24 of NA’s best TFT players duked it out over the weekend in the Cloud9 Fates NA Qualifier. 16 players were eliminated in the first two days, and 8 players advanced to the final day.
I’ll break down the top comps, run through the transitions of the game-winning boards, and look at some interesting stats of the final day! Congrats to GrandVice8 for winning and Bertasaurus, Numanotaihasin, and Robinsongz for qualifying for the next tournament!
Comps in the Top 4
Winning Comps + Transitions
Game 1: Divine Executioners – GrandVice8
Early Game: Cultist board with a Chosen Syphoner Vladamir. He splashed in Diana and Kindred for the Assassin and Spirit synergies.
Mid Game: At level 7, he added an early Yone + Irelia for Adept. He played Ornn to get two Artifacts, then sold it.
End Game: At level 8, he found a Chosen Divine Kayle. He finished off his board with Lee Sin, Shen, Yuumi, and Xayah. He stayed at level 8 to find his 2-star champions. Kayle and Yone were his primary carries.
Game 2: Spirit Slayers – SpencerTFT
Early Game: Spencer focused on carousel priority. He played Sharpshooters, Spirit + Vi, until he found a Chosen Zed at level 5.
Mid Game: He played 4 Spirit + Pyke (for Slayer/Assassin) and slow-rolled at 6 to find Zed 3. Then he rushed to level 9. Adding Janna for Mystic along the way.
End Game: He finished off his comp with Samira and Yone. He swapped out Janna for Zilean.
Game 3: Divine Vanguards – Bertasaurus
Early Game: Bertasaurus found an early Chosen Vanguard Wukong and played 4 Vanguard + 2 Sharpshooter. He slow-rolled at level 5 to find 3-star Wukong.
Mid Game: He removed his Sharpshooters and played Divine with Jax. Then he added Irelia, Yuumi, and Janna for Mystic and Enlightened.
End Game: He kept the 4 Vanguard trait with Sejuani and Aatrox. Then he added Lee Sin for 4 Divine, Duelist, and some more punching power! Check out the Divine, Duelist Zilean!
Game 4: Ninja Assassins – GrandVice8
Early Game: GV8 played a Chosen Wukong for Divine + Vanguard + Sharpshooters.
Mid Game: At level 6, he found a Chosen Akali and played 4 Assassin plus a Vanguard frontline. He held Ninjas and slow-rolled for Akali 3. Once he found all 4 Ninjas, he swapped them in and sold his Vanguards.
End Game: He ended the game with 6 Assassin and 4 Ninja in a close match against Numano’s Olaf Slayer comp.
Game 5: Divine Executioners – numanotaihasin
Early Game: Numano played Duelist with Divine and found a Chosen Executioner Kindred at level 5.
Mid Game: At level 7, he splashed in Yuumi for Spirit and made a Duelist Spatula on Kayle. 4 Duelist, 3 Executioner, 2 Divine, 2 Spirit.
End Game: He dropped to 3 Duelist and finished off his comp with Lee Sin, Xayah, Morgana, and Janna. Also, Kayle 3.
Observations
Level 9 was not the main priority. Only 25% of the Top 4 boards reached level 9, and 3 of the 5 games were won by level 8 boards. Bertasaurus’ Wukong 3 and Spencer’s Zed 3 enabled them to hit 9 and win their games.
Best Early-Mid Game Mystic Duo? Yumi + Janna. If you only have space for 1, you generally play Yumi unless you are playing an Enlightened comp. You can take out Janna and put in Zilean later.
Add the Divine Duelist Duo (Jax and Lee Sin) to provide late game power to the Bonkey Kong.
Conclusion
Executioner Kayle was the most popular comp in the Top 4, but there was a healthy number of other comps. Zed can still win games, Ninja Assassins can win games, and Bonkey can still win games! Slayer and Elderwood Mage comps nearly won games too. Reroll Warlord, Brawler, and even a Nasus Syphoner comp managed to Top 4, so don’t hard force Kayle just yet.
Keep in mind that most of the tournament participants are flex players, meaning they play comps based on what units they hit. Blindly forcing these comps may help you reach a certain rank, but please continue to look for more resources on other elements of the game: playing the early game, positioning, flexing, etc. Happy climbing!