Brand
Brand can be considered the perfect core champion in the early game when his Fire Pillar skill possesses a significant amount of damage along with a stun effect. We need to remember that Brand’s ability will prioritize targets with the highest health. Therefore, he can control the frontline of the opponent extremely well. If you are lucky enough to have multiple energy items, Brand can annihilate the enemy’s main damage dealer in subsequent casts.
For Brand, the most important item is the Blue Buff. It allows this champion to cast spells multiple times and significantly increases the team’s damage and control abilities. Regarding damage itemization, you should use the combination of Tear of the Goddess and Infinity Edge. These two items enable Brand to deal an incredibly high amount of burst damage due to their critical strike chance and damage. If you want to experience a new Mage composition in Season 4.5, start with Brand.
Rakan
This can be considered the champion with the “absurd” control capabilities among the new champions in Teamfight Tactics Season 4.5. Rakan can inflict both Silencing and Taunting effects with his skills. Therefore, targets hit by Rakan will almost be completely controlled by this unit for 2.5/3/4 seconds. Not to mention that Rakan also generates a shield for himself when using his skill. With so many effects, this is regarded as the strongest frontline unit at the cost of 2 gold.
Like other tank champions, the Flame Cloak is an extremely powerful item for Rakan. Equipping this item on Rakan ensures that you have a very robust frontline. To further enhance this champion’s annoyance, Frozen Heart and Storm Bow are the most suitable options. These items will help Rakan completely counter compositions revolving around physical damage dealers like Duelist, Sniper, Butcher…
Nasus
In Season 4.5, Nasus’s Wither can be considered the strongest single-target skill in the early game. It not only deals significant damage over time but also reduces the target’s attack speed by up to 50%. Therefore, Nasus can easily disable the opponent’s main damage dealer. By levels 4-5, when activating the effects of the Divine and Bloodsucker traits, Nasus becomes even more powerful.
The reason is that Nasus can sustain in fights for a very long time thanks to the strong healing effect from the Bloodsucker trait. Even the damage from Wither converts part of it into true damage when the Divine effect is activated. Therefore, obtaining a 2-star Nasus early (even in his Chosen form) is the best way for players to secure a winning streak. This champion is also essential for the Divine – Bloodsucker composition, so you won’t regret investing in Nasus.