The newest patch for Teamfight Tactics Set 5.5 sees minimal changes that would affect any meaningful competitive changes. But with such a balanced a diverse metagame at the moment, it’s always important to keep a large handful of strong and unique compositions in order to climb towards the top of the ranked ladder.
The Abomination and Draconic composition is still the single highest ceiling team that players can build toward. However, being contested playing Draconic can be a nightmare, and so comps like Sentinel Lucian, Nidalee and Riven reroll and Nocturne Assassins can be unique points of difference if you can’t play the Abom Draconic comp.
Abomination and Draconic
Not much has changed with the Abomination/Draconic comp, it’s still the tried and true gold farming strategy that will give players the best chance at a first-place finish. According to high-elo player LeDuck, using three-star Ashe and a two-star Heimerdinger during the middle to late game, players can cap out their team damage by replacing draconic with five-cost champions that would round out the team nicely, like Teemo and Volibear.
Playing the comp requires a loss-streak during the early rounds, without losing too much HP. Upon hitting level six, the comp should stabilize. Tacticians should use their extra gold from Draconic to go fast eight. With the changes to the Monstrosity a few patches ago, tank items suit the extra unit much more effectively than damage items do, with Sunfire Cape and Ionic Spark both great options.
Nidalee and Riven reroll
This is a new composition that has recently reared its dangerous head in high-elo. This three-cost reroll composition has the kind of power to rival that of the Abomination and Draconic team. The Dawnbringer sisters Riven and Nidalee have to be three-starred in order to finish top two in most lobbies.
Players can use Olaf as an early Skirmisher carry, and then transition his items over to Riven when she is found in the shop. This is a strong enough early game carry to hopefully carry the player to level to seven at stage 4-1, with 50 gold to roll for Riven and Nidalee three. If the player can stabilize and make it to level nine, Senna can be replaced with Akshan, and depending on whether the player hit Riven three or not, can become the primary carry with Riven’s items in the late game.
Nocturne Assassins
This composition can be quite hard to force in every lobby. With no front line early on, the Assassins can sometimes struggle to remain high enough health to burst down the opposing team. Players should get used to playing their strongest board while they slowly accrue Assassin pieces, like items and units. The standard Olaf Skirmisher opener, as well as a two Ranger opener, can reduce the amount of damage the player will take before their comp comes online.
According to LeDuck, players will want to be level six at stage 3-2 and be level seven by stage 4-1 and then roll down until a good chunk of the team is upgraded. It’s important to have hit Nocturne two-star at this point with at least one Revenant unit and four Assassins beside him. A three-star Nocturne should provide a safe top-four position in most lobbies.
Forgotten Vayne
A classic TFT composition is finding its way back into the spotlight in the most recent patches. A buff to Vayne’s AD and also a slight buff to the Ranger trait at two units means that Vayne is finding niche use at high rank. This comp is only playable if the player finds an early Vayne and has viable items.
With this comp, players will want to stay level four and five for as long as they can to find three-star Vayne, Hecarim and Thresh form the basis of the board. From there, add another Ranger unit and a strong Cavalier or Knight frontline and this should stabilize the comp. But much like the Draconic comp, this board may struggle in the early game.
If the player can build the perfect Vayne board, complete with a two-star Garen, then it is legitimately strong enough to contend with any other board for a first-place finish.
The next TFT Set 5.5 patch is 11.17, scheduled to release on Aug. 25.
