Kalista
To put it bluntly, Kalista is the strongest physical carry at the 1-cost price point with incredibly high damage output. With the Legion system, Kalista always maintains a high attack speed, allowing her to deal damage very effectively. Moreover, Kalista’s Piercing Spear skill also deals a significant amount of damage in the early game. Leveling this unit to 2 stars early will ensure you have a very favorable start.
If you are pursuing a Zombie composition, you might look to push Kalista to 3 stars in the mid-game. If you’re not playing a Zombie team, Teamfight Tactics players should use Kalista as a holder for items for the main carry. With her ability to deal strong physical damage, Kalista can effectively hold items like Bloodthirster, Infinity Edge, and Rapid Firecannon. If you plan to build Aphelios or Draven in the late game, Kalista is the perfect item holder.
Ziggs
For those who enjoy the “spellcaster” playstyle, Ziggs is definitely the most worthwhile champion to buy in the early game. With a maximum mana of only 40, Ziggs can continuously cast spells and deal massive magic damage with the Blue Buff. If you manage to acquire too many Ziggs early on, leveling this unit to 3 stars and building a Demon team is not a bad choice. This champion will help players create a very powerful snowball effect.
In case you can only buy enough 3 Ziggs to level up to 2 stars, you shouldn’t play a Demon team. Instead, you should aim for strong spell carries in the late game like Karma and Vel’Koz to utilize the items you’ve built for Ziggs earlier. No matter the route, purchasing Ziggs in the early game is always a recommended move. If you receive multiple Tear of the Goddess or Rod of Ages early, buy Ziggs immediately to maximize their potential.
Aatrox
No longer the dominating control champion like in Season 4, but Aatrox in Season 5 is still a unit worth investing in during the early game. Despite having a Legion system geared towards strong offense, Aatrox has an extremely “tanky” nature. Combined with a skill that provides strong healing effects, Aatrox is a very strong frontline unit that you should aim to acquire early on. If you can level both Aatrox and Kalista to 2 stars, you’ll have a very powerful start.
As the game progresses to the late stages, Aatrox’s value will decrease significantly. This is because the tribe-system of this unit does not provide enough tankiness for Aatrox to survive against the opposing team’s damage. Therefore, the best way to utilize Aatrox is to upgrade and equip him with defensive items early on to ensure frontline strength. Once you acquire stronger champions like Rell or Mordekaiser, sell Aatrox to reclaim the items you’ve built.