It is time for us to look at some of the most interesting compositions in the whole patch 6.5. Yes, that’s The Arcanist composition.
Introduction
If you’re looking to kill your foes using your magic, then Arcanists is the best choice. If you’re getting AP items in the early stages of the game, they’re an excellent option. Since you have 2 one gold arcanists, it is possible to obtain them during the early stages of the game. Brand and Ziggs are the arcanists.
This composition is highly augment depended if you want to go all-in with 8 arcanists. You should probably hope to get some Augments that match them, like the ones specially meant specifically for their use. But the thing that helps is that you have the option of a few options for obtaining the 8th arcanist’s emblem that is Augments, Tome of Traits, and the combination of The needlesly large rod and The Golden Spatula.
Since they do a lot of damage but they do not have the sustain, you are very dependent on items. Even when you don’t own two Hextech Gunblades it does not mean you are out of luck. There are Swain and Vex, who are both quite broken right now. The Arcanists have been through a few changes with the release of patch 6.5 and, as a result, instead of the older Arcanists We have Brand and Ahri and they are, much better option.
The Arcanists are a generic basic, straight-forward but powerful burst play style composition. The principle behind the Arcanist build is to keep acquiring Arcanist units, and to build up the Arcanist trait synergy as long as you can. This type of play does not require specific strategies. The only thing you require is to concentrate on economy, while upgrading and maintaining the levels of your units. In this Teamfight Tactics Arcanist Build Guide I will present the most popular beginner-friendly TFT Arcanist build , and show you how to play it during the early, mid and late game.
The Arcanist trait
Arcanists increase the Ability Power of your team.
- 2
- Your team gains 20 Ability Power
- 4
- Your team gains 20 Ability Power, Arcanists gain an additional 40
- 6
- Your team gains 50 Ability Power, Arcanists gain an additional 50
- 8
- Your team gains 145 Ability Power
Champions
Okay! We now know all of the basic stuff and that concludes our introduction to this composition. The time has come for us to meet the squad. Arranged by the ascending order of their cost the list goes:
- Ziggs
- Brand
- Swain
- Malzahar
- Vex
- Ahri
- Viktor
Ziggs
You might be disappointed after reading this But Ziggs is not a good choice. He was good for the first two patches of the Set 6, but even then, he was not a Yordle you could put your money on. Whatever you place on him, he will not fulfil your expetations, since he is rubbish. There is no point in upgrading him. He could be more efficient when it comes to the Arcanist composition since he has the passive Arcanist ability that increases his AP. He is, however, one of the weaker champs. Actually he is the weakest by far.
His price is low and the standard that he has set is even lower. If I had to guess I would say he’s worth 0.5 gold. This is good enough, I think.
His ability is nothing special. At least in some previous sets, he had a knock-up that was verbatim copied from his W in the Summoners Rift, and now it’s a mix of his Q and his R, having the worst from both. With the Yordle trait active, he will be easily upgraded to level three, but it is not important, to be honest, since his only job is to fill the empty space that is needed to activate the trait. His main reason for getting to level three is summoning The Yordle Lord Veigar himself.
Ability: Mini Inferno Bomb
Ziggs hurls a bomb at his target. After a moderate delay, the bomb lands dealing magic damage to the enemy in the epicenter, and half to adjacent enemies.
Brand
Brand is the most recent champion that covers both Arcanist and Debonair traits. He is quite powerful champion considering that he’s just one gold coin. He is capable of doing damage and flexibility based on the strategy you select. However, one strategy is more powerful than the other, dependent on the type of comp.
If you choose to go with The Arcanist trait that is the most powerful, damage will be more concentrated on one specific target.
However, if the comp is for The Debonair trait or the comp with a VIP Debonair brand. The ability he fires has two instead of just one, which allows him to take down multiple targets using one mana stack. The blue buff will give you two extremely strong attacks, and possibly the ability to remove or hurt at least two enemy champions. It is important to keep this in mind. Brand thrives when he’s with his Arcanist group because they can give him a lot of AP without even giving him one item. Brand can even die quickly so that the stronger Arcanists can thrive and perform important work on the field. In the Debonair comp, you do not want him to die that quickly if you are going for the VIP Brand, but if you are not, then it’s okay.
If you compare him to Ziggs that has a same price, the difference is so big that we can simply say that there is no place for Ziggs in this set anymore.
If you are going to spend your items on him, then you should go for some basic AP items, like The Rabbadon’s Death Cap, The Blue Buff for mana, and The Archangel’s Staff, or The Hextech Gunblade for some omnivamp.
His position should always be somewhere in the back where he is protected if he is your prime DMG dealer, but if he is not, then position him around some other champions that are going to be your carries for that game, so he can take all the aggro and die before them. He shouldn’t have partially equipped items, so if you aren’t going full ap Brand, just don’t waste any items for him.
He is a one-cost unit, which means there are 29 Brands in the pool for that game, making him a very easy unit to upgrade to the maximum level.
Ability: Sear
Brand launches a fireball at the nearest enemy, lighting them ablaze for 4 seconds and dealing magic damage. If the enemy is already on fire, they take bonus magic damage which stuns them. VIP Bonus: Fires a 2nd fireball at a different nearby target (prioritizes ablaze enemies) dealing 30% reduced damage.
Swain
The Grand General of Noxus! Swain is my all-time favorite champion in whole sets 6 and 6.5. He carried proudly The Imperial trait however, with the changes made in the patch 6.5, he is now an Hextech Arcanist. But, that doesn’t mean that He hasn’t been changed, and I think that he’s more powerfull, versatile and effective than ever before. He’s an Arcanist. Hextech front-liner that just won’t end up dying. Like ever. It’s true. Riot has made him sick. His ability is an exact copy of his In-game Q. Also, he has The Hextech gunblade in his equipment which allows you to play without needing to purchase the item. He is the main champion for The Arcanist and The Hextech trait, and is the highest valued champion that you could purchase for just two gold coins, making him the champion with the best money-quality ratio throughout the game. The cost is so low that there are 21 Swains in his champion pool. You get what I’m saying? You can level up your Grand General to the level of three quite quickly in the early game. If you are able to do this the game will continue be extremely smooth and you’re not likely to lose much LP and HP during the game.
Swain can work with some pretty unusual items, but they work like a charm for him. The most important item for Swain is The Titan’s Resolve. I mean, he absolutely can not go for a game without this item. He rises in size, gets defensive stats, and since he gets his healing through his ability. Combine that with some AP items, and if you are going for The Arcanist comp, even more AP buffs through your augment traits, you get an unkillable machine that wipes everything on his path.
Along with The Titan’s Resolve, Swain also benefits from The Rabbadon’s Death Cap and Blue Buff or even The Hextech Gunblade, so you can really mess with your opponents.
He should be what he is, and that is an aggressive frontline that stops each of your enemies from doing any damage to your team and going any further. The center of the first row is Swain’s homeland (apart from Noxus, ofc). I will repeat. This is THE BEST CHAMPION IN THE GAME RIGHT NOW!
Ability: Death’s Hand
Swain unleashes piercing bolts of eldritch power in a cone towards his target, dealing magic damage to enemies within and healing Swain for each enemy hit.
Malzahar
Malzahar in Teamfight Tactics is the same Summoner’s rift’s champion. I mean that Riot has turned it into an unstoppable, swarming E machine that just destroys every single thing in the game. His abilities in game is, as I said is the exact same as his game-play E (called The Malefic visions of the Summoner’s Rift and ARAM). If he is your core champion, he could be a carry any game to anyone. With The Mutant and The Arcanist Origin and Class, Malza has stayed the same throughout patch 6, and 6.5. The Mutant composition can be dependent on many factors if Malza is to become your main character. We’ve already learned that The Mutant composition changes with every game and that there are many possibilities for Mutants in a game. The other thing you are relying on is the items, as he will benefit from the usual AP as well as Omnivamp items. In the case of The Arcanist comp, Malza already has some might AP bonuses, so he could benefit from some durability in the form of Quicksilver as well as Hextech Gunblade.
Okay, let’s cover the items as they should be covered. In-depth. For The Mutant composition, I can’t give you specific items, but it is always some form of AP. In The Arcanist composition, he already has a lot of AP, but you can always go for The Rabbadon’s Death Cap, The Hextech Gunblade, The Quicksilver, and The Blue Buff. I promise you he will delete your enemies in the blink of an eye. It is always fun to see the enemy champions HP melting like ice in the sun. Malza wants to see the world burn.
His position should be somewhere behind the front line or somewhere in the back, protected from the initial aggro of your foes.
He is a mid-range champion when it comes for the price, so he isn’t that easily maxed to level three. But you should always go for it since the benefits are mental.
Ability: Malefic Visions
Malzahar infects the mind of the closest unafflicted target, dealing magic damage over 8 seconds and applying 40% Magic Resistance shred for the duration. If an afflicted target dies, Malefic Visions spreads to the nearest unafflicted targets with the remaining duration.
Vex
The champion is our primary defense in any composition she participates in. Depending on the composition you are trying to put her in, she will only have one job. To defend. If she is with the Arcanists she will create a strong wall of defence with Swain, and with Yordles she will stand along with Poppy. Poppy should be a tank but even for that role Vex is just a better pick. Makes sense if you consider the cost, but doesn’t, if you consider their traits with Vex being an Arcanist and Poppy is a bodyguard.. Tank items reflect off her shield and help sustain. When using The Arcanist comp, if you have enough arcanists and some AP on her, she can get the full HP shield for her ultimate. She is going to hang around for a decent amount of time, just enough for your mains to execute squishies. The champion was the same in patch 6, despite the patch 6.5 changes. She is a strong pick in any competition, but since we have many stronger Arcanists that she is, she shines the brightest when she is at the top of The Yordle comp. In that comp she is our primary star of the team until Veigar comes along.
Her place is in the front line with some champions that can hold of enemy fire for some time.
For items, I would select The Sunfire Cape, The Warmog’s Armor, The Dragon’s Claw, or The Spear of Shojin. She can also benefit from The Bramble’s vest.
As for leveling, she is the champion you want to level asap, but that might come a bit harder than one might expect since both of these comps are pretty high on demand. It is needless to say that with the Yordle comp, you will max your Vex very soon since you get them for free.
Ability: Personal Space
Vex shields herself against damage over 4 seconds. When the shield expires, it deals magic damage to all enemies within 2 hexes, and additional damage if it wasn’t destroyed. If it was destroyed, Personal Space becomes 25% stronger this combat. This effect can stack.
Ahri
Ahri is the newest champion that hopped into patch 6.5. I think she is one of the best arcanists in the game right now, but that makes sense since she is an epic champion. Riot has made sure that she has some serious damage to deal. It’s true that she’s a bit expensive at four gold coins, but I mean, seriously, she is like the better version of Orianna and Jhin. Ahri’s Origins and Classes are: The Syndicate trait, and The Arcanist trait. Because she’s so proficient with both her comps she is able to hold onto these traits with a big grin on her face.
She works better with Arcanists since they buff her AP, or Ability Power for you guys who are just staring the game. So that is a composition that she really shines in. With Syndicates its more about utility and defence so she really can’t show her true colours in there.
Her items should be The Rabbadon’s Death Cap, The Hextech Gunblade, The Blue Buff, The Quicksilver.
She should be leveled asap when you have the possibility and resources. She should be positioned far away from the action so she can stack up to her mana and do some serious damage from behind.
Ability: Orbs of Deception
Ahri fires an orb in a line, dealing magic damage to all enemies it passes through on the way out and the way back. Ahri fires additional orb(s) for each time she has cast this combat. Enemies already hit by an orb now take 80% damage for each subsequent orb.
Viktor
Okay now, let’s get ready for The Man himself!
Viktor was always considered a game changer whether it is a game of Summoner’s Rift, but since the release of set 6 in TFT, he is considered a menace in TFT as well.
He is the most epic unit in this composition, purely because of his ult and its impact on the whole field during the fight.
The first thing to note is that his ult unleashes lasers across the field! Do you not love the focus on detail? I mean, lasers change colors depending on Viktors level! Can you believe that? And those things burn man. They burn.
No matter if you’re playing The Chems or The Arcanists, it doesn’t really matter as long as you can get him to at least level 2… It doesn’t matter. He could actually alter the course of a game on first level, as long as he has either The Jeweled Gauntlet, The Rabbadon’s Deathcap or The Blue Buff, and under the condition that you are able to protect him until he is able to ult.
Position-wise, it actually can not be said precisely since it depends on the enemy’s team. If enemies are running assassins, he should not be at the back since he won’t live long enough to even do a basic attack. So if that is the case, the middle of the field is the best choice, having some less important champions surround him from each side so he can not be touched.
If, on the other hand, enemies are not running The Assassin comp, he should definitely be tucked in somewhere in the back, with you less expensive and less important champions surrounding him.
As for items, basically, anything that can boost his AP dmg, so The Jeweled Gauntlet, The Rabbadon’s Deathcap or The Blue Buff, The Spear of Shojin, The Archangel’s Staff, The Chalice of Power, you get the point.
I don’t even have to tell you that if he reaches level three, it is insta win, so you know what you have to do.
Ability: Death Rays
Viktor summons multiple singularities to fire death rays that cut across the battlefield in a line, melting through enemies’ defenses. Enemies caught in their path take magic damage, have a percent of any remaining shields destroyed, and suffer Armor Shred.
Supporting Champions
We have 7 Arcanists as champions in the game. But for the maximum damage we need 8. And as we already have a Mutant on our team, the best trait for Supporting champions are Mutants!
- Rek Sai
- Kai’ Sa
Rek Sai
Rek Sai came with the arrival of The Patch 12.5. She fits in the Striker, Mutant and Bruiser traits making her quite a versatile pick. She is quite strong and a pretty damn cheap champion with a price of just two gold coins.
She is a good pick for any of the said traits so don’t hesitate to chose her whenever you have a chance. She is great as a second option in some compositions as well like a Striker fill for Hextechs and Mutant fill for Arcanists.
She is equipped with utility kit that disrupts enemy’s front line, disabling them for some time while your carries shred them into pieces. She can hold a position for quite a long time and it is not likely to be the champion that dies as soon as the game starts.
You have to make a decision if you are going to use items on her since there is a lot of stronger picks than her in the game, but then again if you have The Magnetic remover you can always use it as the game progresses. Ideal items for her are The Titans Resolve, The Sunfire Cape, The Warmogs Armor, The Brambles vest and The Dragons claw. But I would save all of those for something stronger.
She is ideally placed in the front line taking as much aggro as it is possible and wreaking havoc with her ultimate while disabling the most important units in the enemy’s team.
She is relatively easy to level up since she is pretty cheap so you are likely to get her to level three pretty soon, and he can be very important in those stages of the game.
Ability: Furious Bite
Rek’Sai bites her target, dealing 125% of her Attack Damage and bonus damage and healing herself. If Rek’sai has already bit her target, she heals for more.
Kai’Sa
Kai’sa is one the most powerful five-gold costing champions in the game. Her ability is basically an superpowered Kassadin’s Mutant ult. I kinda get that since, after all, she is his daughter. Because she can max AD and AP or Attack speed, she’s versatile.
If I had to place her in the tier of five cost champions, she would be like second or third place sitting behind Tahm Kench and Zeri. If you are going for The Challenger comp, then you already have enough Attack speed, but she can benefit from Guinsoo’s Rageblade there too!
As for Mutant comp, it really depends on what type of Mutation the game gives you in that particular game. The Hextech Gunblade is always a good choice for her and The Rabbadon’s Deathcap as well.
Depending on the opponent’s composition, you should consider some sustain in the form of Quicksilver or The Edge of The Night if the enemy team favors some burst champions like the ones in The Assassin or The Arcanist composition.
Since level three is virtually impossible to achieve, even at level 2, you’ll likely be able to delete any enemy player team within 10 seconds. It is as easy as that.
Positioning should be considered somewhat like The Snipers or Assassin’s since she tends to act like The Assassin. That means far away from potential early fight aggro. To simplify, that means in the back of the board.
Items for Kai’Sa are The Guinsoo’s Ragebalde, The Bloodthirster, The Infinity Edge, The Rabbadon’s Deathcap, The Blue Buff, The Edge of The Night, and The Quicksilver.
She should be leveled as much as you can.
Ability: Icathian Monsoon
Kai’sa dashes to the hex furthest from all enemies. She then fires a volley of missiles spread evenly among all enemies that deal magic damage. Kai’Sa fires a bonus missile for each time she has attacked this combat.
The Arcanist composition
The In-game Guide
Early game
Most of the Arcanist units are high costing units, so we’ll be required to play an extremely basic composition in the beginning, and then consider leveling up and changing into Arcanists in the mid game. Brand, Ziggs,Vex, Poppy and Blitzcrank are good early comps to help you save Gold, build up your income, and rise to level six in stage 3-2. These units provide Yordle-3, Scrap-2, Arcanist-3 and Bodyguard-2 bonuses.
Mid game
You’ll transition into Arcanists in the middle of the game, at around level 6. It involves swapping Poppy and Blitzcrank with Swain and Malzahar, Ahri. You will have five Arcanists on your team. Ideally, you should also have a Tome of Traits or a Hextech Augment to provide another Arcanist. Continue to level up, and aim to reach level 8 at the time of stage 5-1, as you’ll need it in order to roll for the rest of your team.
Late game
Ahri is the Arcanist team’s main carry. If you’ve not yet taken her on in the middle game, it is your last chance. Viktor and Rek’ Sai will also be needed to complete the Arcanist building. Eight Arcanists increase the unit’s scale and let them do massive amounts of damage. Kai’ Sa is there to clear up some Armor plated units if the Arcanists don’t manage to do so.
Conclusion
Our Arcanist composition guide is now complete. We know that this is a heavily Augment dependent composition as well as the Item. The items should be the ones that are going to dictate your strategy in every game, and if you get the nice AP items, The Arcanist composition is the one you should go for. Always try to get The Arcanist crest or emblem, or try to create one with The Needlesly Large Rod and Spatula.
Level up your champions and protect your carries and make the most of your equipment. This is the way to victory. So why are you sitting around? Let’s make our enemies weep! Just kidding, it’s a friendly game, just try to enjoy it!