League of Legends: how the new Teamfight Tactics items will annihilate the meta

Riot announced some huge changes to Teamfight Tactics. Which items we know from League of Legends are coming to the Arena?

You gotta hand it to the League of Legends balance team, they’re not afraid to take massive swings when it comes to Teamfight Tactics. Before the newest champion/unit, Pantheon, hits the Arena in Patch 9.17 (you can find our full breakdown of the notes here), Riot announced that they will be adding a new item component to Teamfight Tactics. With that new component comes a bunch of new completed items that are sure to get your head spinning.

In addition, Riot’s post teases a rework to Infinity Edge as well as the removal of Sword of the Divine. It’s a lot to look at, but these item changes could completely change the Teamfight Tactics meta as we know it in Patch 9.18. What exactly is coming?

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New items

Sparring Gloves

"+10% Dodge chance – “Float like a butterfly”+10% Crit chance – “Sting like a bee”"

This is insane, a basic item that doesn’t give raw stats but gives effects like the dodge from the Yordle buff and crit chance like Assassins. This makes this component item very risky since you won’t be getting the raw stats, but the upgrades it unlocks are…quite interesting.

Thief’s Gloves

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Sparring GlovesA champion holding Thief’s Gloves can’t hold other items except temporary ones gained by this item. Thief’s Gloves cannot be given to a champion that already holds an item. On round start, gain two temporary items. Their quality is based on your player level."

If the component item was RNG, it’s upgrades are RNG on steroids. This is a very boom-or-bust item, obviously, that I don’t think anyone will be building on one of their primary carries. It’s probably not worth wasting the component item when you see what else it could be used for.

Hand of Justice

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Tear of the GoddessAt the beginning of the planning phase, the wearer randomly gains either 40% increased damage or 40 life on hit until end of round."

More randomness on the item upgrade, but at least this upgrade’s RNG has a clear direction. Either outcome is beneficial to an auto attacker, so champions like Draven, Jinx, or Miss Fortune would be fine with this item.

Infinity Edge

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + BF SwordCrits deal 200% more damage."

So IE has been reworked, no longer building out of two BF Swords, but now building out of a single sword and Sparring Gloves. Obviously, this item still has the element of randomness, but not in terms of what it gives like other items. This will be a great item for Assassins or other high DPS champs.

Arcane Gauntlet

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Needlessly Large RodYour abilities can critically strike."

I don’t know exactly how useful this item will be in practice, but it’s definitely a cool concept. For big spell-casters who really want to make their abilities hurt like Aatrox, this could be great. However, I also wonder if it would work with on-hit abilities like Warwick.

Quicksilver

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Negatron CloakPrevents the next crowd control effect applied to the wearer. Refreshes every 5 seconds."

Okay, moving away from the randomness of the component, this upgrade just gives you a constantly refreshing spell shield. I don’t think CC in Teamfight Tactics is a huge deal, so this would probably only be good in certain situations (like against Glacials).

Iceborne Gauntlet

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Chain VestOn dodge, create an expandable 30% attack speed slow zone."

This is going to be OP on Yordles. Depending on how big and expanding the attack speed slow zone is, this could just completely counter attack speed comps like Gunslingers and Rangers.

Backhand

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Giant’s BeltThe wearer starts combat with a spell shield. Stun the enemy that breaks the shield for a long time."

Similar to the Quicksilver, but by contrast, this is a one-time use spell shield that reflects the CC back onto the user. This really seems like a limited item given how limited CC is, but this could go nicely into a champion like Blitzcrank.

Repeating Crossbow

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Recurve BowWhen the wearer dies, Repeating Crossbow passes to a new ally and they gain an additional 20% Crit chance and 20% Attack Speed. This stacks with each pass of the item."

So this item immediately strikes me as having an unintuitive use. Put it on your frontline so that by the time it gets to the backline carry, they’ll be getting that massive attack speed and crit steroid. In cases where you have one leftover Recurve Bow that you can’t upgrade into something strong, this could be a very nice risky item.

Mittens

"Recipe: Sparring Gloves + Golden SpatulaExtra 10% Crit chance and 10% Dodge chance. Wearer is also a Yordle"

This is pretty self-explanatory. I’m really just here to say that if you ever put this on Rengar or Yuumi (if/when she ever comes to Teamfight Tactics) you are obligated to call this “Kitten Mittens.” This is a decree, I will hear no dissenting opinions.

Lord’s Edge

"Recipe: BF Sword + BF SwordA champion holding Lord’s Edge can’t hold other items except temporary ones gained by this item. Lord’s Edge cannot be given to a champion that already holds an item. On takedown, gain a BF Sword for the remainder of the round."

With Infinity Edge being reworked, Riot had to make two BF Swords build into something. This item is a major snowballing tool that can give you literal tons of damage if you get enough takedowns (yes, Riot confirmed it will be possible to stack three of these items if you get enough takedowns). This item will be great on heavy auto attackers and really won’t be good until later stages of the game where you can get multiple takedowns easily.

Last Whisper

"Recipe: BF Sword + Recurve BowAttacks can’t miss (removed from RFC btw) and deal True Damage equal to 5% of the target’s maximum health."

With Sword of the Divine being removed, Last Whisper takes its place. The hard-counter to Yordles and to all the dodge mechanics being added, this might actually be a useful item.

Neeko’s Help

"A consumable that, when used, creates a 1-star copy of the champion is instantly made and added to your bench."

Not an addition to the Sparring Glove line, but a new item and the first consumable in Teamfight Tactics. This is a very interesting item that has a lot of different possible applications.

Obviously, it can be used to help complete a 2 or 3-star champion you need, but it’s also a free way to swap out a unit you put an item on you didn’t want. My one question about this item: will selling the clone grant the same amount of gold the original would, if any?

What do you think about all these new items coming to Teamfight Tactics? Let us know in the comments.