looks cool!
All in all, it’s a really solid skin and fits in with the PROJECT series really well. If you’re a big PROJECT skin line fan, this skin will not disappoint. It honestly does look really cool.
The only drawback on this skin is that many people find it to be quite clunky, and say they miss many auto attacks on this skin because of it. I do agree, and I find the PROJECT skins from that year (including PROJECT Yasuo) to be really clunky.
But, it isn’t a deal breaker for the skin, and as long as you focus and don’t hesitate with your auto attacks, you’ll be fine. But, if you’re someone who is SUPER PICKY about animations and how a skin ‘feels’ you might want to move onto the PsyOps skin.
PsyOps – The BEST Master Yi Skin (GREAT, 1350 RP)
PsyOps is the most recent and the BEST Master Yi skin.
I won’t lie, this skin has caught a lot of flak because many Master Yi mains say the auto-attack animation doesn’t feel ‘strong’. And I get it, sometimes the animations on skins can feel weird. The sword just feels really light and a lot of Master Yi mains don’t like it compared to the other skins.
But, the rest of the skin is really good, and the best Master Yi skin.
It has the nickname ‘elipesyi’- namely because it includes a bunch of flashing colors on Master Yi’s sword, and most of his animations.
In fact, the whole joke about the skin is that it gets you pentakills because the enemy team will have a seizure once you use your ultimate.
While these jokes are funny, the skin isn’t actually just a dancing orb of light. It’s actually really cool.
Master Yi comes into the rift with a cool black outfit, instead of the usual and yucky green one. It has red and white flairs on it, and the shoulder blades. His sword is a sharp black blade with a white edging to it.
When Master Yi uses his Q, Alpha Strike (I WAS IN ALPHAAA) it shows him as a rainbow figure and orb dancing between his targets. Which, most people say is one of the coolest parts of the skin.
His W, meditate is a little different than the traditional meditate, and instead shows you in almost this ‘portal’ with green and grey steam/fog surrounding you in a circle. It’s actually really cool.
His E, makes your blade change colors and turn into an array of black/white bars with a rainbow outline, similar to that of an old TV that hasn’t connected to a channel. It’s actually pretty sweet.
His ultimate is the coolest part. As it announces a sound effect, Master Yi in his black outfit starts radiating this rainbow ‘aura’ around him that follows him almost like a smokescreen. He has this cool lagging trail behind him similar to that of the PROJECT Master Yi skin.
Overall, it’s a really solid skin. Plus, it comes with a ton of chromas if you don’t like the standard black/white variation it comes with. If you’re a big Chroma guy, this skin will be an awesome pick for you.
While many players say they don’t like the PsyOps auto-attack, it’s a really solid skin overall- and I don’t think you’ll regret it. It’s really clean, it isn’t overwhelming, and it has a cool rainbow thing going on when you ult and Q, which actually looks quite beautiful in my eyes.
The BEST PART about this skin is that it doesn’t feel clunky or clumsy at all. It is INCREDIBLY smooth. As aforementioned, many people have voiced their problems with PROJECT: Yi, citing that it feels incredibly clunky and it is easy to cancel auto attacks with.
Riot really improved on PsyOps Master Yi by making this skin as smooth as butter. I really like it.
Plus, PsyOps is called a really ‘flashy’ skin- so if you like making those Pentakill 1v5 plays, this skin will look awesome while doing it.
I highly recommend this skin, and you won’t regret it.
Conclusion
What’s the bottom line? PROJECT Yi/PsyOps are the BEST skins. Meanwhile, Eternal Sword, Blood Moon, and COSMIC Blade are the better skins that you’ll love as more of a budget-friendly option that will look awesome. The rest- I’d just skip.
