Iceborn Gauntlet
If you follow the meta of Teamfight Tactics Season 4 closely, you may notice that the Master system is always highly regarded by top players. The reason is that the attack speed reduction from this system limits the damage from opponents. Additionally, this effect also slows down the energy regeneration of key carry units. Therefore, Master is a system that can counter various team compositions, from physical damage to magical damage.
The theory is sound, but not every match allows you to obtain Master pieces. This leads top players to come up with the idea of combining Iceborn Gauntlet to substitute for the Master system in such situations. With the meta revolving around two compositions: Guardian and Vanguard – Legend in Patch 11.8, Iceborn Gauntlet becomes even more valuable. It is advisable to combine Iceborn Gauntlet in the mid to late game to counter the popular team compositions at the moment.
Silent Cloak
In terms of usage, Silent Cloak serves a similar purpose to Iceborn Gauntlet, as both items prevent opponents from casting their abilities too early. However, Silent Cloak is a bit more challenging to use because it requires players to target the energy beam of this item at the key unit of your team. If you only increase the energy of unimportant units, the value this item creates will diminish significantly.
To maximize the power of Silent Cloak, you need to have good observation and analysis skills regarding the opponent’s team composition. For example, when facing a Vanguard – Legend composition, if you notice that the opponent’s Neeko is under-equipped, do not target the energy beam of Silent Cloak at this unit. Instead, increasing the energy of strong control units like Aatrox or Sejuani proves to be much more beneficial.
Lightning Bow
Somehow, the strongest team compositions in the meta of Patch 11.8 rely heavily on melee champions or those who must stand at the frontline. The Guardian and Vanguard – Legend compositions are the most typical examples of this. Additionally, other strong compositions like Duelist and Brawler also fall into a similar situation. Therefore, an item that provides magic resistance reduction within a 2-tile radius like Lightning Bow is proving to be extremely powerful at this time.
Not stopping there, this item also deals damage equivalent to 225% of the target’s maximum energy. Clearly, in a meta where champions like Aatrox, Sejuani, Cho’Gath, Ornn, Zilean… are highly favored, Lightning Bow can inflict a considerable amount of damage. Therefore, Lightning Bow is the most effective item for quickly increasing damage in the late game, when your carries are fully equipped and you can only combine items for frontline champions.