Teamfight Tactics board size to increase with set 2

Following a comment made by lead developer Riot Mortdog on his Twitch channel earlier this week, rumors surrounding an increased map-size started in the Teamfight Tactics community. The clip from Mortdog’s stream can be found below.

Earlier today, these rumors were confirmed. A tweet by Mortdog revealed that set two, Rise of the Elements, will give each player access to 4 rows of hexagons. This change means an additional 7 hexagons will be available for each user, further increasing the potential for strategic placement in Teamfight Tactics. As Riot Mortdog confirms in a comment, this additional row of hexagons is a permanent addition for set 2 of Teamfight Tactics.

TFT – Since people have pieced it together, let's confirm it. Coming with Set 2 is a bigger board! 4 rows for each player, which should open up a ton of new positioning options. pic.twitter.com/mit0I4TrYZ

— Riot Mort (@Mortdog) October 17, 2019

How can the additional space be used in Teamfight Tactics?

The main advantage of the increase in board size comes from the concept of “decoy champions.” This is a term that was popularized in the Auto-chess genre. To explain it as simply as possible, decoy champions can be used to lead the enemy champions away from your main carries.

This concept is most frequently used in Teamfight Tactics to protect your carries from the enemy Blitzcrank, a champion that pulls the furthest enemy into his team. The increase in board space allows for more effective use of decoy champions, as the champions have an increased amount of space to travel. That extra space will also increase the strength of ranged champions, as they will have more time to put out damage before their targets can strike back.

This increased board size should release in the 9.22 patch, which is expected to go live on Wed, Nov 6. However, set 2 of Teamfight Tactics – along with its increased board size – will be available for testing on the PBE starting Oct 22.

It has not been confirmed yet which champions will make it into set two of Teamfight Tactics. However, the announcement video did leave us with some hints, showing several champions in the trailer. These hinted champions include Syndra, Thresh, Vladimir, Nautilus, and Nasus.

For more of Riot Games’ 10-year anniversary event announcements, be sure to check out the new animated series coming soon.