Is this the best balance TFT has seen? When was the last time comp data was this flat across every vertical, 4 cost carry, and reroll lines? Nearly everything is within 4.1-4.7 making dozens of comps viable. Most notably, there seems to be nothing as a true S tier comp. Even within A tier there is lots of debate on where to draw the line between things like Emissaries and Academy who both tend to play flexible packages pending on item drops and lobby dynamics.
We’re going to need time to break everything down so we are going to be doing a two-parter for this Meta Read. Today is Part 1 where we dive into recommended lines on how to approach the meta without any specific augment, item, or opener.
“Defaulting” in TFT means playing towards a specific line without needing conditions or a specific opener. A composition that requires an emblem to hit its expected power level (ex: Conqueror and Sorcerer) is NOT considered a line you can default lean towards. Default lines don’t have to be that versatile either. They can entirely be narrow, simple comps that play the same 7-8 units every game. Having a few per meta is important because you won’t always get the insane 2-1 augment start that gives you strong direction.
Strongest Default Lines: Experiment Twitch Academy Sentinels Enforcers
These 3 lines are the most consistent lines seen at high level. They all have a baseline power level that can top 4 reliably even without their optimal openers.
Experiment Twitch is the most commonly played line thanks to the ginormous Twitch buffs reducing his mana from 60 -> 40. This allows even Twitch 1 to push out consistent DPS as long as his frontline holds. While having an Experiment emblem pushes the comp into true S tier territory, it doesn’t guarantee you a top placement if you aren’t building a strong tank and core around Twitch. Most top players agree that you should nearly always be playing around 5 Experiment (and obviously towards 7 if you hit emblem + Warwick), but there are others who disagree and think flexing around 3 Experiment is better because you have more flex options and packages to duo carry. For example, instead of playing around Nunu/Zyra/Vi/Morde you can opt into Corki/Rumble/Loris/Sevika as another way to bring huge DPS and burst to the team. There is a ton of exploration left to do on this line which makes it very fun to play. However, it will be contested by at least 2 players per lobby so bear in mind that there will be lots of frustration around hitting your core units.
Academy Sentinels are also very safe to play and highly recommended by Dishsoap himself as one of the best lines to play. Corki/Jayce/Ezreal are very flexible with their itemization options and the Academy sponsored items often are strong to play around. You also have AP options with Heimer/Zoe and even Leblanc/Malzahar splashes thanks to some buffs. There’s simply no way to truly low roll your items in this line. Sentinels are also cheap frontline making them easy to play around early game. Simply pair Sentinels + whatever backline trait you have upgraded. Sentinel Sorcerors are common because of Lux, but you can also go Sentinels + Snipers, Sentinels + Pit Fighters, Sentinels + Visionaries, Sentinels + Artillerists…you get the idea. The drawbacks of playing this comp is that Illaoi is still very hard to hit and you absolutely MUST find a way to get to level 9 which requires you to finesse your level 8 roll down. Getting stuck at 8 is a death sentence for this composition unless you’re able to high roll a 2* 5 cost on 8 (or 6 cost) to stabilize on Stage 5 to 6. More on that later.
The last of the strong default lines is Enforcers. This comes as a surprise to many because it’s commonly believed that Enforcers require an emblem to be played. However, thanks to buffs to nearly every 1-3 cost unit in the line, Enforcers are much stronger as a core and can be played as a 6-unit package that flexes the remaining few units. The most important thing to recognize around Enforcer Flex is that you should be playing around your Melee Fighter items, not your sniper AD items. You always want to anchor around Vi so slam things like Bloodthirster, Titan’s Resolve, Edge of Night, and Hand of Justice. The second is that other units like Twisted Fate can carry mid game with AP items as well, even being an item holder for Caitlyn (Mana) and Rumble (AP) later. Playing around 6 Enforcer with Elise, Rumble, Ekko, Ambessa, and several other options is more than enough to stop rolling on 8 and get to level 9. Once you’re at 9, upgrade all your 5 costs and maybe even pick up that Enforcer emblem off a late game carousel.
Less Reliable Default Lines With High Potential: Scrap Emissaries Black Rose
Scrap got a major buff to its units and shielding which makes it a much more desirable vertical to play now. Ekko is a much more reliable carry even without Firelight activated. Rumble is the best 5 cost in the game still with his enormous scaling potential. And Corki is still Corki. If you hit any of the powerful setups for Scrap such as Trait Tracker, Powered Shields, Buried Treasures, or any other way to generate a ton of items, you will be in a great spot to outscale the lobby. One important tip: Scrap does count the emblems on a Trainer Golem / Wandering Trainer dummy. Capitalize on that while you can. The hard part about Scrap is when you are lowrolling because the trait does not give you any inherent damage. So if you are on Ekko 1, Corki 1, and even manage to hit Rumble 1, you may still struggle to kill things. Be mindful of figuring out alternatives to damage sources if this is the case.
Emissaries stock has fallen significantly which is interesting considering the line has not been touched much at all. If anything, they buffed around Emissaries by making things like 3 costs more playable. But the theory is that AD is much more contested this patch making (Scrap Corki) obtaining the ideal items harder plus some matchups rising up giving Emissaries a hard time (Ambushers and Twitch ignore frontline). Not to mention several of the top end situations got nerfed such as Jayce’s Hextech Forge no longer buffing on revive and the best augments for Emissaries got hit (Bronze For Life, Artifactory/Dark Alley disabled) has made them slightly less consistent. It can still do reasonably well from high resource situation, but for now, this is the lowest Emissary stock has been since launch.
Speaking of low points since launch, how bad does Black Rose feel these days? It’s still a viable line but talk about being resource hungry! The comp has many ways to cap out with 5 costs extremely well (especially with Leblanc and Malzahar buffs), but getting there is very tricky. You somehow need to find a way to play Stage 4 without Ziggs and hit the most contested unit in the game, Elise. Some players are experimenting with Cassiopeia as the mid-game carry holding 1-to-1 Silco items but she feels noticeably worse than Ziggs last patch. There is a conversation that perhaps we should be leaning more towards Sorceror Emissary and playing around Zoe/Swain/Leblanc instead of leaning on Silco + Dominators. This also gives you the out of playing towards 8 Sorceror if you hold onto 1 Lux and Zyra for later. But this is an unexplored area with very little sample size so not much more can be said for now.
When playing default lines, make sure you play your strongest board nearly always to ensure the smoothest tempo curve while maintaining a healthy econ. Here is our tier list of unit priority for the early game.
For 1 costs, the top row are units to play around as your core frontline. Darius is a versatile item holder and can get you Conqueror stacks for econ. Steb and Maddie are monstrous early now with items. Irelia builds out your core of Sentinels early well. The second row are units that complement the S tier very well and can also hold their own with upgrades. Trundle in particular is quite solid as a holder of melee items. In the 3rd row are units who, when upgraded, are nice but need a setup to do well (mainly specific item openers). And the last row are units that are barely worth holding, if at all.
For 2 costs, you should always be holding Sentinels for their stability in the early game. In row 2, you have solid complimentary units to play around if you have specific openers such as Camille for Enforcers, Vlad for Sorceror/Watcher, and Tristana for holding Rageblade and AD items. Row 3 are underrated units who can do well with specific setups. Zeri 2 is a menace with attack speed early. Nocturne is the king of Artifacts. Urgot has his own setups around Experiment and Unleash the Beast. The bottom row essentially never holds because even the 2* versions of them are not consistent enough to help you winstreak.
For 3 costs, the top row are the always keeps. You should be building a game plan around them in some form. Swain enables every AP line. Gangplank is extremely versatile now that his melee form got buffed and builds out into every AD core of Corki/Twitch. And Ezreal can item hold well while enabling Academy for item tempo. In row 2, Smeech is quite reliable now as an early item holder and you can play into the Ambusher line. Loris and Renni are solid frontline units to play around even apart from their traits. Row 3 are highly situational holds for openers that are good for them. You need to have a good item for them and upgraded frontline before you can consider playing around them early. The exception is Gambler’s Blade Kogmaw. That is still quite powerful. Row 4 are units that, while useful in comps that want them, are too expensive and unimpactful early.
Of course, these all depend on things like the encounters, your econ situation, what pairs you’re holding, and item drops. So evaluate accordingly and play around what the game gives you.
That’s all for now! In part 2, we’ll cover the most conditional comps that you need to keep an eye out for so that when you’re hit with the opener, you won’t miss your opportunity for free LP. Good luck on the climb!