TFT is about combining the right synergies together to make a stronger comp, as even if you have high-tier champions at high levels with no synergies, most likely you will fall in the late game.
Having an active trait in round 1 would be an indicator of winning, just like in the late game when having multiple active traits.
In this article, we will mention the best synergies in Set 9.5 that have the highest win rate ranked from the Targon, which can be used as a great supportive trait for Bruisers, which is known for its almost 100%-win rate.
10. Targon
Targon has been one of the best supporting traits since set 9, and it stayed in mid-season 9.5 as it doesn’t only support the champions that share the trait but also supports the whole team.
The Targon trait requires only 2 champions to be activated, and each one added to the trait gives additional value up to 4 champions. Targon is a great pick for teams that use heals and shields, as it increases the heals and shields champions receive.
Champions that activate the Targon trait: Soraka, Taric, and Aphelios.
The Targon trait can’t be forged by a spatula, but you can always get the Targon heart or crown. You can also use the tome of traits or even pick it up from the carousel rounds, which would be in late rounds.
Why is the Targon trait great to pick:
- Also, the Targon trait is a small one that requires 2 to activate, and its maximum capacity is 4, yet it’s a very supportive trait that can be a game changer once you hit 4.
- Playing Targon beside a trait or a comp that uses heals and shields a lot is a great way to make a better comp.
- The targon trait must be played with another damage dealer trait as it has only 3 champions. The best traits to be used a long time are the Gunner so that Aphelios can be a monster, the Sorcerer so that the shields and heals get even stronger with the additional AP they receive, or even the Invoker, which is very popular to be played with as you will have a lot of heals, shields, and mana.
Targon stats:
All your unit's healing and shielding is improved.
- 2 18% increased healing and shielding
- 3 35% increased healing and shielding
- 4 60% increased healing and shielding
9. Juggernaut
Moving to the next trait, which is the Juggernaut, it's totally different as it’s not a supportive trait but a tank-y trait that greatly helps only the champions that share the same trait, as the champions take less damage as their health decreases.
Juggernaut is a great pick when it comes to having a solid frontline in case you have a damage dealer trait in the backlines and you want to protect. Some of the best picks would be Bilgewater, Slayer, Ionia, Noxus, and Zaun, as they all have common champions that share the Juggernaut.
Champions that activate the Juggernaut trait: Warwick, Sett, Nautilus, Darius, Nasus, and Aatrox
The good part is that the Juggernaut emblem can be forged by combining the spatula and chain vest; you can also acquire the emblem using the augments, tome of traits, or even the carousel rounds.
Why is the Juggernaut trait great to pick:
- Juggernaut trait set 9 was a beast trait as Garen used to deal tons of damage. Since he has been removed from set 9.5, it’s time to switch to another main, which would be Warwick, for instance, in case you have the Ravenous Hunter augment, which would make Warwick a beast.
- Juggernaut is also a great pick as it can form for you a solid frontline that can’t be killed, as having the max trait activated means having 50% damage reduction.
- Juggernaut can be activated with as few as two champions, such as Warwick and Sett, so whether you are in the first round of the game or the real late game, you will always have a high chance of activating the trait.
Juggernaut stats:
Juggernaut champions take less damage as their Health decreases.
- 2 15% to 25% damage reduction
- 4 20% to 35% damage reduction
- 6 35% to 50% damage reduction
8. Zaun
The Zaun trait is a unique trait that none of the other traits look like, as it doesn’t give you extra items like the Demacia, but it gives you chem-mods that only the Zaun champions can use that can give them huge extra power for both tanks and damage dealers.
Zaun trait isn’t a trait that can be used alone; you need to have another trait along with it, such as Rogue for Ekko, Gunner for Jinx, Sorcerer for Silco, and Juggernaut for Warwick, as we mentioned before.
Champions that activate the Zaun trait: Jinx, Warwick, Ekko, and Silco.
The Zaun emblem can’t be forged, but you won’t need it unless you want to fully activate the trait or you want a specific champion to be modded, as only the champions who share the Zaun can be equipped with the chem-mods.
Why is the Zaun trait great to pick:
- The Zaun trait gives you huge extra power that can greatly help your damage dealers or tanks, as some chem-mods can provide huge attack speed and damage, while others can increase maximum health or even prevent the death of a champion.
- Zaun's fully activated trait is a huge advantage, as you don’t only get to use 5 chem-mods, but they also get overcharged. The only bad thing is that you can’t remove the chem-mod from Champion unless you sell it, so make sure to use it right.
- Zaun trait can also be activated by only 2 champions up to 6 having 2 low-cost champions such as Jinx and Warwick, which can greatly help you in the early stages.
Zaun stats:
Zaun champions create random chem-mods that only they can use. Champions can be modded once, and mods can only be removed by benching or selling the champion.
- 2 Gain 1 chem-mod
- 4 Gain 2 chem-mods and Overcharge them
- 6 Gain 5 chem-mods and Overcharge them
7. Slayer
Moving to the known damage dealers, which are the slayers who can deal tons of damage in a blink of an eye, especially to those who have low health, not only do they deal massive amounts of damage, but they also heal for all the damage they deal.
The slayer trait is one of the traits that can be used as your main trait to rely on in terms of damage, but you would still need some tanks so that you don’t find yourself lacking front-line champions.
The Slayer trait has a lot of options to be combined with, such as the Juggernaut for Aatrox, Demacia, which will automatically activate it having both Quinn and Kayle together, Noxus for Mordekaiser, and many other combinations that would always put you ahead of your opponents.
Champions that activate the Slayer trait: Kayle, Qiyana, Quinn, Rek’Sai, Mordekaiser, and Aatrox.
The slayer emblem used to be forgeable in Set 9, but not anymore in Set 9.5, where you will need an augment, a tome of traits, or even carousel rounds so that you can fully activate the trait as 6 slayers.
Why is the Slayer trait great to pick:
- Slayer is a great pick when it comes to dealing a lot of damage, but you would need to have some tanks along with the slayers or activate a secondary trait to support it.
- One of the best traits to be combined with the slayer is the Demacia, where you already have 2 slayers who share both the Demacia and slayer traits, Quinn and Kayle.
- Slayer also got Mordekaiser in set 9.5, which is a very strong pick when placed with the Noxus as he can deal huge amounts of damage.
Slayer stats:
Slayers gain 12% Omnivamp.
Slayers deal bonus damage, doubled against units below 66% Health.
- 2 6% bonus damage
- 4 20% bonus damage
- 6 40% bonus damage
6. Strategist
The strategist trait might be a secondary trait that not a lot of players choose to play yet, but it’s a really strong trait in both the defensive and offensive aspects of the game as it provides a huge shield for the frontlines and provides the backlines with tons of extra AP.
Strategist is playable if you have a small comp that works perfectly but needs a little support, so you can always have the Shurima trait as your main trait, with Azir activating both the Shurima and Strategist traits.
Champions that activate the Strategist trait: Swain, Miss Fortune, Jarvan IV, and Azir.
The strategist emblem can’t be forged by combining the spatula with any component, as you won’t need to forge it unless you want to fully activate the trait, so you will need an extra emblem or heart using the augment, tome of traits, or the carousel rounds.
Why is the Strategist trait great to pick:
- The strategist trait is a very underrated one that is not usually used, so you will have a high chance of picking up many copies of the strategist champions from the shop.
- Also, having the strategist trait combined with another trait that has a solid front and backlines would make them much more powerful.
- Also, the trait gives you a lot of options to play with, starting with the Noxus, Bilgewater, Demacia, or even Shurima, but for the best, you can combine comps such as the Noxus and Shurima together to get the most out of all the traits.
Strategist stats:
Combat Start: Allies in the front 2 rows gain a Shield for 15 seconds. Allies in the back 2 rows gain Ability Power.
- 2 250 shield; 15 Ability Power
- 3 400 shield; 25 Ability Power
- 4 600 shield; 40 Ability Power
- 5 900 shield; 60 Ability Power
5. Multicaster
Multicaster is one of the strongest traits so far in terms of damage dealing, as they don’t only cast their ability once but twice, with less damage that increases for each multicaster you have on the arena.
Multicaster trait is a great pick as you can activate it by placing only 2 multicaster champions, but you would need to have another activate trait for frontlines. The best use is to have both Sett and Nautilus as they both have the knock-up ability, which would greatly help Taliyah activate her ability multiple times.
Champions that activate the Multicaster trait: Twisted Fate, Taliyah, Sona, and Vel’Koz.
The multicaster emblem can’t be forged, as you won’t even need it. It only works for the champions that are meant to be multicasters; don’t search for it. If you want to fully activate the trait, you should only place the 4 champions of it.
Why is the Multicaster trait great to pick:
- Multicaster is one of the highest-dealing damage traits, as if you have 4 champions, you would be casting 8 spells per time. It only lacks the tanks, for which you would need another trait to help.
- Mixing the Multicaster trait with a trait such as Juggernaut or Bruiser would be a great pick, as you will be dealing tons of damage from the backlines while having a solid frontline.
- Multicaster is a slow reroll trait, as you won’t need to level up to higher levels to get copies, as the highest champion only costs 3 gold.
Multicaster stats:
Multicasters cast their Ability multiple times. Bonus casts have reduced effectiveness.
- 2 Cast 1 additional time at 55% reduced effectiveness.
- 3 Cast 1 additional time at 30% reduced effectiveness.
- 4 Cast 1 additional time at 25% reduced effectiveness. Multicaster attacks grant 5 bonus Mana.
4. Rogue
Going to the assassins of the set, the rogue trait allows your champions to turn into assassins; once their health falls below 35%, they become untargetable, jumping to the backlines to assassinate the opponents’ damage dealers.
Rogue is a great trait to be played, but it can’t be used alone, so you need to combine it with another trait that either synergizes with the Rogue champions or has a solid frontline, as the rogue trait can only deal damage.
Champions that activate the rogue trait: Graves, Qiyana, Katarina, and Ekko.
Rogue emblem can’t be forged as you won’t really need it as you can activate the full trait by placing the 4 champions, which would not only turn the champions into assassins, but their first attack makes the enemies bleed with a huge amount of maximum health over time. But you can always get the emblem in case you want to really turn a champion into an assassin from the tome of traits, augments, or carousel rounds.
Why is the Rogue trait great to pick:
- Rogue trait can deal tons of damage unlike any other trait, and unlike other champions, they target backline, which in most cases is the most important to target as it has the damage dealers.
- Combining the rogue trait with a tank-y trait such as bastion, bruiser, or even juggernaut as it lacks tankiness
- Rogue can be activated for as little as 3 gold, as you can only have Graves and Qiyana, but the better part is that you can fully activate it for only 9 gold, as all the champions are low-cost ones.
Rogue stats:
- 2 When a Rogue falls below 35% Health, they briefly become untargetable and dash to an enemy within 4 hexes (preferring enemy backline).
- 4 Additionally, a Rogue's first attack on an enemy bleeds them for 55% of their max Health as magic damage over 2.5 seconds.
3. Bilgewater
Bilgewater is a one-of-a-kind trait that is new to set 9.5. Unlike other traits that provide its champions with extra stats, Bilgewater revolves around huge amounts of damage each couple of seconds.
The Bilgewater trait is one of the best traits that you can play with no other supporting trait, and you can activate it with three low-cost champions.
Champions that activate the Bilgewater trait: Graves, Illaoi, Twisted Fate, Twisted Fate, Nautilus, Nilah, and Gangplank.
The Bilgewater trait can be fully activated once you hit 9 Bilgewater champions, but it only has 7 champions, so it requires you to forge 2 additional emblems, which can be forged using the spatula and Negatron Cloak. You also get it through augments, the tome of traits, and the carousel rounds.
Why is the Bilgewater trait great to pick:
- The Bilgewater trait focuses on dealing huge amounts of damage by storing damage every 2 seconds and then dealing a portion of it to enemies again. Not only that, but it also deals flat damage next to it, which is a great choice against huge tanks.
- Bilgewater is an origin that doesn’t require a supporting trait; of course, you can use supporting traits along with it, such as the Juggernaut trait, which would greatly increase your front-line power, so having someone like Darius would greatly help as he shares both the Juggernaut and Vanquisher traits.
- Also, Bilgewater can be a supporting trait anytime, such as having it activated for a Vanquisher team, which would make Nilah a monster who deals a lot of damage.
Bilgewater stats:
Bilgerat attacks and Abilities mark enemies. The mark stores a percentage of damage dealt to the enemy by Bilgerats.
Marked enemies are struck by a cannonball after 2 seconds, dealing the stored damage plus a flat value as physical damage.
- 3 100 + 33% damage dealt
- 5 170 + 60% damage dealt
- 7 325 + 70% damage dealt
- 9 999 + 135% damage dealt; nearby enemies take 50% of cannonball damage
2. Vanquisher
The Vanquisher trait is one of its kind that has never been in TFT in such a way as it increases both the critical chance and critical damage of its champions, so it technically focuses on the damage-dealing side only.
The only drawback of this trait is that it lacks tanks; it only has Darius as a front line, so you would need to activate the juggernaut trait so that you can have at least 2 frontlines. Also, each champion who shares the Vanquisher has a different origin, so you will need to plan which comp would best fit your plan: Ionia, Bilgewater, or Noxus.
Champions that activate the Vanquisher trait: Jhin, Ashe, Darius, Xayah, and Nilah.
The Vanquisher is forgeable, and you will need it to fully activate the trait by combining the spatula with the sparring gloves. You will only need 1 extra emblem in case you have all 5 champions. You can also get it from the augments, such as the heart and crest, carousel rounds, or even the scroll of knowledge and tome of traits.
Why is the Vanquisher trait great to pick:
- Vanquisher is one of the traits that can be used to deal tons of damage. If you are searching for critical hits with additional damage, Vanquisher is one of the best traits.
- Combining the Vanquisher trait with other tank-y traits, such as the juggernaut for Darius or even the Bilgewater trait with Nilha for additional damage, is a great way to win your games.
- One of the best points in Vanquisher is having 2 Vanquisher champions that share Ionia, Jhin and Xayah, which makes it much easier to play a full Ionia comp with the Vanquisher trait activated.
Vanquisher stats:
Damage from Vanquisher Abilities can critically strike. Vanquishers gain bonus Critical Strike Chance and Critical Strike Damage.
- 2 15% chance, 15% damage
- 4 35% chance, 35% damage
- 6 55% chance, 55% damage
1. Bruiser
Bruiser is the most used trait so far in TFT, being one of the most powerful traits to be used as it combines both the damage aspect and the defensive aspect as they gain tons of additional HP, along with having Cho'Gath, who stacks a lot of HP and deals damage based on his health.
Bruiser trait can also be activated with only 2 champions that cost only 2 gold, which are Cho’Gath and Renekton. Also, having on your side Rek'Sai, who deals tons of true damage, is a huge advantage.
Champions that activate the Bruiser trait: Cho’Gath, Renekton, Vi, Renekton, Sejuani, and Sion.
The bruiser emblem can’t be forged, but whenever you have an emblem, it will surely add to your team, as whoever has the emblem will have extra HP along the team where you can get the emblem from augments, carousels, and a tome of traits.
Why is the Bruiser trait great to pick:
- Bruiser can be injected into any comp with only 2 champions that can greatly give you advantage in terms of front line, such as having Renekton in the Shurima, Cho’Gath and Rek’Sai in Void, Sion in Noxus, and Sejuani can join any of them.
- Bruiser is one of the traits that, if equipped with defensive items, would make them beasts, as they already stack tons of health and deal damage based on that.
- There are a lot of comps to play while having the fully activated bruiser trait, which is Invoker since Cassiopeia can synergize with Renekton, sorcerers using Malzahar, or even multicasters using Vel’Koz.
Bruiser stats:
Your units gain 100 Health. Bruisers gain additional maximum Health.
- 2 10% max Health
- 4 45% max Health
- 6 80% max Health
