While most TFT players spent their time looking at the patch notes admiring the new esports Pengu Little Legend, there were some rather sizeable changes to some of the heavy hitters in the meta. Draven buffs, Jax nerfs, and less crowd control on Daisy were all poised to massively rock the meta. There were also quite a few changes to the Radiant items that haven’t quite gotten the chance to shine.

Locket and Statik Shiv’s Radiant forms both got buffs, while the incredibly effective Bloodthirster and Stoneplate had their luster lessened. While there were some other “smaller” item changes (Radiant Frozen Heart losing 15 starting mana doesn’t exactly qualify as small) most of the other meta terrors (most notably Ironclad) were left untouched. And, even though it might seem like an easy call to just continue spamming Jax (he’s still good even after the nerfs), some new, interesting comps that we haven’t seen in the meta for Set 5.5 have cropped up.

Best TFT comps for Patch 11.18

Akshan comp (Ranger/Ironclad/Sentinel)

Even without Jax, Ironclad still dominates this meta with all that free armor it gives your units. In this case, the lynchpin of the Ironclad comp isn’t even a user of that trait. Akshan is probably one of, if not the, best units in Teamfight Tactics to be able to carry regardless of comp fit. You can plug him into any comp when you have extra AD or attack speed items and he can work.

Now that Sentinels have managed to creep their way back into the meta, it only makes sense that Akshan would be heavily featured in their best comp. Just about any AD or attack speed items you can hold, stick them on Jax until you manage to find Akshan, then transfer them over to the Rogue Sentinel.

The beauty of this comp is that it can also be flexed to several other (less effective) alternatives like Skirmisher Jax, Cannoneer Lucian, Sentinel Riven, or even Skirmisher Irelia. The one downside, however, is that both this comp and all the others that it flexes into rely on a lot of the same types of items.

For this comp, just about an AD or attack speed item is necessary and can go on either Lucian or Akshan (or Jax until you get Akshan). Defensive items will fit well onto Irelia or any of the frontline units (Rell, Nautilus, Rakan) but the problem is if you end up with a lot of AP or mana items. In that case, your best bet is probably to transition to a Vel’Koz or Karma comp behind that massive Ironclad frontline.

Vel’Koz comp (Redeemed/Ironclad)

Speaking of Vel’Koz, you can see just how easy it is to transition from that Sentinel comp to Redeemed if you realize that you’re landing a bunch of AP items. Since you don’t really rely on slow-rolling for Leona, Aatrox, or Syndra, you can always pick them up later on, while spending most of your time getting Vel’Koz online.

Another big advantage of this comp is that, defensively, you have a lot of options. For instance, you can easily swap out Jax for Fiddlesticks if you wanted a balanced defensive attack. If the enemies you’re facing are doing heavy magic damage (say a Heimerdinger or Karma comp), drop both Jax and Nautilus for Fiddle and Gwen. You could even drop three of the low-cost Redeemed and just swap them for three Revenants (Ivern, Fiddle, and Volibear) for a Redeemed/Revenant frontline split. 

The one downside, however, is that this comp is incredibly reliant on hitting that ★★ Vel’Koz. If this comp gets contested, you really have nowhere else to pivot easily (Karma or Heimer work but don’t synergize with the other units) except for Fiddlesticks. And even that is a bit of a waste to go for a pivot late.

Yasuo comp (Nightbringer/Ironclad)

In case you still weren’t convinced just how strong Ironclad is in Teamfight Tactics right now, it’s gotten to the point where Yasuo’s best comp isn’t to go full Nightbringers, but instead, just splash Ironclad for that frontline. Jokes aside, though, the Nightbringer comp does make a lot of sense when paired with Yasuo.

It has a bunch of frontline options you can itemize on (Lee, Rell, Irelia) and even if you manage to miss out on getting a ★★★ Yasuo, you can always simply transition those items to Jax. This comp has a surprising amount of versatility for how niche it is. The biggest problems, though, come in reliance on units and items.

For items, it’s fairly obvious. You need attack speed or you have no carry. At minimum, you need three Recurve Bows before Stage 3 ends if you are going to make this comp successful. The other big issue is the need to hit on Yasuos. Even though this comp can work with Jax, it’s designed for Yasuo. If you miss, you’re basically conceding a win or top two and praying for a top four. That’s not too bad, but it’s also a big risk.

Irelia comp (Skirmisher/Knight)

Finally, we have the newest comp to shoot up in popularity, Skirmisher/Knight with Irelia as the frontline-slash-damage dealer. This one is unique because, even though Jax is the one with all the offensive items, the lynchpin of the comp is actually Irelia.

For this comp, you should be aiming to slow roll Irelia and get ★★★. Stack her with defensive items and watch as the enemy team tries helplessly to cut her down. The most critical item to equip Irelia with is the Sunfire Cape so that she has that consistent DPS. Without that item and without getting a ★★★ Irelia, this comp doesn’t really work (though it can top-4 if you get Jax and Viego to ★★). Unfortunately, that holds this comp back from being a true menace in the current TFT meta.