The 5-cost champions in Teamfight Tactics always possess superior strength compared to other units, but their appearance rate is quite low. To have multiple 5-cost champions in your composition, you must reach level 9 to maximize their appearance rate. So how can you level up to 9 quickly without losing too much health? Let’s explore the “lesson plan” below from T1’s pro player – Bebe872.
The first thing to remember is that a 5-cost champion composition is not a team comp that can be built in every game. You should still prioritize aiming for meta compositions like Celestial, Revenant, Divine… to rank up steadily. Players should only pivot to a 5-cost champion composition at level 9 if the meta team comps are fiercely contested and the items received are terrible.
For instance, in the video mentioned above, Bebe872 had to start with Vladimir, 2-star Lissandra, and defensive items like Warmog’s Armor and Ionic Spark. The T1 player couldn’t even aim for a 3-star Vladimir because he couldn’t buy enough of this unit during levels 4-5. Therefore, Bebe872’s decision was to play the strongest composition possible to save gold for leveling up to 9. Equipping items early on Vladimir to sustain health is also a strategy that players should learn.
The next step in preserving your gold is to play around your strongest champion. Utilizing the strengths of the unit with the most items and the highest level in the team will help players maintain a steady source of damage to claim victories. In Bebe872’s case, he decided to buy Morgana and Soraka to enhance the effects of his composition and help Vladimir cast his spell more often. By reaching level 6, he activated the 4 Spirit bonus, allowing Vladimir to sustain in fights for a long time.
At level 8, you need to observe your opponents and find a way to aim for a strong enough composition in the meta. To do this, players need to roll down a bit to the 30-40 gold threshold to find themselves a few strong core units to carry the game. If you find enough of the necessary units, continue building a strong team in the meta. If not, you need to keep saving gold to aim for level 9 with 5-cost units.
The most important units you should aim for at the end of the game are Heimerdinger, Teemo, Ivern, and Volibear. These units provide immediate area damage, crowd control, and durability at the front line. Additionally, you should also aim to acquire high-value units like Ryze or Kindred to enhance your team’s survivability.
In summary, the strategy of leveling up to 9 quickly with 5-cost champions is a “backup” plan when players do not have the conditions to effectively operate meta compositions. You need to combine strong defensive items early on to maintain health and accumulate gold with the goal of reaching level 9 as quickly as possible.