The patch is beginning to settle in and there are some clear winners and losers. Right now there is still no true S-tier composition as defined by a broken, overpowering line that is either hyper-consistent or overwhelming. Each composition has its weaknesses. If you are feeling lost, the most important thing is to identify what your opener is best suited towards and lean into it.
We are pretty deep into Set 13 at this point and balance is quite reasonable for comps overall. This doesn't necessarily mean you can play anything you want. In fact, it usually means the main skill emphasis shifts to picking the correct composition / line to play.
Because compositions are more even in power level, if you have a good start for a comp, you should play into it because otherwise, you'll be behind if you try to force into another. The exception is if you hit a specific augment or item/artifact that gives you a strong reason to commit towards it such as Unleash the Beast Urgot.
Our general recommendation right now is this:
If you have a strong opener, consider win streaking and look for an econ/item opener to play into a 4-cost line.
Otherwise, look for a reroll opportunity based on your items and augments and aim for Top 4.
Example Approach 1: Tempo Lines
We have a couple of upgraded 1-costs before our first augment. That's good! Let's look at our items and think about what is the best possible item slam that will simultaneously win most of your fights early game + a strong 4/5 cost unit will want later. We have a Rod + Bow + Tear.
We want to click on an econ augment or an item augment that compliments what we are doing. In this example, you see Slammin' so you click it and receive a Cloak. We can now choose to slam Rageblade or Spark which are both good early game items and can keep the others open to ensure you can play both a mixture of AP (Sorcerers) or AD (Twitch). Let's say we have an upgraded Bruiser and Zyra 2 so we slam Spark and keep our Tear open on Zyra and our remaining 1-cost sorcerer holds the bow. Ideally we can chase a Shojin or Red Buff on carousel now.
We play for tempo and aim for strongest board until Stage 4 for the rolldown where we look for either Sorcerer or a Visionary line pending on what items we get until then.
Example Approach 2: Reroll Lines
We get dropped two Nocturnes and a Zeri with a couple of Sentinels. Both carries want Sentinel as their frontline so this is okay to hold. Let's look at our items and see if they fit any of them. We are looking for Swords, Bows, and Rods.
We want to click on an econ or item augment that compliments what we are doing. In this example, you can click on Two Much Value or Portable Forge to fish for a good Artifact. We scout and see someone else has Starry Night with Rageblade on Zeri so we click on Portable Forge and commit to Nocturne.
Focus on making interest and ensuring that you will spike later with a good level 6 rolldown for Nocturne 2 and other Quickstrikers.
Thinking in this rhythm will help you select the best lines possible so you can avoid getting dizzy and maximize your AVP.
Alright! Now let's dive into the tier list to discuss what compositions are on top and what are some conditions that enable them.
Sorcerors are currently considered by many top players to be the best comp to angle for every game, specializing in high burst damage and ending fights quickly. There are two variations top players are looking at: Emissary Sorcerors anchored around Garen as the main tank and 6 Sorceror Black Rose. Data suggests both are quite strong so there is debate on what you should be angling. At the moment, consensus is to play around Emissaries when you have strong belt items for Garen. Otherwise, aim for the Black Rose 6 Sorceror board. Another complicated question is whether you even want Sorceror emblem in the composition. With it, you can flex in a variety of different frontlines such as Rebels with Illaoi/Sett or Form Swappers. But is it worth an entire augment to take the Sorceror emblem? Not when there are strong combat augments like Manaflow or Piercing Lotus that give immense combat boost. Is it worth using two whole components to make an Emblem when you can play 3-item carry and continue winstreaking? This is where the patch needs further optimization. It may be worth having the Emblem solely for the ability to play 6 Sorceror early but the tradeoff can be severe at times. Compositions that tend to have their carries in the frontline can struggle vs Sorcs because they will have their damage reduced greatly. Most notably, Sorcs give Scrap players fits because they want to collect value by frontlining Corki and using his mobility to fall backwards. Be mindful late game of how you're positioning against them!
Renata Visionary reroll is one of many reroll compositions that are dependent on early augments for direction and strong tempo. Investment Strategy, Starry Night, or Prismatic Pipeline are some of the augments to consider when playing Renata. 2* Renata keeps you competitive all the way until Stage 4 when hopefully you should have some 3* come online. The composition punishes low rollers extremely hard and often does full damage to players who struggle to 2* their 4-cost carries. The main innovation in the line has been prioritizing Rell 3 and including early Chem Baron to take 100 or 200 cashouts for Renata and the Chem Baron items. Salvaged Contraption is quite solid and if you're able to cash out Lesser Duplicators, you can hit even quicker to maintain tempo. Sentinels, however, are hotly contested in several reroll lines so you will need to be flexible if you can't hit Rell or Singed.
Enforcers and Scrap are the most consistent AD lines to play this patch. With adjustments and a bug fix to Caitlyn, Enforcers remain a strong composition. 8 Enforcers with emblem is how most people know how to play it, but you can also play 6 Enforcer and flex remaining spots with high quality units like Rumble, Ambessa, Elise, and 6 costs. The key is to find a way to get to level 9 with enough HP and gold to stabilize around Vi 2 and Caitlyn. One method players are exploring is to anchor around Twisted Fate. TF 2 with AP items deals a solid amount of damage and importantly lets you stop rolling on 8 if you have Vi 2. Several of the newer anomalies are also quite good for Enforcers such as Infectious Anomaly that turn all your units into major threats.
Scrap has lost a step or two since the Ekko nerfs, but it still performs well with the usual conditions such as early Gold Collector AD opener, Trait Tracker, or lose streak item/econ augments such as What Doesn't Kill You. There has been some optimization around what components to scrap, such as belt on Corki/Gangplank to guarantee Guardbreaker. There is also currently a favorable bugged interaction with Scrap around Crownguard. If you scrap a vest on Magic Casters like Ekko and Powder, you are guaranteed a Crownguard that gives double the amount of AP than usual because of the shield expiration. It's a minor thing but something to consider when you have excess vests and not sure what to do with them. This shouldn't be confused with making an actual Crownguard -- this is purely about a Crownguard that is created when you scrap a component.
Rebels and Heimer are back in A tier thanks to a few buffs that are significant. Rebels in particular are much more stable than before due to the extra HP. They are still dependent on capping byb hitting a Jinx, but now we are certainly less dependent on going for a Fast 9 to hit everything. Unfortunately, Zoe is hotly contested by Sorceror players so you may need to play around other units like Ezreal and another 4/5 cost until you can finish her at 2*. 10 Rebel is still the absolute nuts that beats everything so if you get a Rebel Trainer Golem, always keep that door open.
Heimer buffs were somewhat unneeded, but it's not game-breaking by any means. He is mainly played in two compositions: Academy and Visionaries. Academy is still played similarly with a focus on AD Jayce as the main way to cap. Consider playing when the Academy present IE or a favorably Heimer item. For Visionaries, Heimer 2 and Malzahar with 6 Visionary Black Rose can cap quite high but has a similar mid-game frontline issue as Sorcerors when Rell falls off and you are stuck with a mediocre 3-cost tank in Nunu. We would mainly recommend playing this line when you can get a Visionary emblem since there are many strong 5/6 cost units that love Visionary emblem such as Rumble, Mel, and Jayce.
Finally, we have a few reroll comps that are strong but conditional. Nocturne artifact reroll is still very much a powerful force if you have range extension. You can play a melee Nocturne, but you cap much lower and often depend on other Quickstrikers. It's common to see melee Nocturne players also play for Akali 3 and Twisted Fate 3 to make it a team effort win. Ambusher reroll with an early Smeech or Camille is ideal. Early Smeech with items will always kill units to preserve HP. Powder surprisingly contributes a decent amount as well and your other support units in Trundle and Steb are cheap, yet effective. You want to play from winstreak / high tempo as opposed to lose streak because you often will get punished on Stage 3 by other rerollers. So you will want to avoid losing both Stage 2 + Stage 3 before you get to level 7 and roll aggressively. Zeri Sentinels is the final composition in the A tier that is making waves, particularly in EU and APAC. It's a classic Double Rageblade + Frontline stall composition that has been in TFT for several sets now such as Bastion Aphelios and Faerie Kalista. Sustain your frontline with Gunblade while ramping to generate max attack speed stacks. If you can't get a second rageblade, aim for a strong damage item like Infinity Edge. Singed takes front center spotlight again as his attack speed buff is crucial for ramping Zeri. In addition, the Sentinel variation does NOT want Firelight on Zeri because of how it messes with her positioning late game. Firelight Zeri `is a 0 or 4 trait currently and nothing in between.
Whew! That's a ton of breakdown just for the A tier but that's the best summary we can give of how the meta is shaping up for now. Let's do a brief bullet point rundown of the B tier as well.
Urgot
-Mainly played with ideal augments like Unleash the Beast or Artifact Opener
-Must take tank anomaly now otherwise, Urgot will get bursted too fast
Tristana
-Emissary variation has become much stronger but more contested
-Generally played off of high econ augments like Starry Night or Two Much Value
Dominators
-Backup option when you have AP item slams and feel Sorcerers too contested
-Play for 6 Dominator Silco. Cassio reroll is not that strong/bait unless you're desperate for top 4
Conqueror
-Rare composition played when you are snowballing with upgraded Conquerors early and hit an Emblem
-Must win Stage 4 fights otherwise you will bot 4
Form Swappers
-Why Not Both is a lot stronger but Swain is mega-contested
Twitch, Emissary AD, and Ambusher Ekko
-Top 4 comps that require winstreak tempo and immense econ. Avoid playing from lose streak.
Believe it or not, the situational tier is quite strong overall in the current meta. The key to make sure you already have a head start with unit + slammable items. If you are behind on either, you may struggle to keep up with the lobby.
Gloves Off Vander is believed to be the strongest Hero Augment reroll in the game, but you absolutely need the correct items for Vander focusing on a heavy crit-double healing build. Pick a strong Fighter anomaly that synergizes with his Durability as a Watcher. If you focus too much on defensive stats such as Titans + BT + HoJ, you may lack damage. No double healing and you may get bursted. The other Family 3* units are less important (Powder and Violet), but are nice to have. If you get a Family emblem, play for Family Ekko as a duo carry.
The other very strong Hero Augment is Crimson Pact Vlad. Now that Emissaries are buffed, you have strong enablers in Nami and Garen to activate Vlad's primary traits. You can lean into a 4 Sorceror, 4 Emissary build or even play more Watchers in the mid game. The main drawback of this composition is how contested Sorcerors / Vlad can be so be mindful of what the lobby is committed towards. Look to see how many players are slamming AP items on Sorcerors to get a good idea before you click this augment.
Other strong Hero Augments worth mentioning are the Bruiser trio in Trolling Trundle, Combat Medic Steb, and Brutal Revenge Renni. They are all similar and straightforward focusing on playing a Bruiser core and aiming for similar items every game. They are safe Top 4 comps if you have a good setup, but avoid trying to play if you don't already have copies / items for them.
Finally, Built Different is remains quite strong and versatile as a flex comp to build around. With some other AP carries finding their own groove such as Leblanc and Malzahar, you can now actually play an AP line with early game carries like Zyra and Twisted Fate to get you there. Simply play whatever your items feel best suited for and ensure you have enough gold for the Level 8 rolldown.
On the final note, openers are relatively balanced at the moment and you should mainly be holding your pairs. Attached is a 1-cost and 2-cost tier list of units that we tend to hold, but its situational based on what items you see. The top row are the units you would want to consider holding the most. The second row is priority 2 and so on. For example, while Zyra is a strong hold early, if you have Sword + Bow + Glove, she is much weaker because you don't have any item she will want to hold compared to Maddie or Draven.
That's all for the Meta Read for now. Good luck on the climb!