In patch 11.17 of Teamfight Tactics, Riot has adjusted the Mage system to deal more damage the more spells they cast. However, in practice, this playstyle does not suit the strongest Mage unit currently, Vel’Koz, so this system is still rated relatively low. To take advantage of the changes in patch 11.17, the Knight – Mage lineup with Brand as the main carry has been brought back into play.
The reason for this comeback lies in the fact that Brand has a maximum energy of only 20 points. When this unit possesses the Blue Buff, it can continuously cast spells, reduce magic resistance, and burn opponents during the mid-game. This operation creates an extremely large source of damage for your team even though Brand is just a 2-cost champion. Of course, to ensure the output damage in the later stages, you need to level up your main carry to 3 stars as quickly as possible.
The ideal start for this lineup will be 2 front-line units tasked with tanking alongside the duo Ziggs and Brand in the backline. You can completely combine the Blue Buff and skill damage-increasing items for Ziggs at the beginning of the game, before Brand reaches 2 stars, so this piece can take on the damage-dealing responsibility. For the front line, you can flexibly choose between Knight, Cavalry, or even Brawlers.
By the time of the second shared choice round, what players need to do is quickly level up to 6 to increase the appearance rate of 2-cost champions. This is an ideal condition for you to apply a slow roll strategy and quickly upgrade Brand and Hecarim to 3 stars. With the Undead tribe no longer appearing too much in the current meta, upgrading Brand to 3 stars will become significantly easier for players.
After getting your main carry to 3 stars, you will have enough damage to seek a winning streak. Quickly leveling up to level 7 is very important at this point when you need to add Rell to increase the tankiness of your Knight team. If you have the means to reach level 8, you can add Jax for the 3 Armor bonus or replace Zyra with Vel’Koz to boost damage.
In terms of items, Brand really needs two items: the Blue Buff and the Glacial Gauntlet (both standard and Light versions). These two items help Brand become a truly powerful carry in the mid-game. Additionally, in the Light item selection round, you should take the Hextech Gunblade to increase the healing ability for the front-line champions. For Hecarim, tank items like Warmog’s Blood Armor, Stone Guardian’s Beast, or Thornmail… are still optimal choices.
