In patch 11.4b, the Runaan’s Hurricane has been heavily nerfed as it no longer interacts with damage-enhancing effects from the Butcher, Giant Slayer, and Justice Punch systems. As a result, the Butcher composition has seen a significant reduction in damage output, especially for champions like Olaf, Samira, and Zed. And then, the masters of Teamfight Tactics discovered a new ranking strategy, which is the Protector – Blade Dancer composition. According to Tftactics.gg, this composition is approaching S-tier (extremely strong) in the current meta.
As this composition plays at level 8, players should purchase the strongest units early in the game to maintain health. If you can acquire Rakan or Jarvan IV early, your frontline will become extremely solid. You can use Ranged, Sorcerer, or even Assassin champions as your main damage source in the early game.
In the mid-game stage, you should buy additional Vanguard units to take advantage of the large shields from the Protector system. The chance of acquiring Xayah at levels 6-7 is extremely low, so you need to rely on the “tanky” nature of Vanguard champions to maintain health. Your main carry during this phase will be Kennen, who provides significant area magic damage. Therefore, you should purchase this unit as much as possible.
Moving to the late game stage, you should replace the cheap Vanguard units with Aatrox and Ornn. The earlier you can acquire Ornn, the higher your win rate will be. This is because the Protector units make excellent use of the items that this goat god forges. If you have ample gold, leveling up to 9 and adding Kayle to reach the 3 Blade Dancer threshold for your composition is also a good option.
To secure victories with this composition, players need to focus on equipping Kennen with ability damage-enhancing items in the mid-game. The two must-have items for Kennen will be Guardian Angel and Morellonomicon. For the third item, you should opt for Thundering Bow in case the opponent has many melee champions. Otherwise, ability damage-enhancing items like Rabadon’s Deathcap or Archangel’s Staff are also suitable for this unit.
Regarding Xayah, Justice Punch is the item you must craft for her. This item has the ability to enhance Xayah’s damage output, whether physical or magical, thus fitting perfectly with her skill Storm of Rebellion. Furthermore, the time when players roll for Xayah is usually at level 8, which is during the late game. At that point, Justice Punch is the fastest damage-enhancing item to help her “carry the team”.
In the current meta that revolves around Kayle and Olaf, these champions are often contested heavily. Choosing champions that are not overly popular but still guarantee strength, such as Kennen or Xayah as the core of the Protector composition, is an extremely good strategy for climbing ranks at this time.