Shadow
The Shadow composition is fundamentally used with 6 units, and players generally do not intend to push to 9 due to some units like Vayne or Warwick now appearing weaker compared to other names within the same trait. Moreover, maximizing the power of these two champions requires items; otherwise, they merely contribute to activating the trait, which leads to wasting 2 slots on the board without any effective results.
However, at 9 Shadows, players can receive the trait activation effect of 140 Attack Damage and skill power. This is quite a significant number, especially for powerful Shadow champions like Ryze, Draven, or Viego. With such strengths and weaknesses, the Shadow trait becomes a lifesaver when another very strong Marksman champion with the Mystic trait (ensuring defensive capabilities) like Kindred can effectively replace Vayne and activate the maximum power of Shadows.
Warrior
Warriors are one of the extremely powerful traits in Teamfight Tactics Season 5, but after the 11.11 update, they became very weak and immediately saw a drop in win rates and an unexpectedly low rate of reaching the top 4. However, in patch 11.12, with the Weapon Vault mechanic and players having more opportunities to acquire rare items, Warriors have made a comeback with the trait activation cap of 9.
It can be said that Warriors were already a very strong meta, possessing both offensive and defensive capabilities. Moreover, this is a composition with area damage and can synergize incredibly well with Dragon items, along with a Viego that always has the potential to make game-changing plays in the late game. The current requirement to activate 9 Warriors is simply that players need to reach the required level to place enough units on the board.
Celestial
Celestials have always been an extremely powerful trait in TFT Season 5, combining resilience, damage, crowd control, area damage, damage over time, and notably featuring the “broken” champion Kayle – one of the few champions that can utilize items meant for control, thus enhancing her power (for instance, when the opponent uses the Blade of the Ruined King on Kayle, she still accumulates her ascension). Not to mention, Kayle’s damage is uninterrupted unless she is defeated or controlled, even if the opponent uses Guardian Angel.
In patch 11.12, Celestials have even more opportunities to become stronger as now, players can activate 9 Celestials and gain 90 Armor and Magic Resistance, along with an additional 90% skill damage. The already powerful spells of Syndra, Lux, Vel’Koz, or Syndra will become even stronger, and the durability of champions like Rell, Leona, or to some extent Aatrox will be better assured.
Divine
The Divine composition often has the factor of being easy to combine, and very few players use a full Divine team of 8 units on the board because some names like Riven, Karma, or Soraka require items and the right level to truly shine. Additionally, Kha’Zix or Gragas often tend to underperform in the late game, while Nidalee is strong but very easily eliminated when she uses her Transform ability and charges into the opponent’s team.
However, Divine is one of the compositions with excellent defensive capabilities, providing health regeneration and inflicting significant damage. Furthermore, the Garen – Karma combo has never gone “out of style” in TFT Season 5. The incredible healing ability when activating 9 Divine and the sturdiness, damage, and crowd control is what makes Divine highly favored in the current meta.
