In TFT Season 6.5, most of the core elements will remain similar to Season 6. The only changes will be which traits are removed and which new champions will appear. The Technology Augments will also see some replacements. However, regarding items, the change in Guardian Angel is currently shocking the TFT community and is predicted to be the factor that makes TFT Season 6.5 completely different from previous seasons.
Guardian Angel is considered one of the hottest and most useful items in TFT, regardless of the season. Not only does it provide a single resurrection for the champion it is equipped on, but it is also an item that can “turn the tide” tremendously. In TFT Season 5 and 5.5, Guardian Angel can be considered the signature item of the champion Kayle. With her ability stacking even while resurrecting, Kayle only needs one Guardian Angel (whether it be the dark version, the regular one, or the Light version) to become incredibly powerful.
Moving into Season 6, so far, Guardian Angel continues to be an extremely useful item for damage-dealing champions in various team compositions, such as Yone (Challenger – Academy), Shaco, and Akali (Assassin – Syndicate) or Kai’Sa (Challenger – Mutant). For these champions, the longer they survive in the team, the more effective they become. Notably, Yone’s spirit clone ability or Kai’Sa’s Icathian Rain can still be effective even when the champion is in a resurrected state. Clearly, Guardian Angel is an incredibly useful tool, both offensively and defensively.
In Season 6.5, Guardian Angel will be replaced by the Cloak of Shadows. The function of this item is that when the owner drops below 50% health, they immediately become invisible, cannot be targeted, and all negative effects are removed. After becoming visible again, the owner gains an additional 30% attack speed.
At first glance, this can be considered a quite powerful item. Because in TFT, as long as you can attack quickly and build enough energy/stacks to unleash your ability, you can determine the outcome of the match. Not to mention, while Guardian Angel only activates when the owner is defeated, the Cloak can be effective even while the owner is still alive. In other words, this item functions almost similarly to Guardian Angel, only instead of providing health, this item offers attack speed.
However, this means that after coming out of invisibility, players will still only have a health amount below 50% along with an additional 30% attack speed. This will be effective if the carries have enough damage to finish off the remaining opponents immediately after coming out of invisibility. But in reality, players always find ways to focus on carries first. Not to mention, fragile champions like Shaco may now need to equip a Bloodthirster to be effective before being defeated.
Overall, the change from Guardian Angel to Cloak of Shadows has its pros and cons. Champions that stack abilities or charge energy to unleash will have a harder time. However, on the other hand, champions that previously lacked attack speed can greatly benefit from this new item. But it’s certain that the disappearance of Guardian Angel will lead to many metas reaching their conclusions in the upcoming Season 6.5.