Teamfight Tactics Best Bard Builds To Use

Easily one of the most adaptable and versatile units in TFT, capable of being drafted into any comp without hesitation. Bard rightfully holds the highest win rate for an individual unit this set, surpassing all others with his musical meeps and AOE CC. 

Although teching in Bard in any comp is never wrong, this guide is going to showcase him as a key piece in a comp designed to counter the current meta. This guide is meant to teach you the ins and outs of this Mystic Jade comp that is extremely effective against AP-heavy lobbies, detailing which early, mid, and late game boards to build, which items/augments to pick up, and some tips and tricks. So strap in while I take you guys ona magical journey in the world of Mystics.

 

Final Board:

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What makes this comp good?

Arguably, the top 3 comps in the meta right now are as follows: Dragons Ao Shin (AP), Seraphine + Graves + Pantheon (AD), and Lagoon Mages (AP). ⅔ comps rely on AP carries, making this comp that plays around Mystic and magic resist unkillable. This comp is straightforward to build and force as the Jade units are not heavily contested, allowing us to hit our core units without much econ or difficulty. With the duo carry of Shi Oh Yu and Shyvana dishing out high amounts of mixed AD and AP damage, it makes this comp a nightmare to build against.

NOTE: PLEASE SCOUT THE LOBBY BEFORE COMMITTING TO THIS COMP. If you blindly force this comp, and the lobby is filled with Xayah and Graves players, then you are going to have a much harder time.

 

Early Game:

The plan for the early game is to establish a solid Jade board early by picking up key units that will stay in our comp. HP isn’t too important and saccing for good Shi Oh Yu Items is a solid strategy if you find yourself low rolling. As with any 4-cost carry comp, keep the early-game streak going to get rich by midgame, then level up to 8 on 4-2, and roll it down. Here are some examples of early game boards that will save you a bunch of HP.

 

Example Board 1:

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With how strong Lagoon is in this meta, why not abuse its early game by racking up free gold andhaving a strong front line? it’s a win-win! As mentioned earlier, the very basics of the early game are to pick up and play Jade units when you see them in your natural shops. Wukong is a great early-game carry that can hold Shi Oh Yu’s items fairly well.

If you naturally get more AP items during your early game, then Karma or Kaisa will be able to deal tons of damage safely from the back lines, acting as another option to carry your streak. 

 

Example Board 2:

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This early game comp relies much more on high rolling an early Olaf or AD 3-cost carry during neutrals, but it is probably one of the strongest openers you can hit. Olaf will be the main carry of the early game, slamming AD and sustain items on him to enable him to tear through enemy units without dying.   

Although this early-game board relies mostly on AD damage, if you happen to natural more AP items early, Lillia or Diana can act as an item holder temporarily. 

Note: This early game comp, especially if you have Diana over Lillia, is extremely expensive. This means that you want to try and brute force your way into a win streak to guarantee good econ at your pivot. If you lose or break your streak early with this comp, your econ will be ruined later in the game and you will have a much harder time hitting carries or going 9.

 

Mid Game:

During the mid-game rounds, your goal is to find at least 1 Shi Oh Yu, while having 5 Jade + Seraphine/Jayce in. A well-itemized Shi Oh Yu 1 is enough to stabilize your board if you have a solid frontline established.

This comp can and should be played flexibly, drafting more mystics, tanks, and/or damage if necessary.

 

Example Board 1:

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Ideally, Bard will replace Rakan in this comp, but you can’t rely on hitting a specific 5 cost this early in the game. With the addition of Jayce, your comp will now have a mixed damage duo-carry as he acts as Shyvana’s item holder. Jayce also provides the Gnar with more HP with shapeshifter, solidifying your front line even more with tanky units and after CC.

 

Example Board 2:

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If you aren’t having any luck hitting Jayces on your roll down, Daeja is another excellent replacement that is able to hold AP items and stabilize your board. Pairing Daeja with the Jade buffs + 4 Mirage is a great mid-game board to hold onto until Shyvana. 

 

Items:

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Shi Oh Yu BIS: Bloodthirster, Edge of Night, Giant Slayer

Good items: Guinsoos, Titans Resolve

 

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Seraphine BIS: Morello, Shojin

Good Items: Redemption, Chalice

 

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Shyvana BIS: Jeweled Gauntlet, Morello, Spark

Good Items: Hand of Justice, Rabadons, Dragons Claw

 

Augments:

Silver: Electrochage 1, Stand United 1, First Aid Kit*, Recombobulator, Celestial Blessing 1, Thrill of the Hunt 1, Mystic Heart*

Gold: Ascension, Celestial Blessing 2, Electrocharge 2, Stand United 2, Portable Forge*, Rich get Richer, Sunfire Board, First Aid Kit 2*

Prismatic: Binary Airdrop, Celestial Blessing 3*, Stand United 3, High-End Shopping*, Level Up, Windfall, Radiant Relics, Mystic Soul*

Rule of thumb: More healing, buffed healing, mystics, or any augment that can make us level faster is a good pickup.

 

Pros and Cons:

Pros: This comp is the definition of linear because as you level up and naturally hit, you should play the Jade and Mystic units whenever possible, rarely having to drastically pivot into the final board.This comp is beginner-friendly.

Another big plus about this comp is that it is really hard to build against. If you hit Shyvana 2 with 3 items and pair her up with BIS Shi Oh Yu, no amount of MR or armour stacked on one unit will be enough to soak enough damage. Adding to that, if the enemy does not have healing reduction, your board is never going to die with the Soraka plus Jade constantly healing units.

Cons: This comp gets trampled over by AD comps with ranged backlines. Shi Oh Yu has a hard time reaching the scaling AD carries and sometimes finds himself stuck on a well-itemized tank.

 

Tips and Tricks:

This comp is extremely flexible, so use that to your advantage! Drop some mystics if you don’t need as much magic resist. Pick up Jayce during the mid-game and have him hold Shyvana items. No Jayce or Shyv on your roll down? Daeja will do just fine and synergizes well with Jade's attack speed bonus!

Not only are the units flexible, but the items are as well, so don’t force yourself to always get BIS items. Shi Oh Yu needs 1 damage, 1 healing, and 1 tank/bruiser item, so don’t greed your items early and just slam items that would help you win streak (HoJ, Titans, and Rageblade are all great options).

May the mystical world of Jade and Bard bring you great success in your next games!