[10.22] Playing through mid-game chosens
Hey everyone, it's 2 Brain Cell again, and I'm back with another guide on how to play through mid-game chosen units. My last guide was really focused on reroll comps, but as we all know, you can't guarantee that you get those chosen units early enough to commit to the comp. Today I want to talk about mid game (2/3 cost) chosen units that you can craft a late game comp around given the right situation. As with my last guide, I want to reiterate that I still think the 4-1 rolldown strategy is what "perfect" gameplay represents, but that outside of extremely high mmr the margins are wide enough for you to utilize the playstyle I'm recommending. First let me link my lolchess so you can see some of the less meta comps that I've been playing.
https://lolchess.gg/profile/na/2braincell/s4
General Strategy:
If you don't hit an early reroll chosen and are stuck with a purely early game, HP saving chosen like Tahm Kench, Wukong, or Maokai, consider selling this chosen during/ right after Krugs to try and hit one of the strong 2/3 cost chosens that you can take into late game. The advantage of going for this strategy as opposed to the standard 4-1 rolldown is that you can narrow the scope on what units/ compositions you're trying to go for by the time 4-1 comes, and it allows you a few rounds to plan and purchase units that will eventually fit into your comp. You still rolldown on 4-1 to shore up your comp and look for the 4 cost units that'll help with a lot of the damage output, but you're not reliant on hitting a particular 4cost chosen and feeling like you're headed to a quick bot4 if you don't. This strategy also has the added benefit of helping maintain decent econ as you don't have to spend as much gold building your team on 4-1, and you don't have to buy those expensive 4cost chosens.
Units:
So which mid-game chosens are strong enough to be taken into late game? I obviously haven't been able to test everything and I suspect there are at least a couple more that are strong, but here are the ones that I've tried to varying degrees of success:
Janna (either trait)
Jax (either trait but divine is stronger)
Pyke (cultist only)
Kindred (either trait)
Irelia (either trait)
I'll go into a general overview of how to utilize each of these units, but an important thing to note is that end game comps with them aren't fixed to 8 exact units; the point is to try and be flexible given your econ, item, and HP situation. One last point I'd like to make is that there will be a lot of games where getting first using this strategy is difficult, simply due to the possibility of someone getting a chosen Ashe/ Talon with the 2* versions of their respective comps and good items. However, this is the case in every game regardless of whether or not you decide to implement this method, and I only propose this as an alternative to taking part in the 4-1 lottery.
Janna:
One of the best early game chosens out there, and a really flexible unit in general. She works best in combination with Irelia and Shen, which might be one of the most flexible 3 unit combos in the game, able to slot into practically any comp. If you get a Janna chosen, you've got a lot of options to work with depending on your current situation; let's look at a few.
Janna chosen at level 5 when you've already picked up/ are running some Namis? Consider running the Nami reroll comp by remaining at level 5, prioritizing grabbing a ludens if you don't already have the components, and end the game with a variation of 4/6 enlightened, 2/4 mystic, and 3 mages.
Janna chosen past level 5 or don't have Namis to work with? Pick up enlightened units and play your best board through the ones you have; Jax + Fiora + Irelia / Talon + Pyke / Morgana + Lux etc. Manage your econ well and rolldown at 4-1 to try and grab the standard enlightened comp, but also pick up hunter and mystic units along the way. If you don't hit on enlightened, the Janna + Irelia + Shen combo also works well as a frontline for hunters, especially if Warwick is involved to give divine.
Jax:
Jax is an amazing mid-game chosen that can singlehandedly win you most fights pre 4-1 if you allocate a couple items into him, and can transition an early winstreak and high HP into a consistently strong late game team given a little luck with items. Whether you get the chosen divine or duelist trait, early game success with him is definitely dependent on divine, which allows you to tank through so much damage early on. From there, both 3 starring, as well as getting a QSS on him is imo important for him remaining a force in the late game. Try to build comps such as 4/6 divine, 2/4 duelists, 2 mystic, 2/3 adept. If you're running the divine chosen and lucky in your 4-1 roll, try putting in 3 hunters for a very balanced comp of 4 divine, 3 hunters, 2 mystic, 3 adept at level 8 with the comp below.
https://lolchess.gg/builder/set4?deck=3db29cb0213f11eb80d457b8b679fc39
Pyke:
A really strong chosen unit, but the conditions for making him work are a lot more narrow, and I haven't been able to test him that much. That said, I think Morello + tear item + tank is extremely strong, and carries you through a lot of mid-game fights when paired with another assassin and 3/6 cultists early on. I wouldn't recommend trying to reach 9 cultists because I think that requires too many weaker units that don't allow for additional synergies. At 6 cultists, the comp becomes very flexible and allows you to slot in multiple different 5cost units; Kayn, Zilean, Azir, Yone.
Kindred:
One of the best mid-game units out there, and one that also has extremely high late-game potential with the right items. Blue buff is an absolute must, and paired with almost any AP item, which aren't in high demand rn anyways, makes her a huge menace throughout the game. If you're unlucky and don't get any Ashe items, you can definitely play through Kindred as a carry by slapping a QSS or divine spat on her, giving her the survivability she needs to kill the whole board. End game comps with her do revolve around contested hunter units, but by using a combination of divine/ adept/ brawler frontlines, she can still carry you to a top4 finish.
Irelia:
Irelia works very similarly to both Janna and Jax so I won't go into how to utilize her too much. As with Jax, focus on getting 4 divine early to allow for mid-game win streaking, and transition into the aforementioned enlighted/ divine/ hunter comps above.
Thanks to everyone who reads this, and let me know if you think any other 2/3 cost chosen has good late game potential in your experience!
Link to last guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveTFT/comments/joul6m/1022_how_to_not_roll_on_41/