League of Legends: Teamfight Tactics Patch 9.16b breakdown and analysis – nerf of Draven

The new Teamfight Tactics patch has come to League of Legends, with nerfs to Draven and Jinx.

It’s time for a brand new Teamfight Tactics patch, with 9.16b coming right in the middle of the regular League of Legends patch cycle. Riot has noted that this set of changes will be far lighter than the typical Teamfight Tactics patches during the “main” cycle, but there is still the possibility that some oppressive champions (Jinx and Draven) can be neutralized in this patch. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

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Classes

Brawlers

"Bonus Health: 300/600/1000 ⇒ 250/500/900"

Makes sense that Riot would nerf Brawlers, considering they’ve been one of the stronger synergies for a while now, along with having some of the best champions in their class (Blitzcrank, Volibear, and Cho’Gath). This is a nerf across the board, so I’d be interested if Brawlers get completely leapfrogged by something like Knights or Shapeshifters.

Champions

Aatrox

"Spell Damage: 250/600/950 ⇒ 300/600/900"

Aatrox was a menace just a few patches ago, but he’s become one of the weakest Demons in the game (and a big reason why Blademasters are so awful right now). Giving him a buff at 1-star probably outweighs the nerf to his 3-star spell damage, considering how hard it is to get him to 3-star status.

Anivia

"Health: 650 ⇒ 700"

This is the correct buff to Anivia, who is quite underwhelming for a 5g unit despite having at least one good synergy (Glacial) and one that can be good (Elementalists). I’m glad they’re buffing her health rather than her mana or spell damage, which I think are both in fine spots.

Draven

"Health: 700 ⇒ 650Attack Damage: 75 ⇒ 70"

Despite having mediocre synergies in Blademaster and Imperial, Draven’s been one of the strongest late-game carries in TFT for a while now. This is a pretty substantial nerf, so it could remove the “get a 2-star Draven” win condition from Teamfight Tactics.

Gnar

"Bonus Attack Damage on Transform: 30/60/90 ⇒ 50/100/150"

This is actually a massive buff given how much extra health he gets on transforming (if he has the Shapeshifter synergy active). Shapeshifters are already overlooked and with these buffs I would definitely be more interested in a Jayce/Swain/Gnar late-game comp with the right items.

Jinx

"Ability Bonus Attack Speed: 0.75/1.0/1.25 ⇒ 0.6/0.8/1.0Rocket Damage: 100/225/350 ⇒ 100/200/300"

Completely agree with the nerfs here, as Jinx has joined the Draven category of get a 2-star and you win every match status. In particular, that bonus attack speed on her ability was just mowing people down and needed a nerf.

Kayle

"Shield Duration: 2/3/4 ⇒ 2/2.5/3"

With the right items (Spear of Shojin, Seraphs Embrace, or just straight attack speed) Kayle’s ability was basically always off cooldown and her team was unkillable. Glad Riot is pulling back on that in her upgrades, but I think this was even a problem on 1-star Kayle, which is unchanged.

Lucian

"Ability Damage: 150/250/350 ⇒ 100/225/350"

The second-best 2g unit in Teamfight Tactics with two great synergies (Nobles and Gunslingers are both incredibly strong), I don’t think this is really going to be too effective considering how easy it is to get a 2-star Lucian. Only losing 25 damage on his ability when you’re actually counting on him to carry early-round battles is significant, but you can also rely on Graves or Vayne to pick up the slack instead.

Miss Fortune

"Ability Damage: 800/1250/1700 ⇒ 900/1300/1700"

Right after saying how strong Gunslingers are they go and buff the best one in late game. Don’t get me wrong, I get it, considering MF was the lowest-rated 5g unit in our tier list for 9.16. However, having her and Jinx late game is going to be stupidly good now that she gets an extra 100 ability damage out of the box.

Morgana

"Armor: 20 ⇒ 30Ability Damage: 200/325/450 ⇒ 175/300/425"

With both Demons and Sorcerers having fallen out of the meta, so has Morgana. I don’t really think she needed a buff (she’s middle-of-the-pack among Demons and Sorcerers) so be on the lookout if we see Sorcerers start coming back into the meta (which I suspect they could with Brawlers getting nerfed).

Shen

"Health: 650 ⇒ 700"

His synergies are both trash and he is kind of lost in terms of where to be in the Teamfight Tactics meta (is he a front-line, is he damage?). Getting a 50 HP buff helps, but I don’t think this really brings him into the meta.

Vi

"Mana: 50/125 ⇒ 75/150"

A little less starting mana for Vi so she can’t get that first ultimate off as quickly. She’s also getting hit with the Brawler nerf, which I suspect is more significant.

Items

Luden’s Echo

"Damage: 200 ⇒ 180"

This is an indirect nerf to champions who can get off their ults rapidly without stopping their auto animations like Lucian. I don’t think this item was generally out of line since it had few effective users.

What are your thoughts on the changes to Teamfight Tactics in Patch 9.16b? Let us know in the comments!