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

(This guide was written by Anoobis, one of our best TFT boosters.)

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• Changes on Patch 9.21

Although the team comps are largely the same, the meta is a lot different now. Players must play very aggressively now to stay healthy, and a bad early game could easily drop you to the eighth place. While the dominant strategy in patch 9.20 was building a late-game fantasy by rushing to level eight as soon as possible, this patch is more focused on early dominance and securing an early lead. Below are the most important changes done on this patch:

Player Damage

 - Base Damage: 1/2/2/3/4/5 ⇒ 3/3/3/4/5/6

These player damage changes are by far the most impactful changes in 9.21. On average, you will be taking 2 extra damage per loss in Stage 2, and 1 extra damage per loss in later stages.

Traits

 - Guardian bonus Armor: 45 ⇒ 40

Guardians were given a love tap in 9.21. They are still strong and Dragon Guardians are still a very powerful team comp.

 - Knight Damage blocked: 15/35/60 ⇒ 15/30/60

Four Knights remain decent but aren't as dominant on the mid-game like they used to be. In 9.20, the standard mid-game composition was 4 knights and a carry - this patch, we see more mid-game diversity with Demons, Assassins, and Rangers combinations.

 - Rangers bonus Attack Speed: 25%/70% ⇒ 40%/70%

Having 4 Rangers continues weak due to the state of the meta, but having 2 Rangers received a significant buff and are now a good transitional comp.

 - Sorcerer Ability Power: 40%/100%/175% ⇒ 40%/120%/200%

Getting 6 Sorcerers is actually a good play now (compared to none last patch!). They are a very strong composition but are ineffective at securing 1st place due to the prevalence of the Dragon comps.

 - Hextech Item Disable duration: 7 seconds ⇒ 5 seconds

Hextech received a massive nerf, but there's still a very good comp that can be used: Jinx Brawlers. This comp remains strong due to nerfs to its competing comps. 

 

• Meta Comps to Run in Patch 9.21

Dragon Guardian Sorcerers

Composition of the champions for a Shapeshifter Variation

When to go with this strategy?

When you find upgraded Shapeshifters and don’t have any good AD Carry items (e.g. Draven/Jinx) items.

Composition of the champions for a Knight Variation

When to go with this strategy?

When you get Knights opening and don’t have any good AD Carry items (e.g. Draven/Jinx) items. An early spatula will help and be used for a Knight’s Vow or a Yuumi.

Jinx Brawler

Composition of the champions for a Jinx Brawler strategy

When to go with this strategy?

When you get an early giant slayer and have a brawler opener.

Jinx Brawler strategy but with Kai'Sa instead

When to go with this strategy?

You're transitioning from a Jinx Brawlers to a first-place comp. Replace Jinx with a 2-stars Kai'Sa first, then add in the other pieces.

Imperial Knights

Composition of the champions for an Imperial Knights strategy using Knights, Imperial and Phantom

When to go with this strategy?

When you get early BF swords or recurved bows.

Composition of the champions for an Imperial Knights strategy using only Knights and Imperial

When to go with this strategy?

Same as above but when you have a knight’s vow.

• Items in 9.21

Items are more important than ever on this patch. Giant Slayer is the best item in the game - Jinx Brawlers cannot be played without a Giant Slayer and every top composition except Dragon Guardians wants one. Dragon’s Claw is a core item if you want to protect your main carry - Dragon Sorcerer compositions make it all but impossible to get placed first without one. 

Knight’s Vow is slightly weaker due to the knights nerf but is still a premier item because of its versatility. It is seen in both the Dragon Guardian Knights and Draven Knights. 

As with the last patch, Morellonomicon is a core item on many mages. It is strong early on champions like Lissandra, Kennen and even Garen, and strong late on Aurelion'Sol and Karthus. 

Guinsoo’s is heavily prioritized as well due to Kai'Sa Brawlers being the only comp to escape any sort of nerfs. Kai'Sa utilizes this item extremely well due to her high base attack speed.

• Carousel Items to Prioritize

BF Sword > Spatula > Bow > Rod > Gloves > Cloak

• Strategy
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Early Game

The main goal early game is to build the strongest comp possible. Losing health early on is much more punishing than ever - even if you lose to a single unit, you will take 3 points of damage from the enemy player. Use your gold early if you feel weak or if you are about to hit important upgrades - do not be hesitant to break your economy!

With her nerfs, Lissandra has fallen from her throne of being the best early game carry and Varus has taken her place. Good early game units include Varus, Lucian, Shen, Zed, and Nidalee. 

Some good early team comps are:

- Brawler-Wild (Nidalee-Warwick-Reksai)

- Demon-Shapeshifter (Elise, Varus, Jayce, Nidalee)

- Ninja-Knights (Zed/Shen, Garen, Darius)

- Noble-Knights (Lucian, Garen, Fiora, Darius)

Mid game

At this point, you should be trying to build core parts of your final comp and creating a good economy for the late-game transition. If you feel weak or are low on health, you should be searching for upgrades to stabilize. 

With the nerf of 4 Knights, Demons have emerged as the best mid-game comp. Aatrox, especially, is the king of mid-game. 

Some good mid-game team comps are:

- 4 Demon + 3 Sorcerers (Aatrox, Morgana, Varus + 1 Demon, 2 Sorcerers)

- 4 Knights + 2 Phantom + a Carry (Garen, Darius, Mordekaiser, Poppy, Kindred + a Carry)

- 4 Brawler + 2 Gunslinger (Jinx, Lucian + 4 brawlers)

- Anything you can build around a 2-stars Kennen with GA

Late game

At this stage of the game, you should be finalizing your composition and searching for 5 cost upgrades. Most games end before level 9, but if you are healthy enough, leveling to 9 almost guarantees to find the 5 cost units you need.

See the team comps above for the guidelines of what you should aim for. If you have a Giant Slayer and Guinsoo’s, you can add a 2-stars Kai'Sa into any comp, even without synergy.

• Key Takeaways from this Patch

- Early game is very important - prioritize your health and try to not take too much damage.

- Try to build your comps around the meta items (Giant Slayer, Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Morellonomicon, Dragon’s Claw, Knight’s Vow) since some of them are really overpowered and can help you get the first place.

- Use your economy to stabilize, especially in early to mid-game transitions.

- For early to mid-game, Varus, Aatrox, and Kennen are stronger, Lissandra is weaker.

- For late-game, Kai'Sa, Pantheon, Aurelion'Sol, Jinx, and Draven are very strong and highly contested units.

And this is it! This wonderful guide was brought you by our Challenger Booster called Anoobiss and we hope you liked it! If you find this guide interesting and want to learn more you can always purchase a coaching session and assign it to Anoobiss, he will be very pleased to help you and explain to you the best of the meta and more details on how to climb and build properly for a number one spot! If you're more of an observant, then you can also buy a boosting service for TFT and you can spectate him at any time so you can see every move he makes and analyze! Don't forget to follow us on all the social media displayed below and stay tuned for more content! 

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