The Rise of Gwen – Guardian in TFT Season 12
The 14.19 patch of TFT Season 12 has witnessed a strong return of the “Fast 8” meta, or more precisely, the dominance of 4-cost carries. This is due to Riot Games implementing numerous buffs for key champions in this group such as Gwen, Fiora, Karma, and Varus. Furthermore, they have also increased the stats of small trait synergies (2 or 3 champions), significantly enhancing their power.
This allows compositions utilizing multiple 4-cost carries like Gwen – Guardian to significantly enhance both damage output and defense. Moreover, the carries of this composition also possess abilities to engage or directly attack the enemy backline. This enables Gwen – Guardian to easily counter long-range carries to secure the final victory.
Building the Gwen – Guardian Composition in TFT Season 12
In the early game, players should aim to utilize affordable yet quality champions like Akali and Kassadin. These units can deal significant damage early on and effectively hold items for the carries. Additionally, Galio along with other Guardian champions can also be utilized at this stage to enhance the team’s combat capabilities.
By the mid-game, players can add strong 3-cost units like Shen or Hecarim to ensure tankiness and crowd control. Players can also aim for the 5 Guardian trait at this stage to increase damage output while maintaining a large economy. This is a crucial foundation for quickly leveling up to level 8 in the later stages of the game.
After reaching level 8, players will use their gold to search for necessary carries. Among them, Gwen and Rakan will be top priorities as they ensure damage output and tankiness for the composition. Next, Karma and Fiora will be added to activate valuable traits like Time Warp, Sorcery, or Warrior. If conditions allow for leveling up to level 9, Morgana or Milio will be extremely strong choices for the late game.
Some Notes When Building the Composition
After her skill rework, Gwen really needs a Blue Buff to continuously cast spells, so players should prioritize crafting this item. Additionally, a Sorcerer’s Hat (or Guardian’s Gauntlet) combined with a Bloodthirster will greatly enhance her damage output and survivability in team fights. A small note is that this composition interacts very strongly with artifact items, so players should choose cores that provide these types of items as soon as possible.