Teamfight Tactics Meta: Top Team Comps for Patch 9.14b
The Teamfight Tactics (TFT) meta has changed significantly from our last Meta Snapshot in Patch 9.14. With AI improvements and buffs to many champions across the board, item changes, and nerfs to Elementalists, TFT is practically a new game. At the moment, there are two main team compositions: Ninja Assassins and Carebear (Volibrawlers) that vying for the top spot, although there are several team compositions that can challenge them with some good luck.
This guide will cover these compositions in the game 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
One last thing before we start: we’ve stopped treating Elementalists as a team comp — instead, they’re a tech option for most team comps in the game due to how easy it is to transition into them.
S-Tier
Ninja Assassins
Level 1–3: Kha’zix, Pyke, Zed
Level 4–6: Zed, Akali, Shen, Kennen, Pyke, highest level Assassin
Level 7+:
- 6 Assassins Route: Zed, Akali, Shen, Kennen, Kat, Evelynn, Pyke, Rengar, Draven
- Elementalists Route: Zed, Akali, Shen, Kennen, Evelynn, Anivia, Brand, 2 Tier 5 units
Archangel’s, Dragon’s Claw, Gunblade on Akali
Infinity Edge, Phantom Dancer, Firecannon on Zed
Morello’s, Warmog’s, Yomuu’s Ghostblade for Kennen
Draft Difficulty: 2/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 5/5
Winning Viability: 4.5/5
Item Dependency: 2/5
Core Champions: Akali, Kennen, Shen, Zed, 2 Assassins
Tech Choices:
- 6 Assassins
- Elementalists
- Demon Imperials
Notes:
- Akali is the key unit for Ninja compositions. Without her, your composition will be significantly weaker
- Putting a Yomuu’s Ghostblade on Kennen to help hit the 6 Assassin mark is very important. Without 6 Assassins, your composition will be dealing significantly less damage.
- Position your Shen and Kennen in a spot which will force the enemy backline to walk up as much as possible, allowing your Assassins to jump behind them and kill them.
Carebear (Volibrawlers)
Level 1–3: Warwick, Blitzcrank, Nidalee
Level 4–6: Warwick, Blitzcrank, Volibear, Cho’gath, Braum, Leona
Level 7+:
- Warwick, Blitzcrank, Volibear, Cho’gath, Braum, Leona, Gnar, Swain, Kayle
Rapid Firecannon, Red Buff, Gunblade on Volibear
Warmog’s, Thornmail on Braum
Zeke’s Herald on everyone else
Draft Difficulty: 2/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 4/5
Winning Viability: 4.5/5
Item Dependency: 4/5
Core Champions: Volibear, Warwick, Cho’gath, Blitzcrank
Tech Choices:
- Guardians
- Glacials
- Demons
Notes:
- Rapid Firecannon is an absolute requirement on Volibear, or this composition is unusable.
- Without a Firecannon, Volibear will bug out and spend a lot of time moving around instead of attacking
- Make sure you have a Red Buff or Morello’s on one character, or else a player who’s put Warmog’s/Thornmail on one of their tanks will be very difficult to beat
- Because Volibear’s attacks proc on-hit effects, it’s often not a bad idea to put Darkin or Frozen Mallet on him for late game synergies as well
Pirate Gunslingers
Level 1–3: Graves, Pyke, Tristana
Level 4–6: Gangplank, Graves, Tristana, Lucian, Pyke, anything
Level 7+:
- Nobles Route: Gangplank, Lucian, Garen, Fiora, Kayle, Leona, Miss Fortune, Yasuo
- Blademasters Route: Gangplank, Graves, Tristana, Miss Fortune, Aatrox, Yasuo, Shen, Draven, Fiora
Red Buff on Graves
Cursed Blade, Rapid Firecannon on Trist
Hush, Sword Breaker on MF
Luden’s Echo, Statikk Shiv on Lucian
Morello’s, Archangel’s, Warmog’s on Gangplank
Darkin, Morello’s, Gunblade on Yasuo
Draft Difficulty: 3/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 4/5
Winning Viability: 3.5/5
Item Dependency: 4/5
Core Champions: Gangplank, Graves, Tristana, Lucian, Pyke
Tech Choices:
- Nobles
- Blademasters
- Assassins
Notes:
- Gunslingers are the only composition you can just roll every turn for. Focus on maxing out a Tristana and Graves if you can.
- Build a Cursed Blade as soon as you can on Tristana, it’s just one of the most effective items in the build and can help you start win streaking early.
Noble Blademasters
Level 1–3: Garen, Vayne, Lucian
Level 4–6: Aatrox, Vayne, Lucian, Fiora, Varus, Gangplank
Level 7+: Garen, Vayne, Leona, Fiora, Lucian (with BotRK), Kayle (with BotRK), Yasuo, Aatrox, Gangplank
Blade of the Ruined King, Archangel’s, Warmog’s on Kayle
Blade of the Ruined King, Luden’s Echo, Statikk Shiv on Lucian
Morello’s, Archangel’s, Warmog’s on Gangplank
Darkin, Morello’s, Gunblade on Yasuo
Gunblade, Morello’s, Warmog’s on Aatrox
Draft Difficulty: 5/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 5/5
Winning Viability: 5/5
Item Dependency: 5/5
Core Champions: Garen, Fiora, Kayle, Lucian, Vayne, Leona, Aatrox, Yasuo, Gangplank
Tech Choices:
- Shen, Draven
Notes:
- Get ready to high roll at least two spatulas and two recurve bows for the 6 Blademaster buff
- Keep Noble 4 and 5 on your bench until you roll your Kayle. They usually aren’t worth putting in because they’re quite weak as individual units
- Aim to 2 star Kayle — she’s a monster, especially with items and BotRK. She will be ulting constantly and making life a nightmare for the enemy team
- Aatrox, Varus, and Vayne are generally strong enough to carry you through the early game, especially with a couple of items on a level 2 Aatrox. If you early roll an Aatrox with three nobles, it’s definitely a good set up for this build.
Demons (Sorcerers, Shapeshifters)
Level 1–3: Elise, Nidalee, Warwick
Level 4–6: Aatrox, Morgana, Elise, Shyvana, Nidalee, Varus/A Sol
Level 7+:
- Sorcerer/Shapeshifter/Ranger route: Aatrox, Morgana, Swain, Shyvana, Gnar, Varus, A Sol, Karthus, Kindred
- Elementalists route: Aatrox, Morgana, Swain, Elise, Brand, Lissandra/Anivia, Kennen, Shyvana, A Sol
Gunblade, Morello’s, Warmog’s on Aatrox
Morello’s, Dragon’s Claw, Phantom Dancer on Morgana
Rapid Firecannon, Phantom Dancer, Warmog’s on Shyvana
Morello’s, Dragon’s Claw, Warmog’s on Swain
Draft Difficulty: 3/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 4.5/5
Winning Viability: 4.5/5
Item Dependency: 2/5
Core Champions: Aatrox, Morgana, Varus, Elise
Tech Choices:
- Shapeshifters
- Rangers
- Sorcerers
- Elementalists
Notes:
- Demons are one of the most powerful synergies in the game as mana burn is excellent for both offense and defense
- Aatrox, Varus, and Morgana have the ability to wipe entire enemy teams in an instant if they get their ultimates off, with Aatrox and Morgana being the most reliable of the three
Rangers
Level 1–3: Vayne, Lucian, Garen
Level 4–6: Vayne, Varus, Ashe, Kindred, Braum, Leona
Level 7+: Vayne, Varus, Ashe, Kindred, Braum, Aatrox, Leona, Mordekaiser, Kayle
Shojin, Morello’s on Varus
Guinsoo’s on Vayne
Shojin, Guinsoo’s on Kindred
Shojin, Guinsoo’s on Ashe
Draft Difficulty: 2/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 4.5/5
Winning Viability: 4.5/5
Item Dependency: 3/5
Core Champions: Varus, Vayne, Ashe, Kindred
Tech Choices:
- Glacials
- Demons
- Phantom
Notes:
- 4 Rangers tend to be on the weaker side in the meta when it comes to winning games, but they’re easy to complete, and can very easily secure a top 3 finish
- There’s a lot of things you can run around 4 Rangers, but having a Warmog’s/Thornmail Braum is likely the tankiest thing you can get to front line for them
- It’s important to make sure you hit the Demon and Glacial synergies with Ashe and Varus. Feel free to put items like Darkin or Frozen Mallet onto other champions to help complete the 4 set bonus.
6 Yordles
Level 1–3: Tristana, Graves, Lulu
Level 4–6: Kassadin, Lulu, Veigar, Tristana, Poppy, Kennen
Level 7+: Tristana, Lulu, Veigar, Poppy, Kennen, Gnar, Swain, Shyvana, A Sol
- Sorcerer Route: Tristana, Lulu, Veigar, Poppy, Kennen, Gnar, Swain, Shyvana, A Sol
- Elementalist Route: Tristana, Lulu, Veigar, Poppy, Kennen, Gnar, Brand, Anivia, Morgana
- Gunslinger Route: Tristana, Lulu, Veigar, Poppy, Kennen, Gnar, Miss Fortune (Yuumi her), Graves, Gangplank
Morello’s, Yuumi on Kennen
Cursed Blade on Tristana
Archangel’s, Dragon’s Claw on Veigar
Phantom Dancer, Warmog’s on Gnar
Spear of Shojin on Lulu
Draft Difficulty: 4/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 4/5
Winning Viability: 4/5
Item Dependency: 2/5
Core Champions: Kennen, Lulu, Poppy, Veigar, Gnar, Tristana
Tech Choices:
- Sorcerers
- Elementalists
- Gunslingers
Notes:
- Kennen is going to be your main carry — if you put a Morello’s on him, he’ll melt through entire teams with his ult
- Veigar’s ultimate is an instant kill if he’s a higher level than his ult target — in combination with Cursed Blade on Tristana, you can build Veigar into one of the deadliest characters in the game
- He does tend to ult very randomly though, so make sure he’s only a secondary damage source
- With Veigar and Lulu being Sorcerers, it’s often good to place a Yuumi on a character that is ult reliant like Kennen so they can charge their ult faster and get a boost to their ult damage
6 Glacials
Level 1–3: Vayne, Varus, Aatrox
Level 4–6: Braum, Lissandra, Ashe, Varus, Sejuani, Aatrox
Level 7+: Braum, Lissandra, Ashe, Varus, Sejuani, Brand, Anivia, Volibear, Leona
- Rangers: Braum, Lissandra, Ashe, Varus, Sejuani, Kindred (Frozen Mallet), Anivia, Vayne, Leona
- Demons: Braum, Lissandra, Ashe (Darkin), Varus, Sejuani, Brand, Anivia, Volibear, Swain
Shojin on Varus
Hextech Gunblade, Morello’s, Warmog’s on Aatrox
Shojin, Guinsoo’s, Phantom Dancer on Ashe
Thornmail, warmogs on Braum
Draft Difficulty: 4.5/5 where 5 is most difficult
Top 3 Viability: 4.5/5
Winning Viability: 4.5/5
Item Dependency: 4/5 (you’ll need 1 spatula item for the full build)
Core Champions: Aatrox, Varus, Ashe, Braum
Tech Choices:
- Rangers
- Demons
Notes:
- 6 Glacials don’t tend to be an end-all team comp like 6 Nobles. Usually, you would slot in Glacials for its extremely powerful synergy into another team composition
- Usually, you’ll be running stuff like Rangers or Volibear and you’ll slowly transition into getting more and more Glacials as the game goes on
- This isn’t a composition you can easily force, it’s more something you have to keep in mind to transition into as the game goes on
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