Teamfight Tactics Dragonlands is finally out on the Public Beta Environment on Wednesday, and with it come a ton of new champions and traits to explore. Figuring out how to play these new options to their greatest potential is difficult, but Upcomer has it covered. Here is an in-depth guide on how to play the new Jade trait in TFT Set 7.
The Jade Trait
The Jade origin in TFT Set 7 gives players one Jade Statue for every three Jade in a composition. These statues function just like a Target Dummy and will remain stationary on the board. However, they will tank damage from enemy boards.
These statutes also offer a positioning puzzle. That’s because champions adjacent to a Jade Statue will gain bonus attack speed and omnivamp. However, these bonuses do not stack, which means players can’t simply surround one super carry with multiple Jade statues.
This makes it easier for many champions on a Jade team composition to receive the buff, but it will also require some unorthodox positioning to do so. This is especially true because when Jade Statues die in combat, they explode and deal damage in a small radius around them.
The Champions
- Taric (1g/Jade/Guardian): Taric is a very standard, low-cost, tank champion — but he is definitely an effective one. In TFT Set 7, Taric comes with his Bastion ability, which grants himself and the closest ally bonus armor for a duration that scales based on star-level. There is really nothing special to say about Taric. He does also have the Guardian trait, which grants himself and his closest ally a shield when Taric drops below 50% health, and that is nice.
- Karma (1g/Jade/Dragonmancer):Â Karma is the other one-cost Jade trait champion. She does not bring the trait a utility ability or trait option outside of Jade, but she does bring in damage. Her Inner Flame ability could make her a prime target for a reroll, three-star carry. This ability is only 50 mana and fires out an area of effect burst at her target and nearby enemies. A prime Blue Buff holder which can be scary in the right patch and situation. Her other trait is Dragonmancer, which turns one unit with the trait into a “hero.” The Hero gets big, bonus health and ability power. The latter is fantastic on Karma.
- Gnar (2g/Jade/Shapeshifter)Â Gnar is a two-cost champion with Shapeshifter as his other trait. That directly ties into his viability because his ability is Mega Gnar. When Gnar casts his 70 mana ability, he transforms into his mega form and leaps to his target, which knocks them and nearby champions up for a duration. Gnar then gains bonus attack damage and armor. Gnar will primarily function as a tank with some crowd control, but can be an attack damage, reroll carry, as well.
- Ashe (2g/Jade/Dragonmancer/Swiftshot)Â Ashe is the other two-cost Jade champion in TFT Dragonlands. Unlike the previous champions, Ashe actually has two additional traits alongside Jade. She has the Dragonmancer trait, just like Karma, but also has the Swiftshot trait. Swiftshot is similar to Sniper from TFT Gizmos and Gadgets, but it offers Attack Speed instead of Attack Damage for every hex away the unit is from its target. This allows Ashe to cast her Volley ability quickly, which deals magic damage to enemies in a cone while also reducing their attack speed.
- Anivia (3g/Jade/Legend/Evoker): Anivia is the lone three-cost champion in the Jade trait. Anivia is a Legend and Evoker in this set on top, too. The Legend trait is unique, as it lets Anivia consume the closest champion near her and take their stats. So, players will be down one unit but have a super Anivia instead. Meanwhile, the Evoker trait states that whenever an ally or enemy casts their ability, Evokers gain bonus mana — which lets Anivia cast her ability more often. This is important, because Anivia’s Prismatic Storm ability summons an AoE portal around her target, dealing magic damage over time that shreds magic resistance. As a result, Anivia is the AP carry option for the Jade trait.
- Neeko (4g/Jade/Shapeshifter)Â The Jade trait doesn’t lack incredible utility and CC potential, especially among the higher-cost champions. Neeko is one of the premier CC champions in the entire set, which is thanks to her Shapeshifter trait and unique ability, Inherent Glamour. This ability has a passive and an active. The passive states that at the start of the round, Neeko disguises herself as the nearest ally champion and gains all of their bonus stats except health. But, she does gain a shield equal to a percentage of the copied champions max health. When that shield breaks, Neeko transforms back to her own self and casts Pop Blossom, which is a big AoE CC ability that stuns enemies in a wide radius and does magic damage. With all these benefits, Neeko will be a big part of any comp she is in, including one focused around Jade champions.
- Soraka (5g/Jade/Starcaller) Continuing with the Jade utility champions, Soraka is one of the best utility champions ever created. Alongside her Jade trait, Soraka has a unique trait called Starcaller. This trait states that whenever Soraka casts her ability for the first time in a round, she not only heals the champions on her team, she heals the player. Yes that is right — Soraka will heal the player for a small amount of health each round similar to the Metabolic Accelerator augment. Her actual ability is Wish. This ability has a passive and an active effect. The passive states that as long as an ally is below a percentage of max health, Soraka gains more mana per attack. And when she casts Wish, she calls down an AoE shower that heals all allies in it. Oh and one more thing. If Soraka casts her ability when the player is at max health, she kills enemy champions instead.
- Shi Oh Yu (8g/Jade/Mystic/Dragon)Â Shi Oh Yu is the big dragon of the Jade origin. The Dragon trait means Shi Oh Yu costs eight gold instead of the normal four. She also takes up two team spots, but the tradeoff is she Shi Oh Yu counts as three Jade champions. She also comes with the Mystic trait, which is handy for teams that need magic resist. Shi Oh Yu’s ability is Jade Rush, which has three parts to it. When Shi Oh Yu activates the ability, her next three auto attacks are empowered. While she is in this “Jade Stance,” Shi Oh Yu also takes reduced damage and is immune to CC. The first empowered auto attack deals bonus physical damage and stuns the target. The second auto-attack deals bonus true damage and the third auto-attack does bonus physical damage to enemies in a line, and it also knocks them up for a duration. Essentially, Shi Oh Yu is the true carry champion of the composition while also doubling as an incredible tank and CC tool.
Sample composition
This is a simple composition that looks to capitalize on the strengths of the Jade trait. Jade specializes in CC and buying time, which will help Anivia and Shi Oh Yu pop off and carry games. Going deep into the nine Jade interval allows for very flexible positioning and will let players even front row Jade Statues for even more protection.
