Patch 10.17 for Teamfight Tactics is right around the corner and with it, some new changes to the meta game. Riot Mort outlined the changes in his bi-weekly patch rundown which came out on Monday. Now that players know the changes, here are the top 3 predictions of what will happen in TFT Patch 10.17.
Slash Bros will still be meta
In the patch notes for 10.17, one of the few changes were targeted at Master Yi. The carry for the infamous “Slash Bros” comp is getting nerfed slightly. Yi is getting a 5 true damage reduction on his ability at all levels. This change may seem like its a nerf but it will be hardly noticeable. The nerf to his damage is only five percent at two star.
As if the comp needed something to offset this small nerf, one of the only tanks in the slash bros composition, Riven, is receiving some decently big buffs. Her base HP will be going from 800 to 850. Also her Magic Resist is being increased from 20 to 30. This means that even though Master Yi might need to swing one or two more times to kill an enemy, Riven will be there to buy that time for Yi. Slash Bros isn’t going anywhere in 10.17
Vanguard Mystics will climb the tier list
With the changes in 10.17 being small, it was surprising to see a a buff to an already meta composition. The Vanguard Mystic composition is actually receiving a big buff. The comp relies on Cassiopeia to slowly melt away the enemies units while sitting behind an brick wall. Cassiopeia is getting a 500 damage buff at 3 star as she will now do 3500 damage per ability cast instead of 3000. This is a 16.67% damage increase which is actually massive on TFT. And that might not only buff.
Titans Resolve, a popular tank item usually seen on the mech in mech-pilot comps, is being changed to generate its max stacks quicker. The stacks it takes to get to the max stack bonus is being cut in half from 50 to 25. This means that the item is going to be more viable on tanks than ever before. This is great for the Vanguard portion of the Vanguard Mystic comps as the tanks will become even tankier. This allows the front line to buy more time for Cassiopeia to get her damage off. Vanguard Mystics were not a top tier comp in 10.16 but were still in a good spot. With the changes coming in 10.17, Vanguard Mystics will join the top tier once more.
Manatee’s Delight will open the meta up and then destroy it.
The most exciting change in patch 10.17 is the introduction of the new galaxy, Manatee’s Delight. This galaxy gives every player a spatula at the beginning of the game. On paper this is fantastic for creativity as it opens up a lot of different play styles that wouldn’t have been possible before. This may lead to more players going for very rare chase synergies like nine Star Guardians or eight Battlecast which would he cool too see.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, this galaxy will also make the meta compositions even better. Compositions like Slash Bros and Cybernetics love the idea of having a spatula. Making Irelia into an Infiltrator is actually optimal as it gives the Cybernetic composition the Infiltrator bonus which turns Ekko and Irelia into monsters of a threat alongside Vayne.
In Slash Bros, making Zed into a Blademaster allows the comp to swap out a bad Blademaster for a broken one. It also allows the comp to play a little more flexible as they can now fit in an additional unit since they don’t need a synergy bot like Fiora to get the six Blademaster synergy online. Adding in an Infiltrator like Ekko or Fizz to go alongside with Zed turns the slash bros into a slash trio.
A lot of comps get a spike from a free spatula but since the meta comps seem to get the biggest power spike, it seems like Manatees delight will just be another galaxy that favors the current meta game, at least for this patch.