Hello and welcome to another trait tier list, this time for patch 11.7! While there hasn't been a lot of changes in the meta we have seen some shifts, thanks mostly due to the 11.6b patch. But as a whole what was strong in the previous patch is still strong in 11.7, so don't expect to see many differences between this tier list and the previous one. As usual I recommend taking any tier list with a grain of salt as every trait can be viable in the right situation whether they are S tier or C tier. With all that said let's get to it!
S Tier
To begin with we have the synergies in the S Tier! This tier consists of Mage, Daredevil, Keeper, Slayer and Blacksmith! These synergies have a lot of influence on the current meta and are used consistently in most games.
Mage has toppled Slayer and takes the top spot of S tier! Basically Aurelion Sol is a versatile carry because he’s playable as a one star unit, whereas the Slayer carries, and most carries need to be two stars. Plus the Mage trait just adds a lot of damage, not just for Aurelion but to all of its champions. Overall it’s definitely the strongest synergy and one of the most contested.
Daredevil squeaks out an advantage over Slayer because Samira is all around the best late game carry. Of course if you’re using Samira you’re also running Slayer, so the two go hand in hand, but Samira has more impact on the late game beyond just being a Slayer.
Before we talk about Slayer we have another trait to cover and that’s Keeper. Keeper pushes ahead of Slayer as, overall, it has more consistency than Slayer does. This is due to Kennen and Xayah being reliable damage dealers whereas Olaf and Tryndamere can struggle a bit for Slayers. And Keepers, being inherently defensive, are good against every other build in the meta besides Mage and high-roll Slayer.
Okay, okay, now we can talk about Slayer. But what’s there to talk about that hasn’t already been said? The trait has three carries and can be used in multiple different compositions. But as we said both Olaf and Tryndamere can struggle if you’re not two starring them quick enough or lack good items for them. Still, at the end of the day, if you need a late game build to transition into you can always turn to Slayer.
And finally at the bottom of S Tier we have the ever so reliable Blacksmith. Ornn’s artifacts still play an important part in the meta so this synergy automatically gets sent to S Tier. With items being such an important part of TFT it’s no surprise that a synergy designed around creating extra items is one of the most valuable in the game.
A Tier
That’s it for S Tier so let’s move on to the synergies in A Tier! This tier consists of Syphoner, Dragonsoul, Executioner, Adept, Exile, Cultist, Vanguard, Spirit and Brawler! These synergies are commonly used in top four compositions and are all around consistently useful.
At the top of A Tier we have the best splash trait in the game Syphoner! While the healing is useful the main reason to run Syphoner is Swain since he’s one of the best late game five cost units. Adding Swain with another Syphoner is an easy way to upgrade your late game board.
Dragonsoul can be strong as a six piece synergy but for the most part it’s relegated to being the companion synergy to traits like Mage and Slayer. That said being used as a pseudo splash trait doesn’t make the synergy bad, it’s just not the focus of most compositions.
With Kayle falling a bit out of favor we’re seeing Executioner also fall down in value, at least a little bit. Of course Xayah is still doing well thanks to Keepers, so as a whole the Executioner trait is in a healthy place. It’s just not dominating the meta like it was previously. Keep in mind that Kayle in the late game is still strong but you need to two star her with good items to do well. Executioner in that case is essential as it adds a lot of extra damage that Kayle is missing baseline.
Adept continues to rise up in value as more and more players use Shen and friends for their frontline. And the slowing effect is quite useful, even if it doesn’t always matter against champions like Olaf. Specifically though the presence of Adept in the meta has a lot to do with Shen. Vanguard has issues against Last Whisper, Brawlers tend to only do well early game unless you commit to eight and Elderwood isn't doing well currently. So for strong frontline that leaves Shen, which naturally means you want to add in another Adept for the trait. And yes, the trait is impactful, so that's a nice bonus when using Shen as the frontline.
Alongside Adept we have Exile because of the presence Yone has in the late game. Early game you will still see Yasuo used frequently but this synergy is all about the strength of Yone. He’s not quite up to par with Samira or Swain but as far as five cost champions go he’s definitely worth consideration, especially when paired with Shen for Adept.
Cultist continues its reign as the best early and mid game synergy, with emphasis on the mid game as six Cultist is an easy way to start win streaking. Late game it still struggles, though Sivir 3 helps alleviate that a little bit. But out of all of the mid game centric synergies, Cultist is by far the strongest.
Vanguard is still not quite where it used to be but it’s still important in the meta as compositions always need a good frontline. Sejuani, Aatrox and Ornn are all commonly contested due to their ability to frontline along with having crowd control. It’s also worth pointing out that Vanguard/Mystic/Fabled is one of the top builds in the current meta which mostly has to do with how difficult it is to kill Vanguards. Of course Mystic and Fabled are also important, but Vanguard is the glue that holds that composition together.
Interestingly we’re seeing Spirit used less as a splash trait as four Spirit plays an important role in several compositions. Most notably Spirit/Sharpshooter but also Spirit/Assassin. In both cases the attack speed buff from Spirit is the main reason for their success. Of course Spirit is still useful as a splash trait but the current success is mostly thanks to four Spirit.
And the last trait in A Tier is Brawler! Brawlers are fantastic early game with mixed success mid game. They do struggle in the late game, especially compared to Adept and Vanguard, but thanks to eight Brawlers with Shyvana carry they at least have a role in the late game meta.
B Tier
Let’s move onto the B Tier synergies! This tier consists of Assassin, Sharpshooter, Mystic, Warlord, Duelist, Divine, The Boss, Emperor and Elderwoods! Overall these synergies are capable of doing well in the current meta but for the most part are just average at best.
First up we have Assassin! Assassin is a consistent part of the meta but it has mixed results. Occasionally we see Spirit/Assassin do well, or Talon, but as a whole the synergy hasn’t really taken a hold in the upper parts of the meta. It’s more or less the type of trait you run during the mid game and transition out of if possible for the late game. Players that do stick with it can top four but the consistency of which that happens isn’t quite up to par with a lot of other synergies.
Sharpshooter is doing well thanks to Sivir, Samira and Tristana. But Sharpshooter, on its own, is not enough for those champions to do well. Spirit is necessary for both Tristana and Sivir while Samira doesn’t even need Sharpshooter to do well. Because Spirit plays a larger role in the composition than Sharpshooter does it makes sense to have it lower on the list. That all said it’s worth keeping in mind that the synergy is worth using, just make sure you’re pairing it with other traits.
Mystic takes a step down this patch because the role it plays, while useful, is a bit diminished in the current meta. As a splash trait it’s still going to be used often but a small boost of magic resistance won’t help a lot against champions like Aurelion Sol. And in Vanguard/Mystic we’re seeing six Vanguard be more prevalent than four Mystic. Still, Mystic is easy to fit into most compositions so you’re never going to be at a disadvantage by having it.
In the middle of the pack we have good ole Warlord & Duelist. Let's first talk about Warlord which is doing slightly better than Duelist. The main reason for that is Katarina 3 can scale alright into the late game, especially if you manage to hit 9 Warlord. Overall though the trait is better suited for the mid game and transitioned out of once you hit the latter rounds of stage four and into stage five.
Duelist is almost the same as Warlord with the exception that it does not scale well late game. Sure if you hit Yasuo 3 early enough and can greed your way to level nine you can definitely scale your build well, but that's difficult to do consistently. Instead you're better off playing Duelist for their early game and mid game before pivoting out of them, much like Warlord.
Floating on its own is Divine as there’s still not a whole lot of reason to use the trait outside of a Kayle composition. Sure Lee Sin is used in a lot of late game compositions but that’s because of his ability, not his traits. At the end of the day if you’re looking to use Divine effectively it’s almost always going to be in conjunction with Kayle.
Next we have Emperor! Azir is useful but on the lower end of value for five cost champions. In general he’s only seeing consistent play in a Keeper composition and even then since two starring him can be difficult he is often overlooked for other lower cost Keepers. Still his crowd control is good and the sand guards bring a lot of utility so Azir is not terrible to play late game.
The Boss, on the other hand, is quite inconsistent. Much like Azir, Sett tends to only be played in one build and that’s Brawlers. But unlike Azir, it’s much harder to justify playing Sett as a standalone five cost. Because his ability lacks consistency you’re at the mercy of whether or not Sett is going to do a lot of damage or not, meaning you’re better off replacing him with another five cost unit. Despite that he is a key champion for Brawlers.
And the last trait for B Tier is Elderwood! Brawlers and Vanguard are just better frontline options than Elderwood. The saving grace for Elderwood is that fitting in three for a lot of builds is easy such as Keepers with Xayah and Rakan or Brawlers with Maokai and Nunu. But as a whole this synergy is overshadowed by plenty of other champions and traits in the current meta.
C Tier
And now we can move onto the last tier, C Tier! This tier consists of Fabled, Ninja, Enlightened and Fortune! These synergies are useful in the right situation but have less of an impact on the meta than the tiers above them.
Without many balance changes to these four traits they remain at the bottom of the tier list. For Fabled, though, it definitely could be argued they deserve a higher place on the list because Fabled/Vanguard/Mystic is doing well right now. This is because of the buffs Neeko received in the 11.6b patch. But when you look outside of that specific composition you never see Fabled used.
Cho’Gath is used the most thanks to Brawler and Nautilus occasionally has a place early game but as a whole synergy, Fabled only works one way. That limitation really hurts the value of the synergy within the meta. That said we do recognize that the current Fabled composition is strong and near the top of the meta.
Ninja is still in an awkward place because the champions individually are great! Kennen is key to Keepers, Shen is an Adept and is one of the best frontliners and both Akali and Zed are playable as mid game carries. It’s just putting all four Ninjas together makes an awkward composition that only does well in the mid game. And because individually both Kennen and Shen are doing well, they are highly contested so trying to play a Ninja composition often means fighting to two star them.
If we were to trait Ninja solely on it’s champions it would definitely be higher on the tier list. But as far as the synergy itself is concerned it’s just not all that useful in the current meta.
Look, Enlightened has two fantastic champions with Talon and Morgana. But like we just talked about with Ninja we can’t rate the trait only on the champions it consists of, we have to consider it as a whole. And for Enlightened it just doesn’t bring a lot to the table compared to most other synergies. If Irelia was more of a carry, or Fiora had use beyond the early game, perhaps we would see Enlightened go up in value. The unfortunate reality is Talon nor Morgana need the increased mana generation so no build relies on Enlightened being part of it.
And the last trait of the tier list is once again Fortune. As we’ve stated several times with Fortune at the bottom that this is not saying Fortune is bad. In fact it’s quite good right now in the meta, at least for high ELO players. But those players are a small section of the player base. The majority of players are not playing Fortune with the same amount of knowledge that higher ranked players have and thus they often struggle to make the synergy work.
Yes there are plenty of one off times where someone hits the jackpot with Fortune and gets a crazy lead from it. For every player that does so there’s five others that weren’t able to make it work and died by stage four. All we’re trying to say is be cautious when playing Fortune. The volatility of the synergy is why we’re placing it at the bottom of the tier list, even though it has the potential to be at the very top.
Conclusion
And that's it for today! As mentioned, not a lot changed for the meta. This is overall a good thing because a stable meta is good for anyone trying to climb in ranked. Keep in mind they've mentioned 11.8 is most likely going to be a bit wild in terms of changes since it's the last patch for set four before we move into set five.
Thank you for reading and if you're looking for more TFT content you can find it over on the GiantSlayerTFT YouTube here and twitter here! As for me you can find me on twitter here.
As always I highly recommend checking out https://lolchess.gg/ as it's a fantastic source for information about TFT!
