The Cannoneer class is back in Teamfight Tactics Set Seven Dragonlands set with new champions and lots of attack damage to spread in area-of-effect explosions.
There will always be viable compositions in TFT that utilize champions with high physical damage output. These comps often have a main carry equipped with the best AD items of the meta and other champions of the same trait to amplify the bonus they receive at their breakpoints. Cannoneers are no exception; their effect is to fire a cannon shot that explodes, dealing area physical damage every fifth basic attack. Each breakpoint increases the cannon shot attack damage by 150/175/225/275 percent with 2/3/4/5 Cannoneers. The Cannoneer champions of the Set Seven Dragonlands are Senna, Jinx, Tristana, and Corki.
To reach the breakpoint of six Cannoners, you will need to have the Augments of the Set Seven Dragonlands available throughout the game. It is impossible to produce a Cannoner emblem with the Spatula. The effect of five Cannoners can be devastating to enemy boards thanks to the cannon shot’s attack damage boost.
How to Use the Cannoneer trait in Set Seven
As mentioned by Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer in his Dragonlands PBE Rundown, the Cannoneer trait is extremely powerful against comps that are clustered on the board because of its AoE damage. A composition with the new Set Seven Dragonlands Jade trait active is a great example as its effect involves keeping units gathered around Jade statues. The same effect happens with comps that have Guardians as a frontline as they grant shields to nearby champions.
The Cannoneer trait is strong in the early game and can be prioritized when finding good AD starting items. Jinx, Tristana, and Corki can be good main carries options for the composition. This comp is more versatile than the Swiftshot trait, as it doesn’t rely on keeping as far away from the enemy as possible to deal more damage. This makes it a much better option for dealing with assassin comps that usually manage to stay close to opponents.
If other players in the lobby are starting a comp with Cannoneers, and you’re not finding many of these champions. In that case, there are other effective synergies to look for, including the new Dragonlands Revel trait that already has two Cannoneers, Jinx and Corki, or the trait Trainer, which includes Cannoneer champion Tristana and adds the Nomsy unit to your board. That works as a nice frontline in the early game while still having a chance to escalate to the endgame.
As a trait focused on dealing damage, its champs are squishies and struggle facing opponents without an effective front line. Fortunately, there are several good tank options in Set Seven Dragonlands. The aforementioned activation of the Trainer trait can grant an extra unit on the board to withstand some attacks for the Cannoneers. Sejuani is a champion capable of delivering a lot of durability to the board thanks to her Guild Origin which is activated from a single unit. The effect with Sejuani is to grant 100 Health to all units while she receives double that amount. In addition, the Sejuani can be combined with another Cavalier unit for more armor and magic resistance. Any pair of Bruiser units can also grant a good amount of Health to the board so the Cannoneers can deal more damage. And if the Trainer trait is enabled, Lulu is a champion that can be paired with another Mystic to grant magic resistance to your board in the later rounds.
Dragon options for Cannoneer builds
Dragons are the big stars of the Set Seven Dragonlands, so big they take up two spaces on the board, similar to the Colossus trait in Gizmos & Gadgets. In addition, Dragons also plus-three a marked trait and gain 600 bonus Health. They are doubled in cost when they appear in the store and are great additions to many different compositions.
In the case of the Cannoneers, there are two dragons that are the best choices to use together. Idas is a tier-four dragon with Shimmerscale and Guardian traits with the Golden Scales ability that is able to reduce damage, heal and grant shield and attack speed to allies, making this dragon one of the best tanks for your Cannoneers, as a bonus per activating the Shimmerscale trait, the player receives one of the trait’s special items. Shi Oh Yu is another good tier-four dragon option with Jade and Mystic traits, her Jade Rush ability grants her damage reduction and crowd control resistance, as well as causing CC on the enemy team. Activating the Jade feature brings a Jade statue to the board that strengthens your backline while still acting as a dummy for enemies before they reach your Cannoneers.
Best Set Seven Cannoneer comps
The best compositions with Cannoneer don’t make use of the trait vertically and rely on support and tank units for the carries to do their work. The top carries will be Corki and Tristana, with Jinx and Senna close behind as potential second carries reaching three stars.
Corki Cannoneer
The simple composition that works is to use Corki as the main carry and receive the bonuses of the Cannoneer and Revel traits. For the composition to work, it is necessary to guarantee good items in Corki, and starting by activating the Trainer trait can help maintain Health in the early stages.
Priority for the first carousel is B.F. Sword followed by Sparring Gloves and Recurve Bow.
With a strong card, it is possible to level up to four before the first PvP round and try to follow up with a winning streak. Otherwise, a losing streak can help keep the economy going. The best early units are the low-cost Trainers and Revels, Heimerdinger, which can be traded in the future for Lulu, Tristana, Jinx, and Tahm Kench. They form a good front line for your Cannoneers to deal damage.
Level up to six in round 3-2. More Canhoneers can be added to the board and Lulu can also be kept with the other Trainers until Idas appears, who can be put in place of Tahm Kench and Heimerdinger.
Level up to seven in round 4-1 and try to stabilize the composition. After that, save gold to get to level eight and finish composing. When Idas is added to the board, its Shimmerscale trait will be activated, and an item will be awarded. This item is different for every game, so it is up to the player to use it in the best way to get more gold for the final pieces. All Shimmerscale items have some relation to the economy and have different uses.
The best items for Corgi are Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Infinity Edge, and Last Whisper and both Jinx and Senna can carry them for him. The best items for Idas are as many tanks as possible, including Gargoyle Stoneplate, Dragon’s Claw, and Sunfire Cape.
The best Augments for this composition are those related to the Cannoneer trait, Cannoneer Crown, Ricochet, and Hot Shot.
Revel Reroll
The composition Revel Reroll is very similar to Corki’s. However, its focus is to leave Tahm Kench and Tristana with three stars. Corki makes a good second carry for carrying spare items. The best scenario for this comp is to find multiple copies of Tahm Kench and Tristana early or be forced into a losing streak. Any Augment that improves reroll or economy can help this comp to work.
The best-case scenario is to save gold from the start of the game and start earning interest as soon as possible. Upon reaching 50 gold and being level five, it’s time to start a slow roll for the two main units, Tahm Kench and Tristana. The best units to add early in the game are Jinx and Heimerdinger. Using Nomsy from the Trainer trait will help you not lose too much Health in combat and Jinx synergizes with both Tristana through Cannoneer and Tahm Kench through Revel.
After getting your two three-star units, level up to six and add more units during the mid-game. Lulu helps make Nomsy stronger while a Senna can increase the damage dealt by Cannoneers. However, adding a Bruiser in place of Senna can be a viable option when the frontline isn’t tanking enough, Ornn is the best option.
With the main comp units in place, equipped and three stars, all that remains is to level up and add the other units that will bring utility with activations of the Mystic and Evoker traits. Gargoyle Stoneplate is an awesome item to put on Tahm Kench from the start as he will be the main tank and will often be targeted by many enemy units. The other items are the standard tank, Bramble Vest, Warmog’s Armor, and Dragon’s Claw. For Tristana, the best items are Last Whisper, Infinity Edge, and Quicksilver. The best Augments to amplify the damage done by this comp are Featherweights, Hot Shot and Cannoneer Crown.
