Argus “Raiden Maru” Skin: Visual and Cost Breakdown

Argus “Raiden Maru” skin is Argus’s first Collector-tier release, and the second giant mecha-suit skin in MLBB’s Titans line.

Moonton locked the date months ahead of the drop: 1 September 2026, as the headliner of the September Exquisite Collection.

As of 27 August 2026 it isn’t live yet, so everything here comes from official Moonton posts, in-game preview reporting, current ranked data, and community reactions to advance-server and showcase footage. We’ll flag anything that’s still preview-stage instead of confirmed.

Snapshot: What Argus “Raiden Maru” Is

Fact	Detail
Hero	Argus, the Dark Angel (Fighter / EXP Lane, released 2017)
Skin name	Argus “Raiden Maru”
Tier	Collector (Exquisite Collection)
Theme	Titans, giant mecha suit fused with samurai design
Official date	1 September 2026
Event	September Exquisite Collection
Currency	Crystals of Aurora, or Diamonds at a 1:1 exchange
Position in the Titans line	Second giant mecha suit. Balmond “Vulcan Lionheart” came first on 1 August 2026. Sun “Celestial Rebel” is the next mecha Titan expected later in the year

Moonton’s own copy calls it “a perfect fusion of a hardcore mecha design and samurai culture,” and that line does most of the marketing work for this skin.

What the Name Means

Raiden is the Japanese thunder god, more commonly written Raijin, and it lines up with the official voice-over tease: “Thunder’s reckoning descends.

Raiden Maru, into the breach.” Maru is a suffix the Japanese language uses on ships and, informally, on named machines, so the full name reads like a christened thunder-warframe rather than a decorative title.

The community shorthand that keeps showing up on YouTube and in the comments is Pacific Rim Jaeger crossed with Date Masamune, MLBB’s take on the one-eyed samurai lord.

See Also: MLBB 10th Anniversary 2026: Free Skins & Diamond Math

Official Designs and Effects of Argus “Raiden Maru”

Moonton’s skill-showcase copy is more specific than the average skin announcement, and it’s worth reading closely if you’re on the fence about saving for this one.

The silhouette is a steel-clad giant with one glowing eye that Moonton describes as standing as tall as a skyscraper. The armor reads purple in most lighting and shifts toward blue depending on the angle, with a full glow effect when that single eye opens.

Wings unfold from his back, and a ring mounted behind him lights up as he takes flight during the ultimate.

The weapon is a chain blade that transforms and reassembles on every swing instead of sitting as a static greatsword, and his skill set includes a summoned samurai phantom. Movement carries an earth-tremor weight that’s meant to sell the mecha bulk.

That’s the complete set of official selling points, and it matches how Collector skins in this event tier are usually built: a full effect rewrite covering the model, all four skill animations, the entrance, the recall, and the kill and death sequences, not a simple recolor of the base hero.

Skill-By-Skill Feel from the Showcase and Preview Reviews

Piece	What reviewers and official clips show
Idle and walk	Heavy plated gait, one-eye visor, mecha bulk
Basic attacks	Blade extends and reforms, mechanical slash trails
Passive (Demonic Slash)	Circular tail-blade motion, one of the best-received effects even in early July builds
Skill 1	Samurai phantom paired with a mecha dash or pull
Skill 2	Transforming chain blade thrust
Ultimate	Wings deploy, back ring ignites, the flight and death-immune window looks like a Jaeger going live
Entrance	A large cinematic drop, though a good chunk of the community wants the old lightning intro back
Recall and BGM	Early July reviews flagged the recall as default and the BGM as missing entirely. Late-August official videos look more finished, so treat the July complaints as pre-polish notes rather than final store quality

Early reviewer ZayedHeroPlays covered a build that was explicitly tagged unfinished in July and still called it Argus’s best skin on model and color, while flagging the missing Collector-tier extras.

Kazuki Official’s later coverage called it one of the strongest Collectors in a while and leaned into the Pacific Rim and Transformer comparisons.

The complaints that keep repeating across comment sections are about taste more than quality: some players want the classic lightning entrance restored, some think the July builds still felt unfinished on audio, and a few keep mixing up the purple palette with Saber Legend.

The loudest non-cosmetic thread is Argus mains asking for hero balance changes rather than another skin.

Worth saying plainly since it gets lost in trailer hype: cosmetics don’t touch his numbers. Buy it if you actually play Argus, skip it if he’s a bench pick for you.

How to Get Argus “Raiden Maru”, Price, and Cheap-Draw Math

There’s no flat shop price like a straight 899-Diamond tag here. Collector skins in 2026 come out of the Exquisite Collection draw system, and the September event follows the same structure Moonton has run all year, including August’s Balmond event.

Event Rules for the September Exquisite Collection

• Currency: Crystals of Aurora or Diamonds, exchanged 1:1.
• A single draw costs 50 Crystals of Aurora. Your first single draw each day is discounted to 25.
• A 10x draw costs 500 Crystals of Aurora. The first 10x of the round is discounted to 350, then reverts to 500 for every draw after that.
• Your first 10 draws guarantee a permanent item, though not necessarily the featured Collector skin itself.
• Duplicate pulls convert to Regal Coins, and a duplicate Collector item converts to 240 coins.
• New featured Collectors in 2026 have generally landed around 720 crests, with returning Collectors closer to 800. The final September crest price shows up on the event screen the day it goes live.

August’s official post ran the same discount structure from the 1st through the 31st, and a community seller listing already frames Argus’s window as 1 through 30 September.

Confirm the actual close date in-client on launch day, since monthly Exquisite Collection events almost always run the full calendar month.

Realistic Spend to Pull Raiden Maru

Goal	Typical draw count in 2026 Collectors	Optimized cost range
Lucky Box skin	45 to 55 draws	1,600 to 1,850 Crystals or Diamonds
New featured Collector (Raiden Maru)	60 to 70 draws	1,950 to 2,250 if you use the daily 25s plus the 350 first 10x
Returning Collector	75 to 80 draws	2,400 and up
Panic-buying in one sitting at full price	Same draw count, no discounts applied	3,000 to 5,000

One player guide covering Helcurt’s Titan Collector reported landing it in roughly 66 draws for around 1,950 Diamonds by combining the daily discounts with keys from Premium Supply.

The same method is already being recycled for the Argus event, though luck still decides where you actually land in that range.

See Also: MPL Malaysia S18 Schedule: Full Regular Season Breakdown

How to Play the Event Without Getting Wrecked

Bank your Crystals of Aurora now if you’re planning to save for Argus specifically. Anything you spend chasing August’s Balmond skin is gone before September even starts.

On day one, take the discounted 350-cost 10x draw, since it’s the only 30-percent-off 10x you’ll get in the whole event. On every day after that, the 25-cost single is the best rate available, better than waiting for another discounted 10x that won’t come.

Set a spending ceiling before you open the draw animation, because the event is built around getting you to open “just one more” 10x.

If you’re curious about the skin but not fully committed, a middle path works fine: take the discounted first 10x, collect the guaranteed permanent item, and stop there.

Starlight Plus, Premium Supply, and the monthly Crystals of Aurora packs are the usual ways players convert spare Diamonds into extra event currency ahead of a Collector drop. There’s no confirmed free path that awards Raiden Maru itself.

Free routes in this event type give small amounts of currency, keys, or lower-tier cosmetics, not the headliner skin.

September Lineup (Preview, Can Still Change)

Community compilation of the in-game next-round panel plus other reporting points to this Collector-tier lineup:

• Argus “Raiden Maru,” the new headliner
• Novaria
• Harith
• Yi Sun-shin, a revamped return
• Yu Zhong, a revamped return

The Lucky Box tier, which sits at the same Exquisite rarity but exchanges cheaper, currently shows Eudora, Alpha, and Leomord.

The returning eight names in past events have shifted between preview and launch before, so treat everything on this list except Argus’s identity and the 1 September date as subject to change until the event page actually loads.

Titans Series Context: Why This Skin Exists

Moonton has been building out a Titans cosmetic arc across 2026. July brought Helcurt “Kaiju of the Deep” as a Titan-adjacent monster skin. August delivered Balmond “Vulcan Lionheart,” the first giant mecha suit in the line.

September hands that mecha design to Argus with Raiden Maru, and community reporting already has Sun “Celestial Rebel” grouped as the third mecha Titan for later in the year. Moonton’s official account even ran a “which do you like best” poll among those three.

The lore thread that ties them together, first laid out during the Balmond launch, is humans forging themselves into giant suits to fight giant beasts. Argus’s chapter puts a samurai spin on that same war.

See Also: MPL Malaysia Season 18 Preview: Meta, Rosters & Drafts

Argus the Hero, So the Skin is Not Just Wallpaper

Argus is the fallen twin of Rafaela. The Monastery of Light used him and never acknowledged him for it. The Meteoric Sword revealed he was born human, and the curse that followed turned him into the Dark Angel.

His signature line, “Immortality or Death,” is one the playerbase actively fought to get restored after a 2021 voice swap changed it.

Patch 2.1.88 in June 2026 pushed him further toward fighter identity, giving him a stronger early-to-mid game and a guaranteed ultimate effect.

The published numbers on live servers: base attack 120, base HP 2,600, attack growth of 8 per level, attack speed growth of 1.5 percent with an 80 percent bonus cap, and 240 movement speed.

His passive, Demonic Slash, got a longer range and a short dash, with a Malice Energy cap of 200; slash damage and the armor-ignore portion were both reduced, while energy gain sits at 25 per basic attack and more on a crit.

Skill 1, Demonic Grip, has its cooldown reduced from 12 to 10 seconds at max rank and applies a 40 percent slow for 2 seconds.

Skill 2, Meteoric Sword, dropped to a 8-to-6-second cooldown and lost its cursed trail effect. His ultimate now sits at a 42-to-35-second cooldown and auto-triggers if he takes fatal damage while it’s off cooldown, granting 3 seconds of death immunity.

Advance Server chatter from mid-August, including crit-triggered extra Demonic Slashes and a stun on Skill 2, is not guaranteed for the live build.

Treat those clips as experimental rather than something to plan a build around, and don’t be surprised if a few comment sections joke that Moonton will sell the skin first and nerf the kit right after.

Mythic+ data from around late August 2026 has him sitting at roughly a 53.4 percent win rate with a very low pick rate near 0.3 percent and a ban rate near 0.5 percent. That’s a hero who rewards a player who already knows him, not one dragging down the meta.

See Also: MLBB Starlight Membership Explained: Skin, Cost & ROI 2026

Best Build Right Now for Argus (Official, EXP Lane)

This build reflects live Mythic+ stats and current community build data. The skin changes none of it.

Best Items

• Corrosion Scythe as the first spike. It adds attack speed, movement speed, and an on-hit slow that feeds his passive directly.
• Windtalker for attack speed, crit, and movement speed, which fixes his comparatively slow 240 base movement.
• Haas’ Claws for lifesteal to sustain through the ultimate window.
• Berserker’s Fury for crit damage that scales both his slash damage and his ultimate burst.
• Great Dragon Spear as extra fight power once the core is finished.

Boots come down to a read on lane pace: Swift Boots if you want the attack speed immediately, Rapid Boots if the lane already feels slow after his movement speed drop to 240.

For the sixth slot, go situational: Sea Halberd against heavy healing or shields, Malefic Roar against a stacked-armor frontline, Immortality if you keep getting caught out, Hunter Strike for more burst and mobility, or Blade of Despair if you’re already snowballing.

Best Emblems

Two trees show up consistently in high win-rate samples. The Assassin tree with Fatal, Master Assassin, and War Cry or Concussive Blast fits a squishier EXP matchup where you want flat penetration and a duel bonus.

The Marksman tree with Fatal, Weapons Master or Master Assassin, and Concussive Blast fits a tankier frontline matchup where percentage penetration holds more value.

Best Battle Spells

Inspire shows up in roughly 75 percent of submitted builds and pairs directly with his ultimate: you can’t die during the window, and the extra attack speed turns your slashes into a machine gun.

Flicker is worth switching to only against a heavy-stun enemy comp. Retribution only makes sense if you’re actually jungling him.

Skill Order

Take the ultimate at level 4 as usual, then prioritize Skill 1 (Demonic Grip) over Skill 2 (Meteoric Sword). Skill 1’s damage scales better per rank right now.

How to Play the Window

Farm until you have Corrosion Scythe and boots finished. He’s not a level-one lane bully after the fighter retune, so don’t force fights before that.

Open with Skill 1, follow with the Skill 2 slow, and stack basic attacks to build Demonic Slash stacks.

Press Inspire and the ultimate only once you’re already committed to the fight. The auto-triggering ultimate is a safety net for a mistake, not a reason to walk into five enemies on purpose.

Once the immunity window ends, the healing only comes from actually hitting heroes, so don’t waste the ultimate’s uptime on creeps.

See Also: MLBB x Jujutsu Kaisen Revamp Phase 1: Total Cost & Token Math

Argus Skin Closet: Ranking Raiden Maru Against His Other Skins

Skin	Tier	How to get it
Dark Angel	Default	32,000 Battle Points or 599 Diamonds
Light of Dawn	Basic, pre-fall angel	Around 269 Diamonds
Dark Draconic	Starlight, November 2017	Old Starlight event or fragments
Catastrophe	Elite	Around 599 Diamonds
Darth Vader	Star Wars collaboration	Limited event, previously known as the “sultan” Argus skin
Winged Nightmare	Season 27	Season pass
Malediction	Paint	Around 188 Diamonds
Raiden Maru	Collector	September 2026 Exquisite draw

There’s also a long-running piece of trivia: a teased “Cataclysm” Epic skin has stayed vaporware for years.

Raiden Maru is the first time Argus’s closet reaches actual Collector production values. If you already own the Vader skin, the choice is mostly taste: cinematic villain versus giant thunder mecha.

If your current wardrobe stops at Light of Dawn or Catastrophe, Raiden Maru is a different tier entirely.

What is Still Unconfirmed Until 1 September

A few pieces of this picture aren’t locked yet. The exact crest price for Raiden Maru against any resale or bundle pricing hasn’t posted.

The final list of the returning eight skins in the event could still shift. It’s also unconfirmed whether the recall animation and unique BGM shipped in the live build, versus staying default the way July’s preview showed.

Any Advance Server balance changes for Argus landing alongside the skin haven’t been announced either, and the event’s exact end date, while very likely the last day of September based on past cycles, hasn’t appeared in the same post as the 1 September start date.

See Also: MLBB Upcoming Skins August 2026: Full Timeline & Draw Math

Argus “Raiden Maru” is a real Collector launch, not a rumor thread. The date is locked for 1 September 2026, and the theme is a one-eyed thunder samurai built inside a Titans-style Jaeger frame.

The effects that already look finished are the transforming chain blade, the summoned samurai phantom, and the wing-and-ring ultimate sequence. The effects still under debate are the entrance cinematic and whether July’s missing recall audio actually made it into the final build.

Pull for it if Argus is a hero you queue regularly. A disciplined draw pattern using the daily discounts puts the realistic cost around 2,000 Diamonds or Crystals of Aurora, well below what you’ll spend mashing 10x draws on day one.

Skip it if you’re only here for the trailer, since the skin won’t make a neglected Argus suddenly meta and his current kit is a solid mid-pick fighter with a safety-net ultimate, not the borderline-unkillable demon he was a few patches back.

Share your thoughts in the comments section below: do you feel the ultimate’s flight and wing effects edge into pay-to-win visual territory during Lord pit engagements, what was your total Diamond count to reach pity, and how does its animation smoothness compare against his default or Starlight skins?

Watch the official in-match showcase the night before you spend. That single clip tends to be the review that actually matters.