In Teamfight Tactics Season 5.5, the Reaver trait has had its effects changed and features a powerful 3-cost carry named Miss Fortune. If you are too familiar with the playstyle revolving around Dark items from Season 5, you might face quite a few difficulties operating the “new” Reaver team. To address this issue, you should apply the Reaver – Gunner “curriculum” below by Challenger player Maskoff758 from Season 5.
With the change to cumulative stats after each winning round, the Reaver trait will have a better snowball potential in the early and mid-game stages. According to Maskoff758, to operate this team composition effectively, the two key units you need to upgrade are Thresh and Hecarim. For the backline carry, Vayne is a solid choice in the early levels. You can also purchase Varus to activate the Archer effect with Vayne to ensure damage in the early game.
By the mid-game stage (level 6-7), the damage from Vayne or Varus will not be enough to secure victories, and you will need higher quality carries. You should prioritize buying Miss Fortune and any Gunner unit (Senna, Tristana) to ensure output damage. With the Gunner effect and the Bullet Rain skill from Miss Fortune, your backline will have an immense amount of area damage. Additionally, the healing reduction effect from the Bullet Rain skill also helps you take down the enemy team easily.
When you reach level 7, you should stop buying experience and start applying a slow roll strategy. This will allow you to upgrade Miss Fortune, and potentially Thresh and Hecarim, to 3 stars and achieve an incredibly high power level. With a massive level advantage, Miss Fortune will not fear 4-5 cost carries at the late game, ensuring victory for you.
In the late game, you should add expensive units with strong effects to enhance crowd control. Names like Rell, Viego, and Diana are units that players should target after reaching level 8. If you are in a better position, you may replace Tristana or Senna with Lucian to add more damage.
Regarding item building, Maskoff758 recommends that players create a set of items that enhance both magic and physical damage for Miss Fortune. The item set including Spear of Shojin, Infinity Edge, and Gemstone Glove will help Miss Fortune deal extraordinary amounts of damage. Additionally, Justice Hand and Giant Slayer are also great alternatives for this unit.
In the front line, items like Thornmail, Warmog’s Armor… remain good choices for tank champions. You do not necessarily need to build Sunfire Cloak when Miss Fortune can already reduce healing area-wide with Bullet Rain. Additionally, players should build Frozen Heart for Viego or Diana in the late game to counter the backline carries of the enemy team.