With the introduction of Set 4.5, League of Legends‘ very own Desert Rose joined Teamfight Tactics‘ cast of champions and immediately became a game-changing powerhouse of a unit.
Samira is the cornerstone of many high-level compositions and game plans, and as such, will need to be added to any TFT player’s arsenal of tactics if they aim to be the best.
Abilities
Samira’s basic attacks deal 65/117/211 damage at one-star, two-star and then three-star respectively, making her one of the deadliest on-hit champs in the game
Her spell, however, is where her true potential lies. When Samira builds her ultimate meter up after several basic attacks, she releases her Ultimate Trigger.
Samira dashes and becomes unstoppable, unleashing a few shots per second at three enemies within two and a half hexes for two seconds. For the duration, Samira gains 100 percent dodge chance.
Her ultimate ability scales with her current level, one-star / two-star / three-star.
- Shots per second: 3/3/10
- Number of targets: 3/3/9
- Percent of attack damage: 50 percent/60 percent/80 percent
Chosen Samira
If the player is at level nine and currently owns no other Chosen unit, there is a five-percent chance that they may encounter a five-cost Chosen unit in their shop on any of their turns.
As Samira is just about the highest potential DPS in the game, it’s generally advised to pick up a Chosen Samira whenever it’s found in the shop, regardless of what team composition the player has on their board.
This will not only automatically place a two-star Samira on the player’s battlefield, but that unit is also given 20 extra attack damage to fight with.
Traits, synergies, and compositions
Samira is one of the few lucky units that have three traits assigned, including one trait that is unique to just her. Her three traits are:
- Sharpshooters:
- Attacks and spells ricochet to nearby enemies dealing reduced damage.
- Slayers:
- Gain life steal that increases at lower health, and deal bonus damage that increases based off their target’s missing health.
- Daredevil:
- Daredevils seek the thrill of battle, dashing after every other attack. After every dash, they shield themselves for 20 percent of their max health and their next attack fires two shots, gaining Style. At max Style, they cast their spell. Base Style rank increases star level.
Samira is found very late into a game, so she is generally not the shining star of every composition she is included in. Instead, her high potential for damage output and her ability to remain somewhat safe from crowd control due to her built-in dashes allow her to be thrown into almost any late-game composition.
To see the unit’s full potential, however, she should be included in some kind of Slayer composition. A successful build going around high-Elo at the moment is a three Slayer three Cultist board.
This build enhances her suitability through the additions of three Slayer and two Syphoner, allowing Samira to use her Ultimate Trigger multiple times, cleaning up the fight and staying healthy in the process.
Itemizing Samira
Samira is generally quite versatile when it comes to her items. Best in slot might look something like Guardian Angel, Hand of Justice, and either Giant Slayer if the lobby is Brawler heavy, or Last Whisper if the lobby is Vanguard heavy.
More broadly speaking, however, Samira is able to utilize almost any AD item. Tunnel-visioning of building best in slot items every game can actually backfire on the player by limiting options in the late game, and is generally advised against.
Positioning
With an attack range of just three, which is on the lower side for most Sharpshooters, Samira enjoys being positioned a little closer to the action so she can immediately begin auto-attacking and building toward her ultimate.
This also keeps her out of the way of any potential assassin comps diving on top of her and taking her out before she can make her mark on the fight.
Finally, by putting everything in this guide together, a full Samira build might look something like this:
