The Power of Poppy in TFT Season 12
Since the launch of TFT Season 12, the Guardian system has appeared to be at a disadvantage compared to the Vanguard due to its limited durability in the early game. It wasn’t until Riot Games significantly buffed the additional armor/magic resistance stats of the Guardian in patch 14.20 that this system started to gain more attention and usage. However, the synergy of this system remains relatively limited and can almost only shine in the Poppy – Guardian playstyle combined with the Magic Punch core.
It is important to note that in recent patches, Poppy has received significant buffs to both her durability and damage output. Notably, the buff to the Magic Punch core increased its base damage scaling from 225% to 240%, making Poppy a very strong carry unit. Furthermore, combined with the inherent toughness of the Guardian system, Poppy can sustain fights extremely well and unleash her abilities multiple times to “clean up” opponents.
Building Poppy – Guardian Composition in TFT Season 12
In the early game, players should start with quality 1-cost champions like Poppy, Lillia, and Zoe. These champions will activate important traits – systems like Guardian and Mage to enhance Poppy’s damage output and durability. If players feel a lack of magical damage, they can add Ahri at level 4 to take advantage of the 2 Mage bonus at this stage.
Similar to reroll strategies for 1-cost champions, players will not buy experience early on to acquire as many Poppys as possible. In fact, Zoe can also be upgraded if she appears frequently in the shop, thus providing a decent amount of magical damage. After successfully upgrading Poppy to at least 3 stars, players need to continuously buy experience to level up and add more Guardian units to their composition. At that point, Shen, Hecarim, or Nunu will be worthwhile investments.
In the late game (after level 8), players will look to add Taric to complete the 6 Guardian threshold. If they accumulate enough gold and reach level 9, Diana and Xerath will be excellent additions. These are units capable of dealing significant damage, providing an excellent opportunity for Poppy as the primary carry to take down the opponent’s composition in the late stages of the game.
Some Notes When Building This Composition
Players should only aim for this composition if they possess the Magic Punch core early on. Additionally, items that provide shielding capabilities like Bloodthirster and Sterak’s Claw will be extremely suitable for Poppy, who already has strong defensive stats from the Guardian system. Furthermore, the Silver Spike is also an incredibly powerful item for Poppy. This item provides a massive AD boost (165%) and, more importantly, the immunity effect to stun will help Poppy deal damage much more effectively.