Teamfight Tactics tier list: Who are the best TFT champions?

Joe O'Brien

Teamfight Tactics is Riot Games’ League of Legends-based take on the autobattler genre, which sees players build teams of champions to fight for supremacy.

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While there are a large variety of factors that contribute to success in TFT, one of the major elements is of course the power of individual champions themselves – and unlike League of Legends itself, not all champions are meant to be equally valuable.

For those new to the game, or those who only play periodically and don’t keep up with the constantly-shifting balance and meta, it can be tough initially to figure out which champions are worth grabbing in the shop, and which you can afford to let pass by.

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With the right set of items or the right composition, every champion has its place at some stage in the game, and which units you pick up is very much dependent on your strategy at any given point in a match.

That being said, this tier list should offer a sense of which champions may offer greater overall value for the gold and items you may invest into having them in your line-up, either by being more versatile, offering more pure power, or being viable over a longer period of time.

Teamfight Tactics is on a weekly patch schedule, and depending on the changes that Riot make in those updates, the power of any particular champion could change significantly. That being said, it’s fairly unlikely that those higher up the list – especially the 4 and 5-gold champions designed to be inherently more powerful – will fall off entirely, or vice versa.

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riot gamesFigure out which champions you should be grabbing with our tier list.

TFT champion tier list

S Tier

  • Draven
  • Swain
  • Kayle
  • Brand
  • Sejuani
  • Cho’gath

In the S Tier are champions that are right at the top of the priority list in the mid-to-late game, the reliable carries that will either slot into almost any composition and do work, or are worth building an entire strategy around, and often even pivoting away from your existing strategy when these units become available.

While the likes of Draven and Brand might not be quite the must-haves they were at launch, they’re still very capable of filling the role of hyper-carry for physical and magic damage respectively. Swain is not only immensely powerful in his own right, but with his Imperial, Demon, and Shapeshifter traits fits well in a variety of late-game compositions.

Cho’gath, Sejuani, and Kayle, meanwhile, offer powerful ultimates and also work as strong front-line and defensive options, which helps keep other sources of consistent damage alive.

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Riot GamesDraven is always a safe choice as the central carry for a line-up.

A Tier

  • Aurelion Sol
  • Kennen
  • Sejuani
  • Kindred
  • Miss Fortune
  • Yasuo
  • Anivia
  • Karthus
  • Ashe
  • Gnar
  • Akali

In the A-tier are champions with a lot of individual power that are almost always going to offer value should you find a space for them, but may not be quite as versatile as the S tier champions.

Yasuo, for instance, is a powerful piece alone, and even more so in a Blademaster composition, but is less of hard carry. Karthus, Miss Fortune, and Anivia, also 5-gold units, will certainly add an extra punch to a composition and are the strongest options in their respective traits, but are far more powerful when slotting into a line-up already built to house them.

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Riot GamesLucian isn’t always a guaranteed hyper-carry, but with the right items can be devastating.

B Tier

  • Volibear
  • Shyvana
  • Morgana
  • Vayne
  • Lucian
  • Veigar
  • Aatrox
  • Gangplank
  • Tristana
  • Pyke
  • Leona
  • Braum
  • Katarina
  • Nidalee
  • Varus

Champions in the B tier are still very much worth looking out for, but they’re either not quite as versatile, less powerful outright, or more likely to be replaced in the late-game than those units higher up the list.

While many of them can still be the centrepiece of your composition, these units are likely to require more strict circumstances to do so, with a combination of the right items and a well-tailored team. The B tier also features some of the stronger supporting cast, those champions that might help fill out a strong composition even if they’re not the primary carry threats.

Riot GamesPyke isn’t quite as fearsome as he once was, but he can still have plenty of impact for much of the game.

C Tier

  • Kassadin
  • Kha’Zix
  • Lulu
  • Rengar
  • Lissandra
  • Warwick
  • Blitzcrank
  • Darius
  • Garen
  • Rek’sai
  • Mordekaiser
  • Ahri

In this tier are the more average champions that offer limited individual power or are not likely to be an optimal choice for a powerful composition due to their combination of traits.

Some might be strong choices in the very early stages but quickly fall off once alternatives become available, while others might only be picked in service of quite specific strategies.

It is worth noting, however, that as these are generally the lower-cost units and will show up more frequently in the first few stages, getting an early three-star unit on the board can be powerful. Investing in these champions is much more likely to be very situation-dependent compared to the higher tiers, however.

Riot Games

D Tier

  • Shen
  • Twisted Fate
  • Evelynn
  • Graves
  • Elise
  • Zed
  • Fiora

In the lowest tier, we have the champions least likely to make a big impact on your strategy or success over multiple rounds. These units are by no means worthless, but they’re the ones that are most likely to be on the field for lack of a better alternative.

For instance, the likes of Shen and Zed can make for solid options for the Ninja bonus when you’ve got an extra space and nothing that fits your composition better, while Elise might offer a means of filling out a Demon or Shapeshifter composition, but these units are the most likely to be replaced when you come across more powerful alternatives.

Riot Games

Hextech

  • Camille
  • Jayce
  • Vi
  • Jinx

As of August 14, the four new Hextech champions will be added to the game. While they have already seen play on the Public Beta Environment (PBE), they’ve been left out of the tier list for now until they are better established in the live meta.

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About The Author

Joe O'Brien was a veteran esports and gaming journalist, with a passion and knowledge for almost every esport, ranging from Call of Duty, to League of Legends, to Overwatch. He joined Dexerto in 2015, as the company's first employee, and helped shape the coverage for years to come.