Brand
With Vel’Koz being nerfed in damage in Patch 11.11, players are forced to find another champion to take on the role of the main carry for the Mage composition. And then it became clear that Brand is such a unit, possessing immense damage potential, low energy cost, and the ability to reduce the opponent’s magic resistance. This allows teams built around Brand to deal significant damage even before reaching the 4 Mage threshold.
Moreover, with Riot increasing the appearance rate of 2-cost champions to 40% at level 6, you can upgrade Brand (even to 3 stars) quite easily. To maximize this rate, you should opt for a Knight – Mage composition and roll strongly at level 6. At that point, Teamfight Tactics players will have a great chance to upgrade champions like Hecarim, Sejuani, Brand, and Viktor. This is the perfect condition to maintain health, gold, and roll for Vel’Koz at level 8.
Soraka
Besides being a 2-cost champion benefiting from the adjusted roll rates, Soraka also received a small but significant direct buff in Patch 11.11. Specifically, her maximum energy has been reduced by 10 points to only 70. For a champion with a rather “clunky” auto-attack animation like Soraka, this buff will greatly assist her in casting spells sooner and dealing damage more effectively than before.
We need to remember that Soraka’s tribe – system provides her with excellent energy and health recovery. Combined with her being chosen as the leader in the Shadow Sorceress composition, Soraka doesn’t need equipment to achieve good energy regeneration. Therefore, players can assemble 3 damage-dealing items for this champion to maximize her damage output. The items that experts prioritize for Soraka include Hextech Gunblade, Infinity Edge, and Archangel’s Staff.
Varus
In fact, a Varus-centric composition had appeared at the end of Patch 11.9. However, this composition gradually faded into obscurity when the “all-in” playstyle at level 7 became too dominant in Patch 11.10. The reason is that this playstyle allowed players’ compositions to become too strong too quickly, leaving Varus without enough damage to secure victories in the mid-game. It wasn’t until the arrival of Patch 11.11 and the ease of upgrading 2-cost champions to 3 stars that Varus could shine again.
To build an effective Varus-centric composition, you should have a sufficiently strong frontline. You can choose Leona or Aatrox to gain the Guardian effect or damage reduction from Knight units. After reaching level 6, you should adopt a slow roll strategy to upgrade Varus to 3 stars. If you use both Hecarim and Sejuani, rolling at level 6 will also greatly assist you in upgrading these units. You might even consider aiming for the top 1 if you can acquire Rell early on.