Until the arrival of the Hextech Origin, solo carry builds are still a reliable path to victory in Teamfight Tactics. By that we mean builds that invest most of your team’s power and items into a single champion. Today we will showcase a strong solo carry build focusing on Poppy: Yordle Knights!
How Yordle Knight works
Yordles have one of the best all-comers synergies in Teamfight Tactics. By being able to avoid autoattacks, they passively counter Demon, Shapeshifter, and Void. They are also highly resistant to many items and individual champions like Kassadin. The effect is, however, RNG-based.
On the other hand, the Knight synergy provides consistent damage mitigation. Since the rework it benefits your entire team and provides partial resistance to spell damage. As a champion that is both Yordle and Knight, Poppy is the crux of this build.
Her role is to tank as much damage as possible while continuously stunning and damaging the enemy team with her ability. She has a big health pool, which the build takes full advantage of. At 75 mana cost, Poppy’s knock-up activates frequently, and it deals decent damage when the Sorcerer synergy kicks in — more on that later!
Yordle Knight basics
The goal of the build is to turn Poppy into a near-indestructible champion that can consistently solo multiple enemies for the win. For that, you will need a 3-Yordle synergy, 2- or 4-Knight synergy, a Warmog’s Armor, and a Dragon’s Claw. Both items go on Poppy, to ensure she stays in the fight. Dragon’s Claw protects you from everything that Yordle doesn’t, with the exception of true damage. Warmog’s Armor covers that issue, regenerating health at such a rapid rate that even getting Phantomed will often fail to kill your Poppy.
If you have managed to secure a full 6-Yordle composition, you can give her a Deathcap as her third item, to capitalize on her low-mana ability. Otherwise, her third item should be something defensive. Hextech Gunblade can work in a pinch, as it is both offensive and defensive. When properly equipped, Poppy should be placed front and center so she draws aggro immediately. If she takes heavy damage quickly, Lulu will save her, which will subsequently buff Poppy’s Warmog healing.
The only problem you can run into is an enemy champion with Red Buff — if she fails to dodge even once, Poppy will suddenly lose most of her durability. There are a couple of things you can do to protect yourself from this. First, if you notice an enemy player building Gunslingers with Red Buff, it would be a good idea to go for the full 6-Yordle synergy. Otherwise, build a Guardian Angel as Poppy’s third item. Once she dies, the Red Buff champion will aggro on something else, hopefully giving her a chance to heal to full health after resurrecting.
How to build
This is a lean and aggressive build that maxes out with 7 champions. Focus your early picks on securing Poppy and two more Yordles, and then decide if you will pursue the full 6-Yordle synergy. If that doesn’t seem likely, go for just Lulu and Veigar. Those two are crucial for the 3-Sorcerer buff you want to eventually secure.
If 6 Yordles is off the table, start building up to 4 Knights. Mordekaiser is a must-have for the simple reason that he enables the powerful Phantom synergy in the mid-game. Once Kindred comes up, you can temporarily suspend the search for more Knights and just coast for a few rounds. Conversely, finding Karthus will give you the massive power spike off both Phantom and 3-Sorcerer.
Set aside any Giant’s Belts and Negatron Cloaks you find. These are the ingredient items required for Warmog’s Armor and Dragon’s Claw. A Spatula and either a Needlessly Large Rod or a Chain Vest would also be good to have to fill out any gaps in your synergy. Building an early Yuumi is never a mistake — even if you eventually secure the third Sorcerer you were missing, the Yuumi carrier will benefit from extra mana generation from autoattacks.
Stay tuned to Daily Esports for more Teamfight Tactics guides, news, and content!
