With the introduction of Teamfight Tactics Set 5: Reckoning, there’s also a whole new range of compositions to fight for spots on your board. New champions, new traits and synergies, it’s a whole new game. With the introduction of Shadow items, TFT is looking remarkably different from the Set 4 Chosen mechanic, much to the relief of the overall community (no more overabundance of random 3-star 4-costs!).

Set 5 has only been live for a short amount of time, but let’s take a look at some of the best compositions to run in no particular order.

This list will definitely be subject to change and may not encompass all of the best compositions!

[Updated for Patch 11.11]

Spellweavers Vel’Koz

Vel’Koz is a very viable composition to play at the moment and plays its role well as a hard carry unit. The insane slow burst damage that you get with Vel’Koz is enough to carry you to a top 4 at worst. You’ll want to throw in Brand, Malzahar and Zyra to round out the Spellweavers trait. Ryze and Nunu help to provide some utility and frontline while activating the Abomination trait, which is crucial for added frontline potential. Lux is also a great unit to add to your board as her ability helps protect Vel’Koz against assassins and it also adds the Redeemed trait for Vel’Koz, which will be necessary in the late game.

You’ll be looking to play this composition with a Needlessly Large Rod opener, so try to play this composition around an Abomination comp for the early game before you make your transition into the Vel’Koz comp. Something to keep in mind, however, and this is where scouting really comes into play, is being aware of other players’ boards and what they’ll be looking to play into the mid-late game. If you’re noticing other boards with Vel’Koz items thrown onto a substitute unit, you’re probably going to be contested for Vel’Koz units during your roll-downs so look to play flexibly. You could flex into the Abomination Brawlers composition which is very strong at the moment, or you could transition your whole board into the Karma comp (Dawnbringer Invokers) if you have too many Vel’Koz items created already.

You absolutely need a Shojin’s on Vel’Koz as the unit requires a lot of mana to cast. Add some AP items to increase damage. Tank items on your frontline to help with defenses.

Consider throwing in the Ironclad/Knight or Mystic traits to help against certain AD heavy or AP heavy opponents.

Coven Assassins

This board relies heavily on Leblanc as the primary carry with the help of other synergies. If you’re familiar with previous patches, you’ll be well-acquainted with this composition. Any board or composition that makes it onto this list checks off 3 major aspects: damage, utility, and frontline. This composition marks off all of the checkpoints, especially with the insane amount of damage that Leblanc can apply specifically with the items you see above. The Volibear and Ivern duo adds the frontline and disruption you’ll require to give your team more time to dish out the damage.

Leblanc requires a Shadow Blue Buff, which gives more mana when she drops below 60% health. Other than Leblanc, you’ll want to activate the Coven and Assassin traits and you can throw in the Ivern and Volibear for the 3 Revenant trait with Nocturne. Viego and Diana round out the board nicely by activating the 4 Assassin trait, which will only strengthen and supplement your Leblanc carry.

To put it simply, this comp consists of 3 Coven, 4 Assassin and 2 Revenant, although you can flex the Revenant trait for something more suited to the lobby.

Skirmishers

Just think of this composition as 6 Skirmishers + Diana and Mordekaiser to activate Dragonslayer/Nightbringer. As of this moment, Skirmishers is an extremely powerful trait and you’ll want to hit the 6 unit powerspike with replacements like Nidalee and Udyr to reach it until you find all the ideal units.

The main reason this comp is running pretty well at the moment is its strong units (Jax, Kennen, etc.) and the activation of the Skirmisher trait (6 Skirmishers grants a 40% max health shield at the start of combat and gain +6 attack damage per second). Due to the latest nerfs, the composition has lost some strength, but it still remains a great board to help you place in the top 4.

With Jax as your hard-carry unit, he utilizes the Skirmishers trait exceptionally well and you can definitely count on him to carry you through the mid and late stages of a game. You’ll want to supply him with a Shadow QSS (to grant permanent crowd-control immunity), Shadow Runaan’s (to help Jax deal massive damage to multiple units simultaneously), and a Bloodthirster to help out with sustain so he’s not getting randomly one-shot to death.

Diana and Mordekaiser are always a strong pair together and they help activate 4 Dragonslayers as well as Assassin for Viego.

Kayle Carry

Kayle is back in force! With this composition, you’ll be activating the Kayle & Friends board which consists of 4 Knights and 4 Redeemed. Consider throwing in Ironclad or Mystic to account for various comps in the lobby. Kayle becomes stronger the longer she auto-attacks, so having a solid frontline is absolutely key in activating her ridiculous damage in the late stages of a fight, which is why you’re seeing so many Knights and tanky units. Utilizing Kindred to keep your Kayle alive for longer can make the difference in many fights as well.

Best items for Kayle are Rageblade, Guardian’s Angel and Hextech Gunblade. Rell is a great unit to have for any board (think Set 4 Sejuani), and besides the Redeemed units (Leona, Lux), you want to have the best synergy with the best units you can find.

Once again, this list is not a comprehensive one of all the best possible compositions, but every one of the comps listed above are very strong and viable for fighting for a top four finish. There is no doubt this list will fluctuate with upcoming patches. Until then, hope these comps help you climb!