EB24 about Teamfight Tactics #1 - Best Meta for Patch 9.21 with PasakCZ

(This guide was written by PasakCZ, another great TFT booster.)

Today we will be going in-depth and taking a look at the meta for the Patch 9.21, this being the last patch before our set gets switched to the exciting set 2 of TFT.

First of all, we will look at the current meta that is being played on a diamond level and what items/champions are currently the key to victory and getting to masters. After, we will see what many challenger players do separate themselves from lower-level players and keep themselves ahead of the competition.

So, let's start! The key to understanding the game is knowing why certain things are being played, which usually is a direct result of what gets buffed/nerfed throughout patches and which new items/champions get introduced to the game.

Currently the things that will determine our play style are:

Items:

- Giant Slayer.

Traits:

- Dragons,

- Sorcerers,

- Knights,

- Hextech.

Champions:

Kai'Sa.

General changes:

- Player Damage.

We’ll start by breaking down each one of these changes and then coming up with a general game plan heading into ranked.

• Item changes:

Giant Slayer

Hands down to the strongest item in the game. It offers raw damage throughout all stages of the game with its %HP true damage and flexibility. This item fits well into almost all comps.

Giant Slayer is created with a Recurve Bow and a BF Sword. Its offensive stats fit even into Sorcerer with the prevalence of Dragons as an answer to them. Crafting this item, as soon as you can is 90% of the time the right play to make. Getting one of these early, should be an instant craft as it can offer a lot of snowballing potential when placed on a Carry like Lucian, Zed, Vayne, Nidalee and anything else that consists of auto-attacking enemies fast.

• Traits changes

Dragons

One of the most unhealthy game design choices that Riot has made... Dragons offer 75% magic damage reduction on top of normal magic resist. While once considered mostly as a counter to Sorcerers comps, the recent prevalence of magic damage in meta comps makes Dragon damage reduction effective against any comp that isn't 4 voids.

Magic damage comes from Knights combinations, Swain, Jinx, Cho'Gath (without the void trait), Demons, and almost all damaging ultimates. And with the Dragon trait being some of the strongest stand-alone units in the game, it is seen very often in high elos.

Aurelion'Sol being a Sorcerer himself offers a huge amount of burst damage while protecting himself from high damage ultimates makes him a very strong carry and a great counter for Sorcerers comps.

Sorcerers

The 6 Sorcerers trait was buffed, which along with Knights and Brawlers nerf has opened room for pushing the Dragon comp one step further and going for 6 Sorcerers with Yuumi on Gnar. This comp is not recommended to be played on ranks below Grandmaster as it takes skill to transition into it.

Knights

On the last patch, Knights offered the strongest front-line for most comps when running 4 Knights. This patch, however, Knights have had their team-wide damage reduction cut by 5, which doesn’t seem like much at first glance but these 5 damage reduction comes after resistances. A better way to look at it is that their damage reduction to an almost 20% hit can equate to almost 1000 damage during late-game fights. This nerf also has contributed to the rise of Sorcerers and Shapeshifter comps since they have low auto-attack damage. This makes it harder to kill focused targets.

Hextech

This trait got quite a nerf. Not much to say about it other than it was mostly aimed at Jinx comps and has made them a bit weaker since then.

• Champions changes
  
  

Kai'Sa

Arguably, Kai'Sa is currently the strongest unit in the game. Her high base attack speed coupled with her ultimate and the fact that she has an Assassin trait makes her a very slippery target that offers an incredible DPS when activating any of her 3 synergies.

Due to her high power level, a few different comps focus on getting to level 8 in order to find her and then fitting her in. While Kai'Sa being the strongest unit in the game, she is also the most demanding in terms of requirements needed to get her to become a win condition.

If she isn't 2-stars and doesn't have the right items, she will feel very weak as her damage is multiplicative and has a very steep breakpoint between doing tons of damage and doing almost no damage at all.

• General changes:

Player Damage

The current Player Damage created a meta that is unforgiving to players who lose fights at most stages of the games, regardless of if they were crushed or if they barely lost to 1 or 2 units.

This means, that you want to get a good comp running as soon as you can and that win streaks are more valuable than having a good economy. If we do happen to have a decent comp that can get us through the early game, it's easier to get the first place since we'll have a good economy and good comp. There are many fewer instances of 20-30 HP bursts in late-game, so we have a smaller kill range and can be a bit greedier after wolves.

• So what's our game plan?

First of all, you should feel comfortable with at least 2 top tier comps that are built off of different openers. The 3 common openers usually revolve around what you want your front-line to be comprised of (Knights, Brawlers, or Shapeshifters).

On the first carousel, you have to be looking to pick up either a Spatula or a BF Sword. Those are the 2 most flexible items if you can't grab any of these items go for any offensive item available (Glove, Recurve Bow, Rod) and after that, Belt should be your worst-case scenario. I would not recommend contesting items that 5 or more players are going for since the chances that you get the item are low.

The first 3 rounds will usually decide what comp we want to have in mind and look to complete it throughout the game based on both the champions and the items we have taken.

Try and get any units you can to 2-stars and use those as your opener; 1g cost units are the most common and easiest to level up. I would recommend, usually selling your 2g cost units unless they are S tiers opening units like Shen, Zed or Varus or if they make part of your comp later in the game. I also don't recommend leveling up to level 4 at stage 2-1, unless you are sure that you can beat at least 6 other players in the lobby.

Stage 2 should be used to gather as much gold as you can whether it will be through win streaking or through creating a good economy. A good game will have you at 30-40 gold by the Krugs round (3 Golems stage) and you will want to level up to 5 after it.

Never roll before level 6 as the game revolves around having a comp with most of its units upgraded after wolves, so only upgrading your lower tier units by rolling is a bad idea.

In any rank below Challenger, the key to victory is getting to 50 gold at the beginning of stage 3 and slowly leveling up while not rolling. This strategy will allow you to find your final comp reliably and outpace most of your opponents who will use all their gold and lose steam.

On the wolves stage, you will want to have 50 gold and be able to reach level 7. Once you are level 7, you need to make a choice based on your health and your economy. If you want to push for level 8 or roll down at 7 and get your composition completed. Getting to level 8 is preferred but if you are under 40 HP, you can roll down your gold at level 7 and try to get your composition finished. Remember that level 8 offers a much higher chance to get a legendary unit than level 7.

Small tip:

Unless given amazing rolls, do not waste your gold on trying to get your units to 3-stars. They are not powerful enough to compensate for the economic loss. Also, you can find below, a small scheme on when you should try to level up and guarantee your level 8 at the right time! (1)

Illustration (1): Small explanation on when to level up

And we've come to an end. This guide was brought to you by PasakCZ. If you want to learn more with him, you can buy a coaching session and assign it to him! We can guarantee you that he will be as friendly and educational as you can see on this blog post! Nevertheless, you can also buy a TFT boosting service for your account and let him show you how to play on a TFT Duo boosting service. You can also contact us on any social media displayed below.

Instagram | Facebook Page | Twitter | Facebook Group | Discord Server