MetaTFT Tierlist - 13.12 Set 9
Set 9 is out and the first meta has slowly begun to surface. A few comps stand out from the rest, and there are a few distinct play styles that have dominated so far. In this video, I’m going to show you my tierlist for the current meta, take a closer look into each of the comps mentioned, and explain the best strategies to climb on this patch.
S Tier
Gunner Zeri is the strongest and most forceable 4-cost carry comp in the game. The comp stabilizes incredibly hard with Zeri 1 and can use just about any frontline unit, and if you highroll early Piltover, this comp becomes even stronger.
Tristana Reroll is the best low-cost reroll comp by far in the current meta. If you manage to hit on tempo and reach level up for 4 Gunner, you are almost guaranteed a top 4, and if you hit Senna and Heimerdinger, you are likely headed for a top 2.
A+ Tier
Freljord Aphelios is the third best comp in the meta and lands at the top of A+. The comp is one of the best options to play into for consistent top 4s, but the board is generally more reliant than Gunners are in hitting your 2-star 4 costs.
Ionia Yasuo is a great comp that benefits from a really strong early game that allows for an easy pivot on your level 7 rolldown. This is a good comp at farming top 4s, but it becomes especially strong with an Ionia spat on Kaisa, and caps out really high if you can hit Ahri 2.
8 Void Kaisa is an incredibly powerful comp if you are able to hit Belveth and reach Baron. Void is one of the strongest early game options, and 6 Void on stage 3 can often carry you to level 8 so you can hit Bevelth; however, this comp is only really playable late game with +1 Void or stable evolution, or else you will have to pivot off into a different comp.
Juggernaut Garen is the best 3-cost reroll comp in the game, as it often just wins out if you manage to hit Garen 3 with enough Zekes. This comp is a matchup check, as it mows through mediocre to weak boards in the midgame that don’t have enough single target and scaling to take down the Garen; however, if you are ever behind, you often just lose out and go 8th.
A- Tier
Sorcerer Lux is a good comp to play from early AP openers with little direction, but it really struggles into some of the stronger comps in the meta. The board is generally flexible and really benefits from +1 Sorcerer, but it’s imperative that you hit on your 4-1 rolldown.
Bruiser Reksai Reroll is an incredibly powerful comp with a high cap, but it really depends on proper augments and items to perform well. This comp, like Garen, has a really good matchup spread against the current meta, but it’s not as forceable and really depends on hitting RekSai 3.
B Tier
Shurima Azir is a comp that has fallen off since PBE after a few big nerfs. It’s still playable from highroll spots, but you avoid it for the most part as it just gets outcapped by Aphelios and Zeri boards, unless you hit multiple 2-star legendaries.
Invoker Karma, like RekSai, is a very strong comp if played from the right spots, but it doesn’t have as many highroll outs or as strong a potential to win out if you hit everything.
Finally, Noxus Katarina and Darius is a good reroll option that plays really well off a strong early game that allows you to accrue Noxus stacks to have enough tempo to reach Katarina 3 and Darius 3. However, this comp really relies on hitting good combat augments and getting 3 good items on each carry, or else you won’t be able to break through late-game frontlines quick enough.
Now, let’s get into my strategy for climbing on this patch:
There are a few distinct playstyles that you can choose from on this patch.
The first and most straightforward one is to take Twisted Fate as your legend, and default to taking pandora’s as your first augment. If you take Twisted Fate, you should be defaulting to Gunner Zeri in most games and looking to force these specific items: Zeke’s and Rageblade followed by Protector’s vow, Warmogs, and two more Zeri items.
Eventually, you want to make other items, which will be specified later in the comps overview portion of the video.
If your spot isn’t ideal for Zeri, you should look towards playing Aphelios or Ionia instead, but this should not be your main gameplan. You should also be on the lookout for good opportunities to play Garen, as that comp needs the exact same items each game, which will also be mentioned later.
The second playstyle is to choose Lee Sin as your legend, and hope for silver augments on 2-1 so you can take on a roll. If your augment is gold or prismatic, just play flexibly with comps you are comfortable with depending on your items and opener. If you do hit silver, take on a roll and force Tristana reroll, which is the best comp in the game on this patch.
With on a roll, you are guaranteed to hit everything 3-star early and can push levels aggressively. Do not take any of Lee Sin’s other augments since they are not very good; you are only choosing him to have easy access to an overpowered reroll comp.
The third playstyle is to take Poro, Ornn, or Vladimir and play flexibly between all comps. When doing this, you should prioiritize slamming strong early game items that also allow you to play around what units you hit during stage 2 and 3. The best early slams are Rageblade, Vow, Warmogs, Sunfire, Shiv, and Titan’s, but you can slam many other items if you have direction towards a comp.
If you do this, you should default toward Aphelios and Zeri when you have no direction, and depending on your midgame, level 7 rolldown, and items, you should choose between the two. In the early game, you should prioritize the Ionia and void openers if possible to make transitions into Yasuo, Kaisa, Sorcs, and RekSai easier.
Here are the most common openers for these boards:
I THINK WE NEED AN IMAGE HERE???????????
The final thing to be aware of is that certain augments are very overpowered in the current meta, and you should always consider taking them when they are offered.
The best way to find out which augments are broken is to look through the augments page on MetaTFT, which sorts augments by their winrate, average placement, stage taken, and comps they’re strong in.
Here are the 10 best general augments, with their average placements listed from MetaTFT:
Built Different 2 and 3
Mana Burn
Long Distance Pals
Gifts from the Fallen
Unified Resistance 1 and 2
Tons of Stats
Martyr
Idealism
Red Buff
Know Your Enemy
Gunner Zeri https://www.metatft.com/team-builder/HgkL7qVkU3oUEBOSGLGXILu7UPbHmGEPqPkHyFJ R0Xv8bqNuo26j2YmqNml6iwAA
First, we have Gunner Zeri.
This comp plays differently whether you have Piltover or not. If you do, try to loss streak until 3-5 or 4-1-the standard is 3-5-where you want to roll down for a strong board to cash out your T-Hex.
Usually, you want to end on this board, though on level 7, just drop Senna and Jinx for a frontline unit like Jarvan or Lissandra. In general, you don’t want to sell the T-Hex unless he’s below 40, or it’s late game and it’s your only way to win fights, as he’s a really strong unit.
If you don’t have Piltover, you usually want to roll down on 4-1 for a similar board, just drop to 2 Gunner until you hit Senna, and drop Vi and Ekko for better units like Lissandra, Jarvan, Shen, and Sion.
This comp’s best legend is Twisted Fate, as the comp really benefits from having perfect items, especially Zeke’s.
When you take Pandoras to play this comp, prioritize Rageblade, One Zeke’s, and then start making tank items like Vow and Warmogs for your Sejuani, and extra damage items on Zeri. The reason you don’t make more than one Zeke’s is that you are guaranteed to get more from teaming up on 4-2, whose prismatic version gives two Zekes.
Zeri’s best item after Rageblade is Quicksilver, as it allows you to clump her for Zeke’s without getting cc’d by Jarvan and Sion. The stats back this up, as it has a 3.69 average placement on Zeri with 3 items. Her 3rd item always wants to be either a healing item, like Hoj or Gunblade, or a damage item like last Whisper, Runaan’s, Giant Slayer, or Guardbreaker.
Yordle Tristana https://www.metatft.com/team-builder/HglTeo4JX5MaHx+gkPLMuNS6VkYSeNDIpu5yqImqy FJR0Xv8bqMAAAAA3xwQn12Q+mkX
The next comp is Tristana reroll.
This is a one-cost reroll comp, so you should never level on stage 2 and hoard as much gold as possible until stage 3-1, where you should roll down to about 30 gold to hit as many 1-cost units as possible, then slowroll on level 5 until 4-1, where you roll the rest of your gold to hit if you haven’t already.
If your legend is lee sin and you take on a roll though, you play much differently: instead of hoarding your gold, you hold all 1-cost pairs on your bench at the cost of gold, sell any extra units you 2-star, and try to get as many shop refreshes as possible until you hit your 3-stars.
Once you hit, level to 6 for Yordle and try to go 8 for 4 Gunner and Heimerdinger. The third Yordle can be either Kled or Teemo, it doesn’t really matter. Itemize Maokai with your tank items instead of Poppy, since she’s a really bad unit and you want to 4-star your Tristana.
There are two core items on Tristana: Last Whisper and Gunblade, though Hoj is a suitable replacement.
The third item can be anything, but the best is Giant Slayer followed by Runaan’s and Guardbreaker.
Any extra frontline items should go on Viego, and any extra carry items can go on Jinx if you 3-star her, Zeri, or Viego.
Freljord Aphelios
Next is Freljord Aphelios.
This is a 4-cost carry comp, meaning you want to usually roll down on 4-1 at level 7 for some variation of this board.
Usually, you drop Shen until level 8, or you can drop Ashe or Akshan for units like Jarvan, Sion, and Ksante. You can also drop Lissandra for Ryze.
The best legends for this comp are Ornn and Poro, as the comp greatly benefits from high-rolling Sniper’s Focus or Eternal Winter from Ornn; otherwise, general combat augments are great.
Aphelios’s best item is Guinsoo’s Rageblade. He is not a good carry without it, so you should always make sure to save one bow for it. His next best item is Deathblade, as it gives him the most raw damage.
The last item can be anything, but the stats say that Giant Slayer and Guardbreaker are the best. Last Whisper isn’t usually great when you are playing Freljord, as you already get Armor Shred.
Once you itemize Aphelios, itemize Sejuani as your main tank with items like Warmog’s, Vow, Sunfire, and Gargoyle, and itemize Urgot as a secondary carry.
His best item is Titan’s, as he really benefits from the AP and resistances as well as the AD. If possible, try to get a Bloodthirster or Hoj on him for healing. Ie, Giant Slayer, Edge of Night, and Guardbreaker are also decent options.
Ionia Yasuo https://www.metatft.com/team-builder/HglGdum+X5MWCMWwEP2aIFtaKWTGzLj415DyYcg 9ULP4AcH2qHpouVV5U+iQ+oOayDem
Next up is ionia yasuo.
This is another 4-cost carry comp that really wants to roll at level 7 to hit your 4-costs, as hitting Shen, Yasuo, and Kaisa 2 means everything for your board. Without Yasuo and Shen 2 in particular, your frontline will often just collapse before you can do any damage.
If you are rolling at level 7 and don’t have +1 i=Ionia, just drop Warwick and play 3 Challengers, and play Zed until you hit Ahri. If you do hit +1 Ionia, put the spat on Kaisa and roll very hard at level 7, as you don’t spike very hard at level 8, as it would just be a flex unit like Senna, Jarvan, or Sion.
Yasuo’s itemization is pretty flexible, but it’s usually a combination of one healing item, Bloodthirster or Hoj, one defensive item, Edge of Night or Quicksilver, and one damage item, like ie, Deathblade, or Titan’s.
Kaisa’s best items are Stattik Shiv, Guardbreaker, Deathcap, Gunblade, Archangel’s, and Hoj. Morello is also a great option unless you already have Sunfire Slammed. Make sure to also itemize Shen with tank items, as he is the backbone of your comp, preferably with Vow and Warmogs, but don’t be too greedy, any tank items will work.
While rolling on 7, you can also try to go for Karma 3 if you randomly hit a bunch and can itemize her with things like Deathcap, BlueDuff, Gunblade, and Morello.
8 Void Kaisa https://www.metatft.com/team-builder/Hgk5/AaE6b4VCRSQzLiEVfjXEY0rbhbB9nrUGOL1IHbGKcg9QpIAAAAAUemEwfZuFlCzqVV56ilpF+sMyJbC2EfB
8 Void is only achievable if you have +1 Void, so as mentioned earlier, try to pivot into Ionia, Sorcerers, or RekSai reroll for the late game if you can’t hit a void spat.
The other condition to playing this comp is to hit stable evolution, in which case you would just play 6 Void and push levels to try to cap out on level 8 and 9 with strong units. If you do manage to hit +1 Void, you should always play this board, with the spat on Yasuo.
Urf is the best legend if you want to force this line; however that’s not a very reliable strategy, so I would just recommend playing something else and only playing comp this when you have the right spot. Usually, you should roll down on level 6 on stage 3-2 for 6 Void to start or continue Winstreaking, and use that tempo to push for a fast level 8 to start rolling for Belveth, as hitting 8 Void is the main priority.
When itemizing Kaisa, make sure to have a healing item like Hoj or Gunblade and two Damage items like Archangel’s, Deathcap, Guardbreaker, and Giant Slayer. Stattik Shiv is unnecessary late game since Baron provides shred, but it’s fine as an early game slam. You should usually itemize Chogath with your tank items, especially if you’ve had him the whole game, and itemize RekSai with any AD items you might have, especially if you are in a spot to 3-star him, which is one of the win conditions for this comp once you reach baron. If you can’t 3-star RekSai, just put the items on belveth instead.
Juggernaut Garen https://www.metatft.com/team-builder/HgmlZAvwrMMUAMW2CP2aF9oabqNuo26jHxt5Nmn B9lBuIVtabqNuo26jKNldMFoP34AXg5rKYAAA
Juggernaut garen is the next comp.
This is a 3-cost reroll comp, meaning you should slowroll on level 7 for Garen 3, Darius 3, and Sona 3, but give up on Sona and Darius if you have to, as they don’t matter all too much.
This comp is only truly playable with one legend: Twisted Fate. This is because Garen only works with his exact best in slot items, Rageblade and Bloodthirster, and needs multiple Zeke’s heralds to increase his initial attack speed. The third item should always be the Radiant item from Demacia.
This comp is all in on one unit, so you should take augments that benefit Garen directly: anything that increases his healing, damage, or survivability is great. The most important thing with this comp is to hit Garen 3, so any augments that help you hit faster, like March of Progress, Think Fast, Army Building, Golden Ticket, Cruel Pact, and Infernal Contract are amazing too.
Sorcerer Lux https://www.metatft.com/team-builder/Hgnqlf0B6XQPENldGGTGIE13KfZazLiQ8vjXqIAXsEf B2ZgHkPrn0N0m
The next comp is Sorcerer Lux.
This is another 4-cost carry comp, so you want to roll down on level 7 for this board on stage 4-1 to stabilize. If you have +1 Sorc, you can drop Shen for Orianna and put the spat on Sona, Shen, or Jarvan, but usually Sona, and play 6 Sorcs on level 7. When you go level 8, you should play any flex unit like Soraka, Ryze, Sion, or a second Jarvan. If you hit Ahri, you can either play 6 Sorcs or drop Velkoz and move any items he was holding onto her.
The best legend for this comp is Veigar, as giving Spellcrit to Sorcerers is amazing; however, like Urf, this is not a great playstyle currently since playing this comp every game is not very consistent, so you should just play Poro if you want to default to this line while remaining flexible.
Lux’s best items are one Damage item and a healing item or two Damage items, especially if you have another source of healing. These include Deathcap, Hoj, Giant Slayer, Gunblade, Guardbreaker, and Jg. Jg is overbuilt and has poor stats compared to the rest because it’s a generally weak item, as noted by MetaTFT, since it’s only good when you already have a ton of existing AP. It’s still a good slam if you are intending to play 6 or 8 Sorcs, but I would try to avoid it if you are in a position to only play 4.
Any extra carry items should go on Velkoz until you hit Ahri. You can also itemize Sona if you have a Sorc spat on her. Tank items should go on Swain. Do not itemize Jarvan, as he always steals the radiant item if both he and Lux have two items.
Bruiser Reksai https://www.metatft.com/team-builder/HgmszNmBrwUBCBSQENvAGLu7J3VLbhZuFsH2KbG X1LrMuPjXWLHBYMg92VV5g5rrDFPo
Our last comp is Bruiser RekSai.
This is another 3-cost reroll comp, meaning you should slowroll level 7 for RekSai 3. This is the standard board, though you should drop Lissandra for 6 Bruiser if you hit Bruiser +1. If you manage to reach level 8, play 6 Bruiser if you hit Sion; if not, just play any flex unit like Ryze or Jarvan.
This comp should only be played under very specific conditions though: you need the right opener: either an early RekSai or a Void opener, the right augments: ideally Stable Evolution, Bruiser +1, GargantuanResolve, Titanic Strength, Unified Resistance, or Martyr, and most importantly, the right items.
Reksai’s best three items are Double Titan’s and Bloodthirster. Hoj and Ie are decent substitutes, but they are less than ideal. Itemize Sejuani with tank items, and itemize Kaisa as a secondary carry with items like Shiv, Hoj, Gunblade, Deathcap, Archangel’s, and Guardbreaker. Make sure to build Sunfire or Morello if you have no Antiheal.
