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Teamfight Tactics Meta Snapshot: Top Team Comps for Patch 9.13
The Teamfight Tactics (TFT) meta has been developing gradually in the weeks since launch. Top players have identified strong and weak compositions, and thus it’s likely you’ve started seeing the same champions and synergies over and over. This guide will cover some of the strongest compositions by breaking down their strengths and weaknesses and helping you identify when and how to transition into them.
Some definitions before starting:
- Draft Difficulty: How difficult it is to assemble the composition’s pieces together
- Top 3 Viability: How viable it is to make it to Top 3 before dying
- Winning Viability: How likely it is to win when you complete the composition
- Item Dependency: How much of the comp’s power is reliant on getting the right items
- Tech Choices: What extra champions you can draft after the core composition is completed
Top 3 Comps
4 Rangers + Guardians + Demons
Tech Choices:
Guardians (Braum, Leona)
- Generally underrated composition that tends to help keep your Rangers alive long enough for your Kindred to ult and for everyone to mow down the enemy frontline.
Demons
- Getting an Aatrox is a decent frontline option and allows your Varus to manaburn enemies often
- Elise is a budget option if you’re strapped for cash
- Swain is an excellent option, especially if you manage to get a 2-star Swain. Once he transforms, he’ll be very hard to kill and deals massive AoE damage.
Phantom
- Extremely powerful with Kindred as it almost eliminates by 1 enemy champion.
- Aim for a level 2 Karthus. Even without the Sorcerer synergy, his ultimate hits very hard.
Description: With recent Varus buffs (June 24, July 1), 4 Rangers have become a really strong composition to run for several reasons. The Ranger synergy allows both Ashe and Varus to auto attack extremely quickly, meaning that they stun and mana burn a lot, in addition to being able to cast some of the strongest spells in the game. Furthermore, Kindred’s ult ensures their survivability. This composition revolves around building a tank line around these Rangers to ensure that they last long enough for the Rangers to do their work.
Guidelines: At the start of the game Varus + Vayne + Tank is a solid foundation. You can also start with 3 Nobles (one of them has to be Vayne), and then you can transition into the next stage by drafting a Varus.
If you get Varus + Ashe + Braum + Aatrox with a couple of them two starred, you can get through to your final comp pretty easily. Bench the Vayne until you get Level 5 if you need to.
From that point on, just keep rolling to upgrade your Rangers. Leaving Braum and Aatrox (or whatever your tanks are) at 2 stars should be okay. You should ideally end up with your core Varus/Ashe/Kindred/Vayne by the time you hit level 7. Getting a 2 star Kindred is really important because it helps her survive long enough to get her ult off. Braum/Leona/Aatrox arean ideal frontline, but you could also get an Elise instead of the Aatrox if you’re on a tight budget. If you are able to run 8 characters, Mordekaiser/Karthus for Phantom is amazing, and Kayle offers both a gamechanging ult as well as a Noble buff on a key ally.
Item Allocation:
- Shojin’s: Ashe, Varus, Kindred
- Guinsoo’s: Ashe, Kindred, Vayne
- Phantom Dancer: VS Assassins
- Dragon’s Claw: VS Elementalist and Sorcerers
- Titanic Hydra: On 3 Starred Rangers.
- Zeke’s: Braum or Leona
- Morello’s: Varus
This comp is a little more item dependent than others is because its core champions won’t have their damage scale into late game without them. Always try to prioritize damage on Varus and Ashe and defensive items for Kindred.
Wild Stacking
Tech Choices:
Dragon Sorcerers
- Requires Shyvana instead of Swain
- Draft Aurelion Sol, and a third sorcerer of your choice (Lulu or Morgana is suggested), and Cho’gath for the Brawler bonus
- Final level 8 comp: Warwick, Nidalee, Ahri, Gnar, Shyvana, A Sol, (Lulu/Morgana), Cho’gath
Glacial + Demon + Rangers
- Requires Swain, Volibear, Ashe, and Varus.
Imperial Draven
- Better with Swain, but can work with Shyvana/ASol as well
- If you have an Infinity Edge, Rapid Firecannon, and Phantom Dancer, you want to consider this
- Just add a Draven to whatever you run
Description: Wild/Shapeshifter is classic composition that’s been around since TFT hit the PBE. Gnar and Nidalee both have the Wild and Shapeshifter tags and the champion requirement for both synergies being very low (4 Wilds 3 Shapeshifters), and thus this composition is one of the most versatile in the game. In addition, Wild/Shapeshifter has a bunch of overlapping synergies (with Gnar and Nidalee) in game, making it fairly easy to complete. Warwick and Ahri tend to scale off in the late game, which is why it needs to be augmented with Sorcerers or Rangers in the end.
Guidelines: For the early game, you need at least a tier 2 Warwick and Nidalee. This pair can likely carry you up until you’re able to draft the rest of the core composition. If you’re struggling, putting damage items like Titanic Hydra on Nidalee can really help. Having an early Brawler to put next to Warwick will add a lot of survivability. Consider running a two Knight frontline or early three Voids to help get into the mid-game. If you’re unable to roll enough Warwicks or Nidalees within the first 5 rounds, you might want to go for another composition.
Make sure that you’re aware of your tech options as you’re assembling your core. Select your complimentary synergies based off the items you acquire, as well as your enemies’ choices. If you have more attack speed or mana items you may opt into either dragon sorcerers or glacial + demon + rangers. Glacial works better into other Wild comps, whereas Dragon Sorcerers works better into most other things.
Item Allocation:
- Guinsoo’s: Nidalee, Aurelion Sol,
- Phantom Dancer: Shyvana, Aurelion Sol, Swain
- Dragon’s Claw: Swain
- Titanic Hydra: Nidalee, Gnar, Shyvana
- Morello’s: Swain
If you have an Infinity Edge, Rapid Firecannon, and Phantom Dancer, just go Draven.
Giving Nidalee a couple of damage items in the early game can go a long way if you’ve got plenty of items or just need an early boost. Phantom Dancer on Shyvana and Aurelion Sol makes them very difficult to kill. If you have a Shojin’s consider puting it on Varus, Ashe, or Aurelion Sol. While Warwick can do well with tank items, it’s generally more optimal to put them on more impactful units.
Glacial Elementalists
Tech Choices:
Yordles (low investment and more durable vs Assassins)
- Take Lulu and Poppy along as your core
- You can start drafting Sorcerers and Demons for level 7 and above
Demons (mana burn vs Sorcerers)
- Aatrox, Morgana, Swain
- The idea is to complement the Demon origin on Brand
- Alternatively, you could run Swain and Draven
Pure Glacial (extremely CC heavy, less susceptible to mana burn)
- Braum, Anivia, Ashe. You’ll ideally swap out Kennen for Anivia.
- If you’re able to get Level 9, put in a Varus for the Demon and Ranger synergy
Description: Elementalists are straight up one of the best compositions in the game for winning. Not only do Elementalists bring heavy AoE damage, they have the best non-Glacial CCs in the game and shockingly high survivability. Rolling the correct pieces for the composition (Lissandra, Brand, and Kennen) usually results in a pretty high finish. When you tech correctly and have the right units, the amount of damage and CC behind the comp makes it almost impossible for any other composition to win.
Assassins tend to hard counter squishy compositions, however Elementalists are extremely resilient due to the CC provided by Lissandra, Kennen, Sejuani, and Glacials, as well as Daisy’s ability to absorb hits. Elementalists’ main weaknesses are magic immunity and mana burn, so be wary of Dragons and Demons.
Guidelines: Elementalists often require a sharp transition from early game to mid game. None of your core champions (except for Lissandra) are available early, so you often have to make do with one of the following starts:
- Early Gunslingers
- Early Knights and Nobles
- Early Wild
Take whatever 2 Star you can get and begin transitioning once you’ve drafted Lissandra, Kennen, and Brand. An early Braum can help a lot, but you’ll usually bench him for a Sejuani as soon as you can. Lulu is a solid early addition. Her ult can save you in close fights while giving you the option to build into Yordle Elementalists. A 2-star Brand with items is one of largest priorities as he’ll safely melt entire teams with his ult.
While you’re building up to your 4 Core champions, you should pay attention to who you’re fighting. You might want to start drafting Demons or extra Glacials if you’re up against Wild Sorcerers. If you’re seeing a lot of Assassins, Yordles are probably the way you want to go. As long as you’re playing around Lissandra, Brand, and Kennen and placing them correctly, you should start winning rounds as soon as that trio is completed.
For items, you want to keep an eye out for Morello’s, Shojin’s, Deathcap, Archangel’s, and Phantom Dancers. Morello’s and Deathcap give you obscene amounts of damage while Shojin’s and Archangel’s will let you ult more than you could possibly imagine. Putting a Morello’s on Kennen will wreak havoc on any melees near your team, and putting Shojin’s/Deathcap on Brand will melt any back line.
Honorable Mentions
Locket Stacking Sorcerers
Tech Choices: As long as you have the Sorcerer synergy and multiple lockets, you can pretty much run anything.
Description: Despite the planned nerfs to Locket already onthe PBE, this composition is definitely worth mentioning as it’s been terrorizing TFT players all over. Sorcerer buff boosts Item values, and thus an individual Locket of the Iron Solari will have a base shield of 400, further increased by the Needlessly Large Rods in the build path. Stacking 3 Lockets of the Iron Solari on a single character placed in the center of all your champions buys your composition enough time for Morgana, Aurelion Sol, Veigar, and Karthus to nuke everything into oblivion.
Guidelines: The only thing that holds this composition back is being able to get enough Lockets to pull it off, as Kassadin is your only front line unit. Once you’ve got the Lockets it’s a brainless composition to run. Draft every single sorcerer you find and you’ll eventually have all the pieces you need.
Item Allocation
- Locket of the Iron Solari: Morgana
- Shojin: Lulu, A Sol, Veigar
- Morello’s: A Sol, Karthus
- Deathcap: A Sol, Karthus, Veigar
- Archangel’s: A Sol, Karthus, Veigar
Gunslingers
Tech Choices:
Early Pyke
- An early Pyke can get you the Pirate synergy, which can generate a lot of extra gold for you
Blademasters for Front Line and additional shenanigans (Yasuo, Aatrox, Draven)
- Use Blade of the Ruined King to help hit at least the 3 Blademaster Synergy
Triple Void for front line (Kassadin, Rek’sai, Cho’gath)
- The armor reduction applies to your entire team of physical damage dealing Gunslingers, which augments their damage by a fair amount
- Generally, triple Void is good for mid-late game, but you would like to transition it to something better like Blademasters for endgame.
2 Glacial 2 Brawler for Front Line (Cho’gath, Volibear, Sejuani)
- This is similar to a Triple Void front line, but with some Glacial stunning instead of the armor reduction
Description: Gunslingers are more of a “for fun” comp that can get really high placements if you manage your high rolls correctly. The comp makes use of the Gunslinger synergy with items that give on-hit effects (such as Titanic Hydra, Red Buff, etc). It isn’t an overpowered composition, but it’s definitely strong enough to consistently hit top 3 if you’re able to get a good start.
It’s very important to mention that alot of the best players tend to use Gunslingers and Pirates to build their economy safely, and then transition entirely out of it when they start rolling Tier 4/5 units like Draven, Brand, Karthus, Kayle, and so forth. They end up selling most of the Gunslingers for Blademasters, Elementalists, or Sorcerers.
Guidelines: To run Gunslingers, you’re dependent on rolling three things before the first carousel:
- 2-star Graves
- Red Buff to put on the Graves
- 2-star Tristana.
If you get those, you’ve got a good setup for a successful Gunslinger run. The next on your list is getting enough Recurve Bows and a Giant’s Belt to get Firecannon and Titanic Hydra for your Tristana. From there, finish the 4 Gunslinger bonus with Gangplank and Lucian, and start looking for a solid frontline (Kassadin/Rek’sai/Warwick or Leona/Garen/Lucian) to help your transition into the late game. If you have a Pyke, it’s very common to run two 2-star Graves, Pyke, Gangplank, Lucian, and Tristana.
Once you hit the late game, replace the Lucian or Gangplank with Miss Fortune when you roll her. Keeping Gangplank is suggested as he’s a decently beefy tank and he’s not difficult to three star. After you’ve got your Gunslingers set up, a Void frontline synergizes extremely well. If you go beyond level 8, consider Blademasters and Yasuo as endgame insurance.
Item Allocation:
- Red Buff: Graves, Tristana
- Titanic Hydra: Tristana
- Rapid Firecannon: Tristana, Draven
- Bloodthirster: Tristana, Draven
- Shojin: Miss Fortune
- Morello’s: Miss Fortune
For items, you want a pretty specific set-up: Red Buff on Graves, Titanic Hydra/Firecannon on Tristana, Morello’s, Shojin, or Archangel’s on Miss Fortune and Gangplank. As a third item, Tristana can take a Swordbreaker or Dragon’s Claw depending on what the other players in your game are going. You can also get the Blade of the Ruined King Spatula item if you’re able to get the Blademaster synergy with it.
Assassins
Tech Choices:
Void (easy synergy to go for with Kha’zix)
- Cho’gath, Rengar
- Draft an early Kassadin or Warwick if you need to
Ninjas
- Kennen, Shen, Zed
- You should only ever run 1 or 4 Ninjas, and never 2 or 3
Imperials
- You would run 3 Assassins (1 being Kat), and then Draven, Swain, and Darius (requires level 6)
- It’s great when combined with a Kha’zix, Cho’gath, and Rek’sai, and another Assassin (requires level 8)
Description: Assassins in general can be pretty sink or swim. Due to high base damage, they’re extremely powerful in the early game and one shot a lot of non-tank units. In addition, there’re many Assassin options so they’re easy to go for and draft. The downside is that Phantom Dancer exists, and its build path makes it very convenient and somewhat invalidates their power past the mid game. However, by including magic damage Assassins like Akali and Katarina, it’s still possible to find wins against PD-stacking opponents.
Guidelines: Void Assassins are a good default path for this build. In the early game, you want to aim for a Kha’zix, Rek’sai, and Kassadin core, and just draft every single Assassin that comes your way. The moment you find a Cho’gath, swap the Kassadin out for him. It’s not too difficult to run, and it’s fun watching your team eviscerate the enemy. Try to get a couple of your Assassins as upgraded as possible, and if you notice Phantom Dancers start putting priority on Akali and Katarina.
The Ninja Assassin variation requires a transition from Void, and generally performs about the same if you can get a big Akali. The AoE stun from Kennen can buy your Assassins a good window of opportunity to clean up their targets while Shen is a decent tank. You would usually try to transition to Ninjas before hitting the 6 Assassin mark by trying to draft all 4 of them as you’re chugging along with your Voids.
Item Allocation:
- Shojin: Akali, Pyke, Kha’zix, Rengar
- Archangel’s: Katarina
- Rapid Firecannon: Rengar, Kha’zix, Draven
- Bloodthirster: Rengar, Draven
- Infinity Edge: Rengar, Kha’zix, Draven
- Morello’s: Katarina
For items, you usually want a combination of Infinity Edge, Deathcap, Rapid Firecannon, Spear of Shojin, Morello’s, and Gunblade. Infinity Edge is incredible on every Assassin (especially Rengar), while the other items tend to be a bit more situational. Pyke, Akali, and Katarina enjoy the benefits of Morello’s and Gunblade a lot. Pyke and Akali benefit greatly from Shojin. Akali also benefits greatly from Deathcap. Bloodthirster works great on Rengar, Zed, and Kha’zix. Firecannon can help against those pesky Yordles and Phantom Dancers.
Usually, you’ll try to assign items to what you’re able to level up best, so don’t pigeonhole yourself into something by combining them too early. Hold onto the components for a little bit before committing!
Six Nobles
Tech Options:
Imperials:
- Draven/Darius is easy to run, with Darius getting the Knight synergy for a bit of added defense
- You could swap out Darius for a Swain as well
Glacials
- Braum/Ashe give you much needed CC, in addition to a Guardian bonus that makes your entire team even tougher against physical damage
- Ashe shares a Ranger synergy with Vayne as well, further increasing damage output
Demons
- Varus, Swain, and Draven are great for a Demon + Imperial synergy
- The mana burn and Ranger buff on Varus helps gimp frontliners that are dependant on their ultimates such as Cho’gath, Sejuani, and Gnar
- Swain is just an overall insane unit, and Kayle ulti helps him get his ultimate ability off
- The Imperial buff is also amazing on Swain and Draven, so no matter where it goes it’s doing something
Phantoms
- Kindred/Random Phantom (preferrably Karthus)
- Kindred ult on top of a Kayle ultimate is one of the most frustrating things to play against. The Ranger synergy on Kindred with Vayne helps her get her ultimate off quicker too
- The Phantom health debuff is also one of the most powerful synergies in the game
Description: Six Nobles is another classic composition that was discovered at the start of the PBE. The full Noble synergy appies the Noble buff to the entire team, however, as the comp requires a Kayle, this is a late game comp. If you do manage to assemble all six nobles your enemies will struggle to deal with this composition. Once you upgrade to a level 2 Kayle, it becomes very hard for non-Glacials or Elementalists to beat you.
Guidelines: The most important part about running Six Nobles is econning well and hitting level 7 as soon as possible. It’s a very tough composition to pull off because there’s a very fine line between how much you should spend on rerolling for upgrades and how much you should put towards hitting level 7. After that, a 2 star Kayle is your highest priority.
Start considering your tech options once you hit level 6. The 6 Noble buff will make you impervious to everything save for heavy glacial and CC comps, so consider using Demons or Phantoms to gain a leg up over those (mana burn will help prevent big CC AoEs, and Phantom can make something die instantly). If you feel like you’re lacking damage then Draven is an excellent addition. If you’re looking to pick up utility then consider Braum+Ashe.
Item Allocation:
- Shojin: Kayle
- Guinsoo’s: Kayle, Vayne
- Phantom Dancer: Kayle, Vayne
- Titanic Hydra: Vayne
- Morello’s: Garen
Prioritize all your items on Kayle when she’s 2-starred. Be conservative with what you give your other nobles as they don’t tend to be the best damage dealers.
League of Draven
Description: Draven
Guidelines: Draven
You can transition any team composition into a Draven comp. Draven’s one of the deadliest damage dealers in the game, and he’s unstoppable when you give him Bloodthirster, Infinity Edge, and Firecannon. Always consider Draven as a tech option if you’ve got the components to these items lying around.
The difficulty in running Draven is that he requires one of the highest investments in the game possible, and there’s no item set up that covers all his weaknesses. If he has a Bloodthirster, Assassins can one shot him. If he has a Phantom Dancer, Sorcerers can nuke him. If he has both Bloodthirster and Phantom Dancer, then other Phantom Dancers and Yordles will dodge his DPS. Without Infinity Edge, his DPS is much more balanced. If you do end up running Draven, try to watch out for these things, and itemize and arrange your units around him to help reduce the impacts of these weaknesses as much as possible.
Item Allocation:
- 3 of: Rapid Firecannon (most important item), Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer, Dragon’s Claw, and Bloodthirster on Draven
- 3 of: Morello’s, Archangel’s, Dragon’s Claw, and Phantom Dancer on Swain.
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