Team Fight Tactics: Assassin Comps 101

If Nobles and Glacials are getting a bit stale, look no further than Assassin compositions for some unique and fun Team Fight Tactics gameplay. Here are a couple of ways to run Assassin teams.

Six Assassins + Three Void

When playing as an Assassin composition, it is ideal to get a tier three Kha’zix as early as possible. He will be your ticket to late game. Put items such as Bloodthirster, Hextech Gunblade, Seraph’s Embrace, Spear of Shojin or Phantom Dancer on him in order to give him both damage and survivability.

Other early champs to prioritize are Pyke, Zed and Rek’sai. Shojin on Pyke is definitely a force to be reckoned with and deserves attention as well. A Warwick can be very helpful in giving your comp some early tankiness due to Brawler synergy on him and Rek’sai.

Kassadin is also important to get the early Void synergy. In mid game, pick up every Assassin that finds its way to you, but be careful of running out of bench space. Upgrade them to tier two any time you can, making sure to keep enough gold to eventually level up to eight champion slots.

The final pieces to this composition are Cho’Gath and Akali. Cho’gath plus Rek’sai or Kassadin give Kha’zix the Void synergy to shred through armor, and while there are seven Assassins in total, Akali is definitely worth the investment. Be ready to throw items on her if you manage to obtain a tier two. With six Assassins giving insanely high critical damage, Kha’zix should be an absolute monster. All this said, be careful of enemies putting Phantom Dancers on their carries, as that cuts your damage potential greatly. Consider building them in return to allow your carries to survive long enough to get ultimates off.

Three Assassins + Three Void + Four Ninjas

While this is a very similar comp to the previous one stylistically, it does differ in a few key ways. Players still want to get a strong Kha’zix, but this time make sure to save some items for later. Just like before, consider early Warwick, Rek’sai and Kassadin to help you transition to mid game. Try and stock up on Zed and Shen to strengthen them for later. When in mid game, pick a third Assassin to go all in on and start looking for a Kennen. In the same vein as the last composition, Cho’gath and Akali are paramount to the late game.

Once you get Akali, put all four of your Ninjas in and give her all the items you saved for her. You can also sell your least powerful Assassin now that you have her if you need the items they have. Her key items are Seraph’s because of her minuscule mana cost, Deathcap for crazy damage and Phantom Dancer for survivability. Gunblade can be a good substitute for the latter two. The most important thing to know when running this variation is that Akali is your true hyper carry. However, she is a late game unit, so finding her ASAP is the key to your success. Manage your economy to spend a large chunk of change on experience, or commit carousel picks to her.

Another important note is that since Kha’zix is not your main carry, you don’t HAVE to go Void synergy. If you find a strong Pyke or Evelynn, you could go Pirates or Demons. Looking to run Elementalists with Kennen to stall you until late game can also be good. Void was listed because of how strong Cho’gath and Rek’sai are as a front line. Even in Assassin comps, having a frontline is important because it allows your Assassins to have more time on the enemy backline. You could even stray away to two Knights or other frontliners if you have a tanky Shen who can reliably get his ult off.

While there are many more ways to play Assassins, these two compositions have very defined win conditions. As always in games like this, adaptation is key. If you focus too much on finding your perfect team, you’ll get left in the dust. Keep playing and try to find what works for you.

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