The Rise of Academy – Sentinel in TFT Season 13
As of now in TFT Season 13, the meta game is heavily leaning towards “Fast 9” compositions due to the significant power increase of 4-5 cost champions. Not stopping there, players are gradually realizing the great value of the Academy trait, which boasts magic damage dealers (Lux, Heimerdinger), physical damage dealers (Ezreal), as well as tanky champions or bruisers (Leona, Jayce). This allows players to customize and build items in diverse ways to limit being countered by opponents at the end of the match.
Furthermore, when combined with a strong shield line made up of Sentinel champions, the Academy damage dealers can maximize their potential. Additionally, the Sentinel champions activate important thresholds like 3 Rebellion, 2 Recycling… which significantly enhance the strength of the composition in the late game. This makes the Academy – Sentinel composition a resilient setup that still possesses immense damage output.
Building the Academy – Sentinel Composition in TFT Season 13
In the early phase, players should aim to use Lux as the primary magic damage dealer since she is a 1-cost champion and easy to upgrade to 2 stars. Affordable yet quality Sentinel units like Irelia and Singed will be priority picks for front-line tanking. Moreover, if players can acquire units like Leona or Ezreal early on, they can consider activating the 3 Academy threshold and gain an equipment advantage.
Moving into the mid-game, players should focus on maintaining as much health and gold as possible while consistently buying experience. This will help players quickly reach level 9 with important power thresholds in the later stages. To achieve this goal, players can aim for the 4 Sentinel threshold to ensure solid durability while maximizing protection for the back-line damage dealers.
In the late game, players need to reach level 9 as quickly as possible and proceed to “spend gold” in search of key damage dealers. Jayce and Heimerdinger are naturally prioritized to ensure damage and durability. Additionally, Corki and Rumble are excellent additions to boost damage at this stage. If players have the Academy emblem, they can replace Lux with Viktor to enhance crowd control.
Some Tips When Building the Composition
Being a “Fast 9” composition, upgrades that increase experience are incredibly valuable for this playstyle. Therefore, players should prioritize cores that provide significant experience like Epoch and Level Up… when selecting upgrades. Additionally, cores that increase health for the composition are particularly suited for a setup using many Sentinels, as this trait already provides substantial armor/magic resistance. Regarding items, Heimerdinger will greatly benefit from Blue Buff and Archangel’s Staff to deal effective damage, so players should prioritize acquiring Tear of the Goddess when possible.