Xayah
It’s no exaggeration to say that Xayah was the most overlooked champion at the 1-cost tier. She possesses a decent trait – class combination of Galaxy – Blademaster, but since the compositions utilizing these traits are strong late game, Xayah is rarely picked because she doesn’t scale well into the later stages. However, in patch 10.9, there are so many changes that make Xayah powerful, and she is gradually becoming a viable main damage dealer.
First, the appearance rate of 1-cost champions has been buffed, allowing you to easily level Xayah up to 2 stars. Additionally, both new Galaxies benefit this champion; on Treasure Island, there are more items available, and early scaling champions like Xayah will have enough items to become strong, while in Star-filled Sky, Xayah can be leveled to 3 stars extremely quickly.
Leona and Poppy
“Tanky” is the most fitting description for this Vanguard duo. Indeed, facing opponents using them early game is like hitting a brick wall. The strength of the Vanguard stems from the fact that in patch 10.9, they received a buff that more than doubles their armor at the 2 champion combo threshold (from 60 to 125 armor). Furthermore, both champions are 1-cost, making it extremely easy to use them together. Remember that early game damage primarily comes from auto-attacks, so an additional 125 armor is incredibly strong.
This duo is the reason why a composition that isn’t highly regarded, namely Vanguard – Marksman, can still hold its ground in the new meta with excellent defensive capabilities and early game sustain. If you don’t want to play this composition, that’s fine; if you’re looking for a strong defensive option and haven’t decided on a composition yet, our advice is to simply buy Leona and Poppy to maintain health in the early game.
Ziggs
It can be said that Ziggs is the champion that received the most buffs in patch 10.9, as his ability damage at all levels has been significantly increased. Combined with factors such as the increased appearance rate of 1-cost champions and the Galaxies providing more items and champions, it’s entirely feasible for Ziggs to level up effectively and acquire numerous items.
With the addition of a strong early damage dealer like Ziggs, the Rebel composition will inherently be stronger in the early game, maintaining health and a sufficient amount of gold to progress into the late game with the power threshold of Aurelion Sol. Moreover, if you can obtain the item that transforms Aurelion Sol into a Blaster, it will indeed be incredibly difficult for any team to compete against Rebels in the late game.