With Assassin compositions not being favored in the current meta, backline carries in Teamfight Tactics have become extremely powerful. Names like Aphelios, Draven, Vel’Koz… are rarely threatened and can freely unleash damage in the current meta. To counter these backline carries, top Teamfight Tactics players have thought of a composition centered around the champion Zyra.
By always casting her skills towards the farthest enemy champion, Zyra often deals direct damage to the backline without being obstructed by frontline units. Combined with the inherent tenacity of the Zombie trait and the magic resistance reduction effect from Brand, this composition can deal massive damage right from the mid-game. This is a great condition for you to add powerful 5-cost units in the late game to secure a high placement.
An ideal start with this composition is to activate the Dragon trait early with Udyr, Sett, and Zyra. If not, you can start more conventionally with Fighter and Legion units like Aatrox, Kalista, Warwick… Of course, you should also buy Brand as soon as possible to activate the Zombie effect in the mid-game.
By the mid-game, you need to activate the Dragon trait as soon as possible. The eggs from this trait will help players upgrade their composition extremely quickly and ensure high damage output. In the frontline, Fighter units are still optimal choices to pair with Sett. If you’re lucky and have Nunu & Willump early on, bring this unit onto the field immediately to activate the Zombie effect.
Once you reach level 7, players can adopt a slow roll strategy to quickly get Zyra to 3 stars. Basically, with the Dragon eggs, your journey to upgrade Zyra to 3 stars will be significantly shortened. In case you are unlucky and get many Ashes, don’t roll for Zyra 3 stars. Instead, you should aim to level up to 8 as soon as possible.
At level 8, Ryze is the most valuable addition to this composition. Ryze’s ability to stun multiple targets will create opportunities for Zyra to continuously cast her spells and eliminate the enemy team. Additionally, you should bring in Mystic units like Lulu, Lux, Kindred to provide magic resistance and counter team comps revolving around Vel’Koz, Karma.
In terms of item construction, the top priority is still items for the Mutant Zombies. The two best items in this composition are the Deep Green Bow and Runaan’s Black Cleaver. When the Mutant Zombie possesses these two items, it will reduce armor/magic resistance on many enemy champions and help Zyra deal significantly more damage.
For Zyra, this champion does not have a build path too different from other magic carries, with the optimal choices being the Shojin Spear and the Archangel’s Gloves. For the third item, skill damage items like Rabadon’s Deathcap and the Staff of the Mage are options you should aim for.
