Patch 12.14 has brought a significant set of changes to Teamfight Tactics, making Dragon champions more powerful and important than ever. Alongside this, a number of 3-cost champions have seen their physical damage reduced upon leveling up, leading to an overall decline in the early shop rotation strategy. As a result, the playstyle of maintaining gold and leveling up steadily has become extremely popular.
Even after Aurelion Sol was nerfed in patch 12.14b, this gold-holding strategy has remained viable, as players often seek 4-5 cost carries at this time. Among them, SyFen – Gunner has emerged as a top choice, with both carries, SyFen and Corki, remaining largely unaltered and still incredibly strong. So how can you build this composition? Let’s find out.
To start off as smoothly as possible, you should utilize Brawlers in the front line and Gunners in the back line. Tahm Kench and Skarner are good choices for the front line, as both champions have shield abilities that help them survive much longer in fights. Meanwhile, Senna and Jinx are the backline units you should aim for as they provide solid damage both to single targets and in area attacks.
Moving into the mid-game, you will simply replace champions in your composition with better options. For instance, Shen can replace Skarner, and Tristana can take Senna’s place to ensure stable damage output. Additionally, you should pay attention to purchasing Heimerdinger, as the Dragon Trainer trait will provide a unit that is not weak in terms of damage and also has healing reduction capabilities.
After reaching 50 gold, you will consistently buy experience to level up to level 8 as quickly as possible. This is because the most important champions in this composition all cost 4 gold, and the best time to upgrade them to 2 stars is at level 8. When rolling in the shop, you need to buy SyFen, Sylas, Sona, and Corki, upgrading them to 2 stars as soon as possible. Lulu and Bard are also good units but will be prioritized lower than the aforementioned names.
In terms of technology cores, according to expert insights, the Best Upgrade is the optimal choice for this composition. Additionally, cores that provide items such as Equipment Supply or loot-style healing are also excellent, as SyFen and Corki deal area damage very effectively. You should avoid choosing cores that only benefit Gunners or Festivals, as SyFen will not benefit from those effects.
For item choices, SyFen will need Bloodthirster and Giant Slayer to endure in fights. After that, you can build additional defensive or damage items depending on the state of the game. As for Corki, you should still build him as a standard physical carry with items like Infinity Edge, Bloodthirster, Guinsoo’s Rageblade… depending on the number of items you still have.
