TFT Patch 10.3 Breakdown: The Lights vs. The Dark Side

Champion Changes

Annie

"Tibbers health: 2000/2000/2000 ⇒ 1600/2200/3000 Tibbers attack speed: 0.6 ⇒ 0.65"

This is a big nerf to 1-star Annie, who was a pretty good front line damage soaker with Tibbers in Inferno/Summoner comps. At 2-stars, it’s obviously a buff but getting three Annies is easier said than done at the moment. And ignore the 3-star buff getting nine Annies is almost impossible and at that point, you’re going to win anyway.

Braum

"Damage reduction: 70/80/90 ⇒ 80/85/90"

Both Wardens and Glacials are in a terrible spot right now and this buff isn’t going to make Braum a priority pick. However, this might make him a bit more attractive to build in the early stages for opening comps, potentially as part of a Glacial/Warden/Electric comp (Braum + Volibear + Ornn) which is an underrated opener.

Dr. Mundo

"Health: 750 ⇒ 800"

Mundo hasn’t exactly been terrorizing the TFT meta, but I’m still surprised he’s getting a buff considering how strong Poison comps have been of late. The Poison/Predator comp is looking mighty tasty after Patch 10.3 folks.

Janna

"Stun duration: 1 second ⇒ 1.5 seconds"

Janna is a pretty good Mystic in almost any situation, so this is a buff, but she’s still held back by two big issues. First, Cloud is in a terrible spot as a synergy. Second, there are better late game Mystics (Nami and Master Yi) you can build around. This buff is almost meaningless.

Jax

"Spell damage: 150/250/450 ⇒ 150/300/550"

Another TFT change that seems to have cropped up recently, giving more power to Jax’s spell damage at 2 and 3-star. This could be huge for him, considering he’s losing some power with the Light changes as the game goes on. I think Jax could actually be a decent second carry with these changes.

Kog’Maw

"Spell damage: 125/275/425 ⇒ 150/300/500"

This is big for Kog and for Predators. Hyper-rolling has basically fallen by the wayside in the recent patches, but this completely opens the hyper-roll Predator comp up again. Combined with the fact that all Poison units are viable at the moment, Predator/Poison could become the dominant strategy again.

Leblanc

"Damage: 200/450/800 ⇒ 225/475/800"

I already discussed these buffs in my preview. Leblanc is strong as part of the Woodland opener and as a transition/pivot point for Assassin comps as the game goes on and this will only raise her priority.

Lucian

"Spell base shots: 10 ⇒ 12 Spell AD ratio: 25/30/50% ⇒ 30/40/50%"

Man Lucian is getting some hefty buffs in Patch 10.3 with both his AD ratio and the number of shots on his ability going up. With all the buffs to Light 3, the Souldbound pair could be creeping back into the meta.

Lux

"Damage: 600/900/9999 ⇒ 550/900/9999"

Lux is a very strong unit at 1-stars, so I’m glad that Riot is only taking her down there. If you go up against a 2-star Lux, be prepared to get Death Star’ed in the face even after Patch 10.3 goes live.

Master Yi

"Attack speed: 1 ⇒ 1.1"

Master Yi continues to be overlooked for his flexibility in Shadow comps and this makes him a more powerful unit. He’s not going to be your big unit to load items on due to how late you get him, but he can still be an important piece in your TFT comp.

Nocturne

"Attack damage: 55 ⇒ 60"

Everyone settle down, the Blender comp is not coming back. At best, this makes Nocturne more viable as a bridge Assassin in an Assassin 3 comp (you’ll replace him with a Kha’Zix or Zed).

Ornn

"Spell damage amplification: 20% ⇒ 25% Spell debuff duration: 4 seconds ⇒ 10 seconds"

So, the confusion is that the spell damage and debuff amp doesn’t apply to just Ornn’s crit chance but also to his allies. This should be big for making him a strong early game unit in TFT, but unfortunately, he’s still held back by the fact that Wardens and Electrics are both in very bad spots.

Rek’Sai

"Armor: 30 ⇒ 35"

A nice change for Rek’Sai, who is easily the second or third-best Predator to surround Kog’Maw with. I think this will definitely help out Rek’Sai’s standing, but unfortunately, she’s not going to be a lynchpin unit in your comp. Her true damage ability just doesn’t do enough damage even with her Predator synergy and she doesn’t have it up often enough to have a big impact.

Yasuo

"Starting/total mana: 0/100 ⇒ 0/85"

Losing 15 mana overall is not a very significant change. It doesn’t change the calculus of whether to build Spear of Shojin on him versus Seraph’s Embrace (still Shojin, in my opinion) and at best you’re going to be getting one extra ult out of him per fight. The only way this becomes relevant is if Blademasters actually become viable again.

Yorick

"Health: 800 ⇒ 850 Starting/total mana: 0/75 ⇒ 0/85 Minion health: 500/800/2000 ⇒ 500/700/2000"

So there are two nerfs coming to Yorick in Patch 10.3 that are fairly significant. However, the buff might actually offset it significantly, since players are really picking Yorick to be a damage soaking tank and loading him up with defensive items. Maybe the 10 mana tradeoff means he doesn’t get his ult off multiple times and his ghouls won’t last as long, but for fulfilling his primary goal 50 health is more significant.

Zed

"Starting/total mana: 50/150 ⇒ 75/150"

Although Assassins and Summoners are both in very strong spots at the moment, Zed has always just felt like a unit needed to bridge the gap between the two. Hopefully, allowing him to get his ult off in more situations will help him out, but I fear he’ll still be left to the wayside.