With the recent information introduced by Riot, we know that patch 12.3 is the final update of Season 6 before the mid-season update occurs. This version will focus on balancing technology cores, system adjustments, and keeping the state of Teamfight Tactics stable. Simply put, the meta of patch 12.3 will not differ from the current version.
This also means that when patch 12.3 launches, update 12.4 will appear on the PBE server, and players will have full information about Season 6.5. Understanding the excitement of the community, the project director of Teamfight Tactics – Riot Mortdog has recently revealed additional changes regarding champions in the upcoming major update.
Riot Mortdog: “Do you want to know if there will be a champion that gets price increased or changes skills? My answer is yes, one current champion will get a price increase and a new skill in the upcoming mid-season update.”
Based on Riot Mortdog’s response, we can conclude that one of the current champions in Teamfight Tactics will be “upgraded” in the upcoming major update. The two names with the highest likelihood of receiving this upgrade are Swain and Leona. This is because these champions have been confirmed by Riot Games to remain after they remove the Empire and Academy traits in the upcoming Season 6.5.
If Riot Mortdog is hinting at Swain, this champion is likely to regain the skill set he had in Season 4.5. At that time, Swain’s ability was to transform into a “Dragon God” with a large amount of health, dealing damage over time and applying a healing reduction effect. We need to remember that Swain already has a Hextech skin in League of Legends, so the likelihood of Riot turning this unit into a 5-cost Hextech champion in the upcoming Season 6.5 is quite significant.
As for Leona, her current skills are fairly stable and do not necessarily need changes, even if this unit is changed in race. However, if Riot wants to upgrade this piece, they could apply the 4-cost version of Leona from Season 1 in the upcoming update. Leona’s skill at this point would be Solar Eclipse with wide-area control capabilities. With Riot planning to remove a strong crowd control unit like Sion, compensating with a 4-cost Leona is also a good idea.
In addition to the above names, there are still many other champions like Ezreal, Zilean, Darius… that could be on Riot Games’ radar for adjustments. Perhaps we will have to wait until Season 6.5 of Teamfight Tactics appears on the PBE server to know all the information about champions and new technology cores that Riot will implement.