How to Play 1 Cost Reroll in Teamfight Tactics

One cost reroll is one of the best ways for beginners to learn TFT, and with Set 13 out, it’s a great time to learn the game. On top of this, there are often multiple 1 cost rerolls viable that can hang with late game comps. In this article, I will be going over basics as well as advanced tips of When to Play Reroll, Different Reroll Comps, Itemization, Economy, When to Roll vs Push Levels, and How To Win with 1 Cost Comps. By the end of this article, you should feel more confident playing reroll in general as well as the individual comps!

Throughout the set there will likely be playable or even strong 1 cost rerolls so it is important for new as well as seasoned players to know how to properly play and optimize 1 cost reroll. To adapt to the changing meta, you can read more about how to play reroll strategies here.

In my article, Cheng will be going over basic and advanced tips of when to play 1 cost reroll, itemization, economy, leveling, augments, anomaly selection, team comp examples, and how to win with a 1 cost reroll comp.

If you have not already read my article on How to Play 2 Cost Reroll và 3 Cost Reroll, be sure to check it out.

Explore all of the TFT Set 13 Blog here!

Although many players will force reroll comps out of comfort (and you can do this if you wish), if you are looking to play more optimally and more frequently top 4, it is better to be able to identify the best times to play 1 cost reroll.

The first thing is by being selective in your opening shops in stage one. You have a couple of options. You can hold units that you have pairs of. This is the more consistent way to open games as 2 star units are much stronger than 1 cost and will do more for your team overall. However, if you have a 1 cost reroll comp that you want to play, you should be holding those units instead.

If you don’t hit at least pairs of your units you want to reroll, this is often a sign that it might not be a reroll game. You can still play it if you wish, but you will likely hit later unless you get some lucky shops. And the extra health you lose from hitting late can often be the difference between a top 4 and bot 4, so know that you are taking a risk when you make this decision.

Let’s say you hit the units you were hoping to reroll and it’s looking good but wait – there’s more. Another critical part of deciding whether to play reroll are your item components. Why is this so important? Part of the reason that reroll is strong is that it spikes in the mid game from having an early 3 star unit. A 3 star unit is useless if it doesn’t have good items and in some cases some units require you to have almost perfect items.

If you have unit(s) you want to reroll you should have items that can fit them as you don’t want to have an itemless 3 star unit. Ideally, all three of your components work with one of your reroll units. Once you 3 star the unit you want to have 2 completed items on the unit if you star it up early, and you want to have 3 full items on it for sure by stage 4.

So how do you get the item components you want? Loss streaking. This will also give you the Economy you want. Reroll is expensive. It takes a lot of rolls, a 3 star one unit let alone 2 that is common in reroll comps. This means that your early game economy is critical. The way that you make econ in the early game is by aggressively making your 10, 20, 30, etc increments as well as streaking. Although it’s possible to win streak, the reality is most likely you will end up loss streaking. You might also end up 3 losses into 2 wins which is also acceptable.

The 3 losses allow you to have priority pick on the carousel so you are able to get whichever item you want. Ideally, you want to be taking a 3 cost from the carousel and avoid taking a 1 cost as this can make a difference between hitting an economy break point versus not hitting it. So, if you have flexibility on your items, take the higher cost unit. The one exception to this is if there is an item you want on a one cost unit that is part of your reroll comp. If you are taking a unit that is part of your comp, that is taking extra gold off the carousel despite it being a 1 cost.

Loss and win streaks add up to the economy quickly. The difference of streaking versus not can be the difference of having 20 gold at Kruggs versus 40-50 gold at Kruggs. The streak gold and interest gold can quickly make the difference of 20 gold in the early game.

In addition, you don’t press the level button in 1 cost reroll in the early game. You should be level 4 at Kruggs. Be sure to note that you typically need two 2 star units (at least one front liner) to beat Kruggs with only 4 units along with items slammed. If you are too weak to beat Kruggs, DO NOT level but instead take a roll or two to get some upgrades rather than put an extra unit in.

Advanced Tip: Before rolling at level 4, you should reevaluate your comps options based off how many of the one cost units you have. Ideally, you should have 5 to 6 copies of one of your one cost units since you can more easily hit this way. If you only have 2 or 3 copies of the units then you should look at your items, scout, and reconsider if you should instead push levels rather than rolling at level 4. Once you start rolling at level 4, you are committed and if you miss then your game is nearly over before it even begins.

Tip Before Rolling: Put your team comp in your planner so you don’t accidentally miss any of your units

You should still be level 4 and should be around 60 gold. Time to roll to 32-34 gold. You roll during this time because at level 4 you have the best odds of hitting your 1 costs. Also, you want to start getting strong in stage 3 since you loss streaked in stage 2. You need to have time to be strong so you don’t lose too much health as most 1 cost rerolls are not win out first place comps but rather top 4 comps. If you aren’t strong in stage 3 and 4, then it is unlikely that you will be strong in stage 5. This is the importance of having items that worked for your comp as discussed earlier because your starred up units need items to carry.

You’re rolling and are hitting some copies here and there. Now is the time to make more critical decisions. Generally, the rule of thumb is if you have 8 copies of a unit that is when you send it to find the last copy. The reason is that you have invested a lot of gold in the 3 star and you are missing out on the power spike of the investment when you have 8 copies. One top of this, with only one copy left to get you have a solid chance of hitting it and spiking.

How far do you actually go? That varies. Is the unit really strong at 3 star? Then pretty deep if you know it will streak you afterwards to make up your gold. Do you need multiple 3 stars for the comp to function? Then maybe not as deep – think an extra 10 to 15 gold since you need to have econ to hit the rest of your 3 stars. Oftentimes, one of the biggest mistakes players make is not hard committing to rolling or saving and going in the middle instead. If you invest a bunch of gold but only have a 2 star and multiple copies on the bench, then you are losing gold and losing out on a power spike. This is why oftentimes players have to roll deep (if they are unlucky) once they hit 8 copies, but it’s also possible to only roll 1 or 2 shops and hit your 3 star that spikes your board for the next 2 stages. If you are fortunate, then this likely means you have a top 4 on your hands.

If you rolled to 32 gold, then you want to sit on your gold for the next two rounds to get back to 50 gold as well as you will naturally level to 5. The reason we stop at 32 is because it still allows us to easily get back to 50 gold while getting the benefit of better odds at level 4. The question is what do you do next? Let’s go over a few scenarios:

1. Early 3 Star

Let’s say you hit your 3 star unit and it was the only one you wanted or cared about, then it’s time to econ up as you can enjoy being strong and streaking in stage 3. Stay above 50 when you can but level when you can still have 30 gold left. Why level and lose 3 interest? It’s important to remain strong and the gold you lose isn’t worth losing health. On top of this, if you win two fights and are streaking, then you actually make gold by leveling on top of seeing higher level shops.

2. Early 3 Star But Missing The Other 3 Star One Cost

It’s possible that you are rolling for multiple 3 star one costs. Usually 2, but it can be more. Let’s say you hit one 3 star but not the other. Do you level? Just like most situations in TFT, it depends. Some questions you should ask yourself:

• How important is the unit to my board?
• How many copies of the other unit do I have?
• Am I strong enough to win fights with my one 3 star?

Some 3 stars matter more than others. You might have hit your carry and missed the tank, but you have a strong enough front line where the other tank doesn’t matter much so you are able to just sit and econ up rather than rolling more.

How many copies is an important question because if you have 7 copies of the other unit, it should be easy to hit and you should just slow roll with 50 gold econ’d at level 5 while picking up other units in your comp. If you only have 3 copies of it, then it might be time to push levels and find a replacement unit that plays around your other 3 star unit better. There are some exceptions where some comps require the 3 stars of certain units in order to function. Most cases, it is best to push levels and give up on the unit that you didn’t find many copies of.

3. Committing

Finally, if you don’t have a 3 star yet. At this point, you roll at 4 and you are committed. If you are only a handful copies of the unit, unlucky and there isn’t much you can do besides econ up, and slow roll at 50 gold in hopes that you hit during stage 3. If you are winning during stage 3 due to good itemization or a weak lobby, then you should be okay. However, if you are losing then you will likely be fighting for a 6th. After Wolves in stage 4, if you don’t have a 3 star then you send it to 0 until you hit. If you have a good amount of gold remaining then you should be okay, but if you miss you will have to hope for a 6th. Once you hit after Wolves you should be looking to push levels to try and find the other units that round out your comp.

In stage 4, your 3 star carry should have 3 full items. If the unit doesn’t then most of the time this means that you did something wrong. Whether it be not playing off your opening items, not loss streaking for carousel prio, or being potentially too greedy with getting best in slot items. That is a whole different conversation, but it’s important to recognize that the difference between a 2 item carry versus a 3 item carry in stage 4 can be the difference of winning or losing 5 fights. That’s a big difference in gold and health as well as final placement.

It isn’t always easy, but it is definitely possible. It often comes down to hitting your 3 star early with solid economy so you are able to push levels and get key legendary units into your comp and start itemizing them assuming your 3 stars are fully itemized. Legendaries are the next highest value units you can put on your boards outside of 2 star 4 costs. If you are in a spot where you can 2 star Legendaries with your 3 star 1 costs then you will often get first in the lobby as your board has too much value to mess with.

Note: Oftentimes a 2 star 4 cost is more powerful than a 1 star 5 cost. This means that the 2 star 4 cost should be itemized before the 5 cost unless the items don’t make sense on the 4 cost or the 5 cost is overpowered or 2 starred.

TFT Set 13 Violet Powder Family Reroll

The first Reroll composition is the 1-cost value composition with Powder 3-star as the main carry. Surrounding Powder are Draven, Darius, Violet, and Vander, activating the three Family trait thresholds. These Family traits provide powerful effects, including mana reduction and enhanced support. This composition focuses on rolling at level 5, aiming to upgrade Powder and Vander to 3 stars. The core champions of this composition are Powder, Draven, Darius, Violet, and Vander. Once the main lineup is upgraded, you can add other champions to activate stronger synergies.

The indicators for playing this composition include gold augments such as Welcome to the Playground, Vander’s hero augment (Gloves Off), or augments supporting 1-cost reroll like Trade Sector or Superstar Squad. If you get Vander’s hero augment, Vander becomes a strong frontline champion and should be upgraded to 3 stars with items like Bloodthirster, Ionic Spark, or Hand of Justice.

For items, Powder requires core items like Spear of Shojin, Nashor’s Tooth, and a magic power item like Archangel's Staff. Defensive items should be prioritized for Darius or Violet if either reaches 3 stars first. Any leftover offensive items can be given to Draven to enhance single-target damage.

The playstyle of this composition is slow roll at level 5. Start collecting the core champions early and avoid leveling up before Krugs. After saving enough gold, roll lightly at level 4 to gather 1-cost units, then roll aggressively at level 5 to complete the 3-star champions. Once the core lineup is upgraded, prioritize leveling up to add additional synergies such as Ambush (to grant Powder critical strike capability) or Sentinel (to increase durability).

At level 8, the complete lineup will consist of Powder, Violet, Draven, Darius, Vander, and additional champions like Ekko (to activate Scrap and Arsonist) or Garen (to activate Herald). Ekko can also make use of leftover components to form full items with the Scrap trait, optimizing your team.

Finally, if you encounter anomalies such as increased mana regeneration, attack speed, or the ability to upgrade 1-cost units to 4-star units, this composition will reach exceptional power levels. This is one of the strongest and most recommended compositions to try in the early days of the new season!

One cost reroll is an important option to know how to play and is a great way to start TFT. Pros and new players continue to play and enjoy 1 cost reroll. Hopefully this helped you know how to play it a bit better!

Thanks for Reading! If you want to gain more in-depth knowledge about TFT, check out many helpful articles here!

Good luck to you! – Cheng