TFT Guide: How to Build a Cultist Comp in Set 4

Our TFT guide series looks at the staple comps of Set 4. Today, we look at the Cultist comp.

In the last of our guides, we looked at the Duelist comp and how it will continue to be a staple of Set 4 in Teamfight Tactics. Today, we are going to take a look at the Cultist comp which has dominated TFT: Fates in our latest TFT guide. We’ll break down all the units you’ll need, itemization, and which Chosen units to go after in order to build a proper Cultist comp.

What is the Cultist comp?

Core Comp: Pyke, Kalista, Evelynn, Aatrox, Jhin, Zilean (plus Elise and Twisted Fate if going for 9 Cultist)

The core of the comp is the six key Cultists listed above. This core gives you multiple carry threats (Kalista, Evelynn, and Jhin) as well as strong defensive/utility units (Pyke, Aatrox, Zilean) that you can build out the rest of your team around.

More from Blog of Legends

The biggest asset of the Cultist comp is that you are not fully locked into searching for a Cultist Chosen unit. With this comp, if you manage to find a Cultist unit with another Chosen (say, Evelynn as Chosen Shade), you can easily pivot to one of those alternatives but still have the 6 Cultist core.

The first variation of Cultist comps is the Duelist comp, where you add two of Yasuo (ideally if you’ve been rolling to three), Jax, Lee Sin, and Xin Zhao. This way you’ll end up with 6 Cultist and 4 Duelist.

Next is the Shade comp, built around Evelynn. You’ll get to 6 Cultist and 3 (or 4) Shades by adding Kayn and Zed.

Finally, you can have the Sharpshooter/Duelist comp with Jhin as the lynchpin unit. Add Jinx and either Vayne or Teemo to get a 6 Cultist and 4 Sharp comp.

And, of course, you can always just go for 9 Cultists if you manage to hit a Chosen Cultist. This is honestly ideal if you don’t get a lot of items that work together well (this especially happens if you’re winstreaking and/or at the top of the leaderboard) because you don’t need to load certain types of items onto a Duelist or Sharpshooter.

What Are the Key Units and Items?

As noted above, the three key units are Jhin, Evelynn, and Kalista, as they will determine whether you are going to spec into their secondary trait (Sharpshooter, Shade, and Duelist, respectively). The items you get, therefore, will be incredibly important in determining which of those units (if any) you will build around.

If you are getting mostly BF Sword and Brawlers Glove items, you can pretty reliably build around Jhin. Especially if you are able to get an Infinity Edge/Last Whisper combo, Death Blade, or Hand of Justice, along with a defensive item (Guardian Angel, preferably) this will be a powerful unit.

On the other hand, if you’re getting a lot of AP items, such as Gunblade, Ionic Spark, and Deathcap, a Shade comp built around Evelynn is probably ideal. If you get mana items like Blue Buff, you can also look to see if you can flex her into a Mage with Twisted Fate and a Mage Cap on Evelynn.

Finally, to build a Duelist comp around Kalista you want Recurve Bows and lots of them. In particular, Kalista does great with a Runaan’s Hurricane and Guinsoo’s Rageblade, plus a defensive item.

What are the Ideal Chosen?

As stated above, you really have four options for Chosen that can make building your core comp easy, especially if you have the proper items to build around it. Ironically, getting a Chosen Cultist is actually somewhat less than ideal if you land it early. You’re basically pigeon-holing yourself to go for 9 Cultist so if you land a bunch of really good, say, Duelist items, you don’t really have a good way to flex to 6 Cultist/4 Duelist.

However, if you can’t get a Chosen on Evelynn, Jhin, or Kalista for their “off” trait, getting a Cultist late game on a high-cost unit like Zilean or Aatrox is ideal to get you to that late-game comp 9 Cultist comp. One last thing to keep in mind is that if your itemization points you towards a particular variant like Duelist or Shade, you can look for a non-Cultist unit to get the Chosen late game (like a Duelist Xin Zhao or Chosen Kayn). Keep in mind, though, that this is a risky strategy as those units are harder to land.

How do You Counter this Comp?

Because of how flexible it is, the Cultist comp is almost uncounterable. You can itemize against the Galio with QSS or (less effective) Trap Claw. Ultimately, though, the carry threat on this team could be any one of three possibilities, and it’s very possible in a 9 Cultist comp that you will face multiple threats.

Next. TFT Guide for Beginners Part 1, the Basics. dark

So, how do you counter Cultists? Honestly, you really just have to spec into a comp and beat them late. In super late game, though, this comp is still a force to be reckoned with, so your best hope is to stop a Cultist comp from even getting off the ground. Sorry to tell you, but the TFT guide doesn’t really have a great answer when a Cultist comp comes fully online, unless it eventually gets nerfed to oblivion.

Be sure to check back next week for another TFT guide and let us know which comp you’d like to see broken down in the comments!

Home/Gameplay Guides