League of Legends Patch 9.18 Teamfight Tactics tier list – TFT gets Wild

Tier 1 champions (previous rank)

1. Garen (1)
2. Tristana (6)
3. Darius (3)
4. Kassadin (4)
5. Kha’Zix (2)
6. Warwick (8)
7. Nidalee (7)
8. Vayne (5)
9. Mordekaiser (13)
10. Camille (9)
11. Fiora (10)
12. Graves (12)
13. Elise (11)

Observations: 

I was expecting that the changes to experience gains – making leveling up take a bit longer – and the increased ability to get Tier 1 units would make 2 and 3-star Tier 1s more powerful. However, the overall strength of Tier 1 units is considerably down from Patch 9.17, meaning that you really shouldn’t be too focused on getting these combined outside of the top two or three.

There weren’t too many big changes to our rankings, but even though Garen is still the best Tier 1 unit he’s weaker than last patch following the Knight nerfs. Camille and Elise both got buffs that had little effect, as they’re both still among the worst units in the game and shouldn’t be centerpieces for a comp.

Tier 2 champions (previous rank)

1. Lucian (1)
2. Lulu (5)
3. Pyke (3)
4. Ahri (6)
5. Blitzcrank (2)
6. Varus (4)
7. Jayce (9)
8. Twisted Fate (11)
9. Zed (7)
10. Braum (8)
11. Rek’Sai (10)
12. Shen (13)
13. Lissandra (12)

Observations:

Early game Sorcerers are all much stronger in this patch (you can throw Kassadin into the mix from Tier 1). Of them, only TF got direct buffs, but Ahri and Lulu are both benefitting from their strong synergies (Wild and Yordles).

Pyke also got buffed, but he remains about as strong as he was last patch. The only champion who dropped significantly in power was Blitzcrank. While Varus fell in the rankings, he’s actually relatively stronger than last patch, because Tier 2 units are overall a stronger subset than they were in the past. In fact, as a whole Tier 2 units are better than Tier 1 or Tier 3 units and can be centerpieces of a comp.

Tier 3 champions (previous rank)

1. Ashe (2)
2. Kennen (1)
3. Rengar (6)
4. Vi (4)
5. Evelynn (8)
6. Morgana (5)
7. Shyvana (3)
8. Volibear (7)
9. Gangplank (12)
10. Katarina (13)
11. Veigar (10)
12. Aatrox (11)
13. Poppy (9)

Observations:

The Wild buff was absolutely huge for Rengar, who got a giant boost in this patch. Even though Evelynn dropped in priority after her nerfs, the two are relatively strong and can form a decent three-Assassin grouping with Pyke (you could also swap in Kha’Zix if you must, but I’d avoid Zed). As for Katarina after her buffs…well she’s better but still not really good.

After that, though, Poppy dropped off because of the Knight nerfs and Shyvana took a bit of a tumble despite no targeted nerfs. My guess for that is just because there is now another Dragon unit (Pantheon) that’s just better than her, most people are ignoring Shyv.

Tier 4 champions (previous rank)

1. Brand (4)
2. Gnar (2)
3. Aurelion Sol (6)
4. Draven (1)
5. Jinx (8)
6. Sejuani (3)
7.  Kindred (5)
8. Cho’Gath (9)
9. Akali (7)
10. Leona (10)

Observations:

If you were afraid Demon comps were completely dead, don’t be, because Brand is still a champion you can build your comp around. Ditto goes for Gnar, who is loving the Wild buffs and is perhaps the premiere late game carry champion.

On the flip side, Draven has fallen a bit in priority, but he’s still a very good unit (about equal strength to Aurelion Sol and Jinx) so you’re fine building a comp around him. As for Akali, she is better after her buffs but is not the centerpiece to a comp late game.

Tier 5 champions (previous rank)

1. Pantheon (4)
2. Kayle (2)
3. Yasuo (3)
4. Swain (1)
5. Anivia (5)
6. Miss Fortune (7)
7. Karthus (6)

Observations:

The only two real changes to this tier list was Swain and Pantheon swapping places. Pantheon is definitely the best champion of the 5 gold units, but he’s actually ranked below a lot of the 4g units like Brand. Swain, on the other hand, got no real changes, but I suspect that the drop off of other Imperial units like Draven and Darius hurts his effectiveness.

Tier list

S tier: Brand, Gnar, Pantheon
A+ tier: Kayle, Aurelion Sol, Draven, Jinx, Sejuani, Ashe, Kennen, Lucian, Yasuo
A tier: Swain
B+ tier: Kindred, Lulu, Pyke, Garen, Anivia, Rengar, Vi, Ahri, Blitzcrank, Varus
B tier: Cho’Gath, Evelynn, Akali, Jayce, Tristana
C tier: Shyvana, Volibear, Darius, Kassadin, Kha’Zix, Gangplank, Twisted Fate, Zed
D tier: Miss Fortune, Katarina, Veigar, Nidalee, Vayne, Karthus, Leona, Aatrox, Poppy, Braum, Rek’Sai, Shen
F tier: Lissandra, Mordekaiser, Camille, Fiora, Graves, Elise