After the official reveal of all the new units in TFT: Fates, most of the hype is on what champions got into the game this time around. But as many TFT players know, the synergies matter just as much as the units themselves.
After looking at all the cool brand new synergies coming in TFT’s fourth expansion as well as looking at some of the new and improved old ones returning, some synergies just look better than the rest.
Here are the top 5 synergies players should be looking to try out in TFT: Fates.
[Related: Updated List of All Known TFT Set 4 Fates Champions]
5. Fortune
Fortune marks the third time that a synergy based around earning bonus gold will be in the game. Looking at the previous two times this type of synergy has been in the game with Pirates and Space Pirates, it seems like Fortune is a good bet to be solid and in the right meta, downright broken.
The Fortune synergy states that if a player wins a round, they will be granted “bonus orbs” which seem to be the same types of orbs players get from PvE rounds. Having an extra potential orb every single round just seems like it’s going to be very strong as it can lead to a snowball effect econ wise even if the orb only drops gold. But as players know from previous sets, key units can drop from orbs as well. An early strong carry option like an Akali to pair nicely with the Fortune Assassin, Katarina can definitely happen due to the trait.
However, the best things that can drop from orbs are going to be item components. Having access to extra item components gives players a huge leg up on the competition. Need a BF Sword to complete that Guardian’s Angel on the Fortune Vanguard, Sejuani? Well now there is a chance players can get it due to the Fortune trait.
While the Fortune trait is active, players are guaranteed to receive orbs every time they win a round. However, there isn’t even a risk running this trait because if a player loses a couple of rounds while this trait is active, they will gain a bigger “payout”. The trait makes sure that even if players with the Fortune synergy are on a loss streak, they will catch up even with a single round win. So essentially no matter what players are guaranteed to gain great value from the trait. This trait has good units within it like Jinx, Sejuani, and Katarina and the synergy itself has an amazing effect. Look for this trait to be highly contested in set four.
4. Assassin
The Assassin trait is returning from set one and set two after taking a break from set three. Just like in the first two sets, there is no reason to believe that Assassin comps will not be meta this time around. The synergy this time around works a little different though.
In Set four, all Assassins have a built-in Jeweled Gauntlet which means that their abilities can critically strike just like their auto-attacks. This is super powerful but there is a trade-off. Because of the built-in Jeweled Gauntlet effect, Assassins no longer get built-in increased crit damage but they still get increased crit chance. This is a really good buff to Assassins like Katarina and Akali who’s spells are their main source of damage. Being able to have their main damage source crit without needing to commit an item is huge. Not to mention that making a unit into an Assassin via Youmu’s Ghostblade also gives them a free Jeweled Gauntlet too.
As always, the reason why Assassins are so good is that they jump the enemy backline and are able to target key carry units on the enemy teams first which renders front line tanks useless.
This seems like a healthy approach to Assassins but because of the nature of the synergy, it’s still going to be meta in set four.
3. Mage
Another returning synergy that has also seen a change, is Mage. It is back from set two but is a little different than players will remember. Back in set two, if players had three mages on their team, the mage champions would have a 50% chance to cast their spell twice. If players had six mages then the champions would have a 100% chance throw out their spells twice. In Set four three is the new six.
That’s right, the mage synergy when active will always make Mage units cast their spell twice but there is a penalty. Because of this overpowered synergy, Mages will have their spell power reduced to 70% at the 3-piece level. However, if players put in six mages, they will have full spell power which would make it identical to its set two form.
The reason why this is so high on the list is that early game the spell power reduction is such a small price to pay to have mages guarantee a second spell cast. In fact, even at 70% power a spell thrown twice will still do more damage in the long run because two 70% casts are better than one 100% and that’s ignoring other effects a spell can have which include AoE or CC. Mage’s were an insane synergy in set two even with a 50% double-cast chance. With a guarantee double cast in set four, Mage’s are primed to be meta once more.
2. Adept
A brand new synergy in Set four but it has the highest potential to become a staple. Adept is a synergy that can be activated with two, three, or four units. The synergy simply states that at the start of combat, ALL enemy units have their attack speed cut in half for a few seconds.
This is by far the most meta warping synergy in the history of TFT. As players have seen in the past, units like Ekko from set three and items like Frozen Heart have been meta staples due to slowing down the barrage of enemy unit attacks. To have this at the start of combat is an insane buff as it makes sure for at least the first three seconds, all of your units will be able to strike first and will also almost guarantee first spell charges. Essentially if a player has this synergy and their opponent does not, the player that does not is going to be in a really bad position.
Now if both players have the synergy then its a net-zero and it’s just like the game is in slow motion for the first few seconds. However, because the difference of having Adept and not having it has such a large impact, it feels like its a requirement to have Adept in your composition. In a game where rounds sometimes only last a few seconds, to have a synergy that delays the entire enemy board even for three seconds can and most likely will make or break rounds won or lost. Look for this synergy to be meta not only at the start of the set but for the entirety of the set.
1. Cultist
When it comes to predicting the future, one must learn from the past. Cultist is a brand new synergy that combines aspects from the Elementalist trait from set one as well as the Mech-Pilot trait from set two. Both of those synergies dominated meta. Having an extra unit on your board for free regardless of what it does is so important in TFT. For it to actually do something besides being a wall is borderline broken. The Cultist synergy is just that.
The Cultist synergy summons a Galio but its not at the start of combat. Galio arrives when Cultists need him the most. Once your team’s HP drops below 50%, Galio arrives and slams into the largest cluster of enemies knocking them up. So unlike the Elementalist tank, Daisy, Galio provides some very strong CC and thats not all. Depending on how many Cultist units a player has, Galio gets more health and gets stronger.
Having a unit like Galio that has the power to swing fights in an instant is fantastic but the true power of the synergy is in the units themselves. After all what good is a huge AoE CC wall if there aren’t units to clean up.
The Cultist synergy is home to some of the best units in the game. Kalista is Cultist Duelist who can become an unstoppable killing machine if she gets going. Evelyn is a deadly Cultist Shade (which is like Assassin but different) who returns with her same spell as in Set one which players will remember was devastating. Aatrox is a tier four Cultist Vanguard with a crazy spell that pulls in the furthest enemy units and then slams them into the ground. And Zilean is a tier five Cultist Mystic that grants his allies Guardian Angel’s.
The point here is that even though there isn’t many secondary trait synergies within the Cultists, individually all the units can be the star of the show. And if the ’92 USA Men’s Olympic Basketball Team showed us one thing its that if you put all the best players on one team, they will dominate. Cultist seem like the best synergy ready to takeover set four.
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