TFT Set 13: How to Play Dominator

The Dominator trait in TFT Set 13 offers a unique strategy for players who enjoy powerful, scaling abilities in their champions. By focusing on survivability and enhanced ability power, Dominators bring both resilience and increased spell damage to the battlefield. At the start of combat, they gain a shield that scales with the number of Dominators in play, lasting up to 15 seconds. Additionally, every time a Dominator casts a spell, they accumulate more ability power based on their mana expenditure. This dynamic creates an exciting balance between defensive strength and growing offensive power, making the Dominator trait a formidable choice for those looking to outlast and overpower their opponents.

Explore all of the TFT Set 13 Blog here!

1. Dominator Trait Bonus

Champions: Ziggs 2g / Blitzctank 3g / Cassiopeia 3g / Dr. Mundo 4g / Silco 4g / Mordekaiser 5g

Combat start: Dominators gain a Shield for 15 seconds. When Dominators cast, they gain stacking Ability Power based on the Mana spent.

(2) 250 Shield, 25% AP (4) 500 Shield, 50% AP (6) 800 Shield, 75% AP The Dominator trait has a mix of both frontline and backline units, and the trait bonus buffs both offense and defense. While the Shield is fairly small, it can add up when multiple units gain one. The AP bonus is also interesting, as you get a stacking buff rather than all at once.

The AP gain is also based on the mana spent, so while you can certainly spam low CD abilities, casting large abilities will result in a large bonus as well.

2. Dominator Synergy

The Dominator synergy in TFT Set 13 introduces a compelling blend of durability and ramping power, ideal for players who want their champions to grow stronger as the battle progresses. With each cast, Dominator units gain stacking ability power based on the mana they spend, making them more lethal over time. Additionally, the start-of-combat shield gives them an edge by absorbing incoming damage, allowing them to survive the initial onslaught and continue scaling their damage output. This synergy rewards players who build sustained, high-mana compositions, enabling Dominators to reach peak potential and dominate in extended fights.

Overall, the Dominator synergy is a strategic asset for any team looking to scale effectively into the late game. Its combination of early survivability through shields and escalating ability power offers players both resilience and a high-damage payoff. By stacking ability power with every cast, Dominators can turn prolonged encounters in their favor, overwhelming opponents with powerful spells as the rounds progress. This synergy is perfect for those who enjoy a mix of defense and offense, allowing champions to withstand pressure and ultimately overwhelm foes in a spectacular display of power.

1. Ziggs Scrap Dominator 2g

Ziggs has a quite straightforward ability, launching a bomb that will further split into mini bombs. With the Dominator trait as his main source of buffs, you’ll definitely want mana generation items to stack up AP throughout the fight.

Ziggs may simply be a transition unit to hold items for a late game carry, but reroll comps are always possible. It’ll really depend on the balancing of things like his trait bonuses, good units to pair with, etc.

2. Blitzcrank Automata Dominator 3g

Blitzcrank is a straight-forward tank, but his ability has a unique reflect mechanic. His ability will grant a shield, and his passive reflects a percentage of damage absorbed. This further synergizes with the Dominator trait that generates a shield on combat start.

His active also shocks a few nearby enemies, which will be a nice damage bonus, especially as he starts stacking up AP.

3. Cassiopeia Black Rose Dominator 3g

Every time Cassiopeia is in TFT, she’s a low-mana caster, and Set 13 is no exception. As a good Blue Buff holder, she will ramp up Ability Power with the Dominator trait. Her ability is usually single-target, but every third cast will hit multiple enemies.

If you plan to play with Cassiopeia as your 3-star carry, you likely will want to build into both of her traits. Black Rose is the summon trait of Set 13, so getting a few units there will help improve your frontline.

4. Dr. Mundo Experiment Dominator 4g

Dr. Mundo’s ability gives him a large heal over a short duration, which will scale with his AP. With the Dominator trait, Mundo will only get harder and harder to take down as the fight progresses. He’ll do a bit of AoE damage with his ability as well, so he can turn into a raid boss given enough investment.

5. Silco Chem-Baron Dominator 4g

Silco’s ability is quite straightforward. He summons little monstrosities, which almost look like grubs, that attack for him dealing AP damage on attack. All things considered, he’s a flavorful backline AP caster.

The Chem-Baron trait is the new high stakes/economy trait of Set 13, so this team might look toward Silco as your main 4-cost carry to stabilize your board.

6. Mordekaiser Conqueror Dominator 5g

Mordekaiser is a 5-cost unit, and his ability lives up to the cost. He’ll pull enemies in, gain omnivamp, and start slamming his weapon on enemies in an AoE, dealing AP damage. This turns him into an AP damage/tank hybrid, capable of dealing massive damage while also tanking massive damage.

If you’re looking to play around any of the other Dominator units like Cass, Silco, or Ziggs, Mordekaiser will be an easy addition to your team comp, so try to make space for him in the late game. If you can’t find him, you’ll have to make do, but he surely makes the cut on your strongest board.

In general, Augments like Crest and Crown will always be good, but there are definitely more notable ones to explore and discover. As we make our way to the PBE, we’ll be sure to test a variety of combinations and update this article with what we find.

The set has yet to even come out on PBE yet, and unfortunately, our team was unable to playtest the Set this time around. While we can’t recommend team comps at the moment, we’ll be sure to come back and update this article once we have a good feel for things.

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