In the current patch, 1-cost 3-star champions like Twisted Fate, Poppy, Xayah, and Jarvan IV are appearing everywhere. To counter these 3-star compositions, you can utilize the following powerful 5-cost champion compositions:
6 Shadow Champions Composition
With 2 5-cost champions, this composition will require quite a bit of effort to complete, but the results will not disappoint you.
For many compositions in the new meta like Candy-land or 3-star Xayah, having burst damage to take down 1-2 champions early is understandable. However, for the 6 Shadow Champions composition, losing 1-2 champions right at the start of the fight is not a big deal, simply because they will buff damage early for the carries.
Additionally, compositions that maintain a low level to roll for 3-star champions usually have very few champions. As long as you can get Lulu to 2 stars, you can hex 2/3 or 3/4 of the enemy team. In this composition, Jhin will be the main physical damage dealer, with the most important item being the Green Bow to penetrate armor and take down all 3-star champions with 3 items. In the back corner, Xerath will be the main carry with a massive source of spell damage that increases over time, getting stronger the longer the fight lasts. Since most 3-star champion compositions are fully equipped with items for their carries, Xerath can easily “snipe” nearby champions, stunning them and taking them down one by one.
Kayle Time Warp “v2” Composition
Essentially, this is still the quite popular Kayle Time Warp composition in the current meta. However, with just a small adjustment, this composition can completely defeat 1-cost champion compositions. Since Candy-land is a composition that lacks Mystic buffs, having Poppy stand alone as a tank will allow Kayle to deal massive area damage to all the fragile champions behind. Additionally, Miss Fortune can also wipe out that composition with 1-2 rounds of Bullet Storm. Kassadin, being a Warlock, will buy time for Poppy to use her skill for a much longer duration, causing this champion to generate shields much slower.
When facing 3-star Xayah, this champion usually uses the combo of Infinity Edge, Green Bow, and Spellweaver Cloak. These items help Xayah deal extremely high single-target damage without being stunned or blinded. At that point, Shen will buy some time with his skill. Plus, being a single-target damage dealer, just having 2 Zz’Rot Portal minions is enough to absorb all of Xayah’s damage, allowing Miss Fortune and Kayle from the backline to wreak havoc on the enemy composition.
Gangplank 6 Rebels Composition
This is one of the compositions with the most 5-cost champions, among which there are 2 Rebels who can enhance their power over time. In this, Gangplank will be the “risk-taker” trying to use his skill to stun enemies once before going into a revival state. At that point, Aurelion Sol and Miss Fortune will have enough energy to continuously spam their skills. With the health of 1-cost champions, even at 3 stars, it’s very hard to withstand the skills from both Miss Fortune and Gangplank along with Aurelion Sol.
If you don’t have Miss Fortune yet, Lulu will be a great “temporary” champion with both the Celestial Staff and Shojin’s Spear. Additionally, currently, the Rebel composition is very rarely played, giving you plenty of opportunities to level up these champions to 3 stars, or sometimes pick up the Rebel Badge to activate the 9 Rebel passive.
The compositions above, while very strong, also require 3-star champions. Therefore, during the mid to late game, having 5-cost champions will truly unleash their power. If you want to play the above compositions but face opponents hyper-rolling for 1-cost 3-star champions early on, you can only rely on the ability to pivot through your “temporary carries”.