TFT META: Giant Slayer European Cup, Day 2

The mighty Jarvan was nerfed yesterday and the Giant Slayer European Cup playoffs saw the first tournament games post-nerf. How bad is Jarvan now? Spoiler alert: Jarvan won 4 out of 5 games. Jarvan: 1, TFT balancing team: 0.

The first game had only 3 Jarvan players, 6th place… and 1st and 2nd. After that:

Jarvan is still particularly strong because he and Karma help players reach the 4 Dark Star power spike. 75% of the Top 4 boards had at least 4 Dark Star Units.

Jhin, Shaco, and Xerath are solid units on their own; give them some Dark Star power, and they win you games.

It’s Tornado Season in TFT: Janna played a crucial role in 3 of the 5 wins.

The pros have definitely noticed Janna’s potential and have started to prioritize her. Expect to see more of her in your lobbies soon.

Janna’s CV summary:

• Huge AOE disable
• Crazy team attack speed buff
• Counters Vanguard (Jhin and Shaco’s biggest fear)

Put Shojin on Janna because Janna + Shojin = Tornado Time. In the last round of the 4th game, FluffyHS‘s Janna cast her spell 3 times in 6 seconds! Here is his game-winning board:

Janna also won a game with her Star Guardian buddies, Syndra and Neeko. Perhaps this is this another viable comp coming soon to a lobby near you.

There were ZERO Blademaster, Blaster/Brawler, or Rebel comps in the Top 4.

Maybe it just wasn’t their day, or maybe this just isn’t their meta. Cybernetic + Infiltrator Irelia managed to squeeze in a win. Astro Sniper nabbed a 2nd place finish in the last lobby.

Other comps might be viable, but pros aren’t taking that risk when $4000 is on the line.

	Winner	2nd Place
Lobby 1: Star Cluster	4 Dark Star, Mystic, 3 Star Guardian, 2 Protector, Celestial, Sorcerer, Paragon Itemized: Jarvan, Dark Star Janna, Xerath	4 Dark Star, 2 Infiltrator, Sniper, Protector, Celestial, Mystic, Starship Itemized: Protector Asol, Xerath, Infiltrators
Lobby 2: Dwarf Planet	6 Cybernetic, 4 Chrono, 3 Blademaster 2 Infiltrator, Mana-Reaver, Blaster, Vanguard Itemized: Infiltrator Irelia, Lucian, Wukong	6 Dark Star, 2 Infiltrator, Sniper, Protector, Celestial, Mystic Itemized: Xerath, Shaco, Jarvan
Lobby 3: Trade Sector	4 Dark Star, 2 Sniper, Infiltrator, Protector, Celestial, Mystic, Paragon Itemized: Shaco, Jhin, Fizz	4 Dark Star, Vanguard, 2 Sniper, 2 Mystic Itemized: Jhin, Ashe
Lobby 4: Normal	4 Chrono, 2 Dark Star, Protector, Celestial, Sorcerer, Paragon Itemized: Janna, Xerath, Jarvan	4 Dark Star, 2 Infiltrator, Sniper, Protector, Celestial, Mystic Itemized: Shaco, Jarvan, Thresh
Lobby 5: Binary Star	4 Dark Star, 2 Sniper, Infiltrator, Protector, Celestial, Mystic Itemized: Jhin, Ashe, Jarvan	Astro, 4 Sniper, 2 Dark Star, Vanguard, Chrono, Celestial, Mystic Itemized: Teemo, Jhin, Wukong, Nautilus

Congrats to CaptainRodrigues for winning day 2. You can watch the tournament replay here. Giant Slayer is primarily known for their tournaments, but they have great video guides as well.

Conclusion:

Dark Star continues to dominate, Janna + Shojin is getting more attention, and Irelia Infiltrator is still good. Don’t be afraid to play uncontested comps in your lobby, but if the game gives you a lot of Dark Star units… make Dark Star lemonade.