After the release of patch 10.8, two suddenly powerful team compositions were the Star Guardians and Shadows, which dealt a massive amount of damage at a time when very few compositions could defend against them. The popularity of Shadows was so great that having 3-4 players using this clan in a match became a normal occurrence, simply because they were so strong that everyone wanted to build them.
Riot Games does not want anything too strong and overpowering in Teamfight Tactics, and while the Star Guardians are also strong, they are not as ‘cancerous’ as the Shadows. Therefore, in patch 10.8b, the mid-patch update for Teamfight Tactics, only Syndra from the Star Guardians received a slight nerf, while both Shadows and Shaco were heavily weakened. Specifically:
Shadows
The additional AD and AP from each fallen Shadow unit has been reduced from 25/35/45 to 25/30/35.
Shaco
Base damage increased from 50 to 70.
Starting and maximum energy changed from 0/60 to 30/80.
The critical strike damage of the Trickster ability decreased from 300/325/350% to 200/225/250%.
Syndra
Maximum energy increased from 50 to 65.
Fixed a bug where Kayn could use his ability while under the effect of Guardian Angel.
Fixed a bug that allowed Xerath to use his ability while being revived by Guardian Angel.
The two critical nerfs to both the Shadows clan and Shaco can be said to have reduced the power of this composition by 30%. The amount of damage from the last surviving unit has significantly decreased, especially affecting champions reliant on critical hits like Jhin or Shaco.
Speaking of Shaco, this jester simply lost 100% critical damage from his ability while only receiving a buff of 20 base damage and a bit of starting energy, which is negligible. After this update, Shaco will almost certainly be removed from the game due to very few players using him. Fans of the Spellslinger composition should probably shift their gameplay from strong rolling at level 7 to playing at level 8 and seeking Ekko instead.
Syndra also received a relatively significant nerf when her ability’s energy cost increased, however, this is a fairly reasonable figure considering the strength of this champion. After this nerf, the Star Guardians will weaken a bit and rely more on items, perhaps players should consider a build for Syndra with 3 Chalices of Favor to compensate for the energy.
