TFT Reckoning, Teamfight Tactics’ fifth and newest set, release on the Public Beta Environment starting April 13and brings with it 58 available champions. Some are new, while some are old or reimagined. We got a chance to play test the new set and give our first impressions on the TFT Reckoning champions.
TFT Reckoning brings in highly requested champions
Throughout the first four sets of TFT, players have had a chance to see and use a ton of different League of Legends champions. However, despite each set bringing in over 50 champions, not all of them have appeared in TFT. In TFT Reckoning, Riot Games has done their best to minimize the number of champions being left out. Heading into set five, there have been only 17 champions on the League of Legends roster that have not made their way into the game. With TFT: Reckoning’s release, that number has shrunk to nine. This brings the number of champions represented in TFT throughout its history to a whopping 144.
First up, there’s the introduction of Kled. Kled is a one-cost Hellion and Cavalier that has no mana bar. This is due to Kled’s ability, “Violent Tendencies.” This ability has a passive effect with a trigger. Kled enters the combat on Skaarl, granting him a shield for 80% of his maximum health. He dismounts when the shield is broken and briefly becomes untargetable. This grants him attack speed, causing every fourth attack to deal 200% of his attack damage.
Some of the other units joining the game are Gragas, Ryze, Rell, Trundle, Udyr, and Heimerdinger. And there is still one more newcomer, and that unit might be the most important in the game, for both the story and the meta.
Viego is the major role-player when it comes to the theme of TFT Reckoning. He has quite the unique effect even as a five-cost. Viego’s ability is “Sovereign’s Domination.” When this ability activates, Viego force-chokes his target and stuns them while doing damage over the course of five seconds. If Viego succeeds at killing his target, it resurrects at full health for Viego’s team. However, they lose a percentage of their max health per second.
When Viego does this, the unit gains bonuses off of Viego’s team’s traits, not their original team’s traits. The ability seems particularly potent because Viego is an assassin who leaps into the enemy’s backline; he will be able to stun and kill a high-value target and then turn that carry character into a temporary ally.
Fan favorites and suppressed memories make their return
Certain champions have made a name for themselves in TFT by either being really broken or really fun. Some of these champions are making a return to set five, with their old abilities from previous TFT iterations. Included are Ziggs and his Arcane Bomb, Nunu and Willump with their Consume and Vayne with her Silver Bolts. There are a few more champions returning with old abilities too. These champions are Hecarim, Kha’Zix, Leblanc, Leona, Lissandra, Nautilus and Poppy. However, there are two champions that players have been waiting for, or dreading rather, to see return.
As was announced by TFT’s lead designer Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer back in March, Draven is back. He has his same “Spinning Axes” ability, just like he had in set one, and plays exactly the same as he did back then, only now he comes backed with some new traits. Instead of dealing double damage and gaining bonus auto attacks, Draven now gets bonus attack speed and life steal off of the new Legionnaire trait and bonus stats off his Forgotten trait.
One of the most infamous carries of all time is back too, as Nocturne makes his return. He is a three-cost unit with the ability “Umbra Blades.” This passive ability causes every third auto attack to slash all adjacent enemies for 125% of his attack damage. The ability also heals him for a big percentage of damage dealt. Umbra Blades also has an additional bonus if his slash is isolated. If he only hits one unit, he gains bonus attack speed for three seconds. This time around, there is no Blademaster trait to make Nocturne into a blender, but he can still be a huge menace just like before.
Old champs learn new tricks
Five sets in, and TFT has had over 260 champion variations in the game. With only 154 different champions in total, it’s important to be able to reuse champions effectively. Although some champions have returned to the game with old abilities, others are reintroduced with a new ability; often a new gold cost. TFT Reckoning has a plethora of champions who are being reintroduced with a brand new kit.
One of the more interesting characters getting a retread is Kayle. Kayle has previously been a four- and five-cost carry. This time around, it’s no different. In TFT Reckoning, she will be a five-cost unit. However, despite being the same cost as her set one self, she will also have a different ability. Kayle also comes in as a Redeemed Verdant Legionnaire, with more information coming soon. Instead of Divine Judgement, Kayle will harness “Divine Ascent” this time around.
This ability is a passive one and, because of that, Kayle does not have a mana bar. Instead, Kayle has a bar that counts seconds. Every few seconds, Kayle will ascend, which gives Kayle bonus abilities. On her first ascent, Kayle’s auto attacks do bonus true damage equal to a percentage of her attack damage. Her second ascent gives Kayle’s auto attacks an explosion effect. This applies her attack damage and first ascent true damage to adjacent enemies next to her target. Her third ascent makes Kayle immune to damage for one second on every seventh auto attack. Finally, if she hits her fourth ascent in a round, Kayle’s auto attacks rain down swords on her target doing huge magic damage.
The game plan here is to drag fights out as long as possible so that Kayle can max ascend. At one star, Kayle ascends every five seconds. At two star, she ascends every four seconds. Riot has made it their goal to have five-cost legendary units be flashy and Kayle is definitely no exception.
TFT Reckoning features a ton more retrains, a new mechanic and new traits.
