In Teamfight Tactics, 5-cost champions are always special pieces due to their superior power compared to the rest. With the current lineup of 5-cost champions in Teamfight Tactics, high-damage champions like Samira or Swain are often considered the most dominant by players. However, according to statistics from the lead designer of Teamfight Tactics – Riot Mortdog, Ornn is actually the strongest 5-cost champion with an outstanding win rate in the late game.
Riot Mortdog: “If you ask me which 5-cost champion has the highest win rate at the end of the game, it’s Ornn. Azir has the lowest win rate among the 5-cost champions. It’s interesting to read the different comments and opinions about the strength of the champions. I think the current 5-cost champions are very close to a balanced state.”
The main reason Ornn has become so powerful lies in the current meta of Teamfight Tactics, which is heavily focused on the late game. Players are generally inclined to level up to 8 early and roll for 4-cost core champions in their Chosen form. As a result, players often choose to play a composition that maintains health in the early and mid-game to accumulate gold for rolling at level 8 instead of hyper-rolling like before.
This increases the win rates of all 5-cost champions in general. Moreover, Ornn provides the greatest power to your team composition in the late game with his items. Ornn’s items provide a lot of stats, making them rarely considered “useless.” Additionally, the longer the match lasts, the more time Ornn has to forge items.
We need to remember that in each match, you can only acquire 12-14 individual items, which means crafting 6-7 large items. As the game progresses, the number of items you can earn decreases, which makes the value of these large items extremely high at this stage. Each item forged by Ornn provides direct power to your team composition. Even if you receive the Super Shield, an item that is purely defensive, your tank champions become significantly stronger.
Because of the immense power provided to the team, Ornn is currently the strongest 5-cost champion in the late game. Pieces like Swain, Samira, and Lee Sin can deal significant damage, but they require many suitable items to maximize their potential. Meanwhile, Ornn only needs to exist on the board to be effective, even if you don’t invest heavily in this unit.
The advice here is to always purchase Ornn at level 8, whether you are playing a composition using Forest Spirits, Vanguard, or not. You can sell Ornn immediately after he forges his first item without fearing a power loss. Just getting 1 item from Ornn can significantly strengthen your team composition.