Recently, patch 12.12b has officially appeared in Teamfight Tactics (TFT) Set 7. With the new update reducing the power of several low-cost champions, players now have to adapt to new compositions and playstyles. Champions costing 1 or 2 gold are almost obsolete, while compositions based on champions costing 3 gold and above are becoming increasingly popular.
Among these, the Brawler – Assassin composition is particularly favored by gamers for its strong defensive capabilities and high damage output. This composition currently has a top 4 rate of 58.8% and a top 1 rate of up to 15.4%.
Overview and Operation
This composition can first exploit many advantages and complement each other very well. Brawlers possess significant durability due to their high health pool. Meanwhile, Assassins have incredibly high damage output—a trait that Brawler champions often lack. Therefore, this combination is quite perfect for both sides to unleash their strengths.
Additionally, trait emblems are not overly necessary in this composition. Regardless of whether there are 2 or 4 Assassins, the strength will only increase and not decrease. Furthermore, trait emblems depend heavily on luck, and players may not always easily obtain the suitable emblem, which in this case would be the Assassin emblem for Olaf.
In the early levels, players can easily build a strong frontline with Brawler champions like Tahm Kench and Shen. Damage during this phase can be dealt by Kayn and Qiyana—two strong early-game Assassins. This composition can hold up at least until players obtain Diana and Olaf.
The mid-game phase is quite important. If players feel they cannot reach 3-star Olaf and Diana, or do not have these two champions early, they should consider adjusting their composition accordingly. However, if they have the right items and high-level champions, they should confidently spend gold to build the composition as early as possible.
By the late game, the composition will almost certainly include 4 Brawlers: Shen, Sylas, Ornn, and Olaf. The Assassins used will be Diana, Talon, and Qiyana. However, if reaching level 8 without an Assassin emblem, players should seek Pyke and incorporate him into the composition to complete the 4 Assassins – 4 Brawlers setup.
The optimal composition at level 8 without a trait emblem: Olaf – Sylas – Shen – Ornn – Diana – Talon – Pyke – Qiyana.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The strength of this composition lies in the fact that the 2 traits, Brawler and Assassin, will complement each other’s shortcomings to become complete. Additionally, this is a composition that does not rely too heavily on Divine Dragons or trait emblems to reach a high power threshold.
However, one significant weakness is that this composition requires quite a few items to optimize damage for champions like Diana, Olaf, and Pyke. Therefore, players will have to compete fiercely with other opponents and, of course, rely on luck during the monster rounds throughout the match.