TFT Set 14 Guide: How to Play Anima Squad

Anima Squad returns to TFT but this time as a much different trait bonus and units. Instead, the squad comes together to pick a weapon that a random Anima Squad member shoots throughout combat. The team also gains Armor, Magic Resistance, and Damage amp.

The Anima Squad has 8 unique champions which makes it prime for playing a vertical to make a huge and powerful weapon!

Explore all of the new Set 14 traits here!

Anima Squad Trait Bonus

At each tier, pick a weapon that a random Anima Squad champion fires periodically during combat. Anima Squad champions gain Armor, Magic Resist, and Damage Amp. Weapons scale with Anima star level and stage.

• (3) 10 Armor & MR, 5% Damage Amp (DA)
• (5) 20 Armor & MR, 10% DA
• (7) 30 Armor & MR, 15% DA
• (10) 100 Armor & MR, 50% DA

Anima Squad Synergy

Here are the additional traits of the Scrap champions that give the opportunity to create trait webs:

• Seraphine (1G) – Techie
• Sylas (1G) – Vanguard
• Illaoi (2G) – Bastion
• Vayne (2G) – Slayer
• Yuumi (3G) – A.M.P. + Strategist
• Leona (4G) – Vanguard
• Xayah (4G) – Marksman
• Aurora (5G) – Dynamo

The Anima Squad Trait

Anima Squad relies on having a strong early game through units such as Sylas and Seraphine and having a strong early and mid game to scale into the late game. In the past, most 7 unit verticals tend to fall off in the late game except when they hit their chase bonus (10 Anima Squad).

This is why you want them to have a strong early and mid game. The way this comp caps out is likely through Aurora and Xayah. Expect to throw in Dynamos such as Miss Fortune and Jhin who is also a Marksman who synergizes with Xayah.

Seraphine (1G) – Techie

Seraphine is a damage dealer who fires a sound wave through her targets which deals ability power (AP) damage. For each enemy hit the damage is reduced. It is important to note that Seraphine is a Techie which gives her additional AP and causes her enemies to do reduced damage after she hits them with her shockwave.

This makes her not just a damage dealer, but a strong utility unit. For this reason, this makes her a 1 cost unit that you won’t feel bad about leaving on your board even as her damage gets outscaled in the future.

Sylas (1G) – Vanguard

Sylas is a Vanguard which means he has a defensive trait of having extra health and a max health shield. This makes him a front line option for the vertical Anima Squad. His ability, Chains of the Pack, helps him gain max health based off his AP and he deals magic damage based off his AP & Health to his target. If the target dies, he gains additional health.

Since Sylas has this stacking ability he becomes extremely valuable in the early game as a 2-star Sylas can easily start stacking health and this will allow you to scale into the late game. On top of this, Anima Squad also has another Vanguard, Leona which makes keeping Leona and Sylas on the board ideal in Anima Squad.

Illaoi (2G) – Bastion

Illaoi heals health based on AP. She deals AP magic damage to the current target and AP damage to enemies within 1 hex. She reduces their magic resistance for the rest of combat. Her Bastion trait also gives her Armor and and Magic Resistance making her a front liner in the Anima Squad vertical.

Vayne (2G) – Slayer

Vayne rapidly fires 3 attacks. The first two deal Attack Damage (AD) bonus true damage, and the final attack deals additional (AD) bonus true damage. She also has the Slayer trait which gives her additional Attack Damage and Omnivamp while overheal heals up friendly Slayer units.

This makes Vayne a damage dealer but she is unlikely to be the main damage dealer in vertical Anima Squad. However, she likely becomes a rerollable carry in Slayer comps.

Yuumi (3G) – A.M.P. + Strategist

Yuumi has a passive which she gains mana per a second. Her active ability launches a magic missile at the current targets which bounces to the nearest enemy. It deals AP damage to the current target and less AP to the other, marking both of them. If they’re already marked, deal bonus damage.

Yuumi’s other traits also give her additional damage. This means that Yuumi is strictly a damage dealer with no utility. I would be surprised if she was the damage dealer in vertical Anima Squad, but I expect her to play a role in other comps.

Leona (4G) – Vanguard

Leona is a Vanguard so she has additional health stats. Leona gains (AP) Durability for 4 seconds and deals AP magic damage to the largest clump of enemies within 2 hexes and stuns the center enemy for 2 seconds with her Solar Flare ability. Enemies damaged by it take (MR) bonus damage from allies’ attacks. This makes her a great support unit with utility on top of being a tank.

Xayah (4G) – Marksman

Xayah impales feathers into the current target that each deals (AD) physical damage. When the target dies, the feathers seek out nearby enemies within 2 hexes each dealing (AD) physical damage. Her Marksman trait gives her additional Attack Damage which increases throughout combat.

This means that she scales as the fights go on and as a damage dealer relies on having a solid front line that allows her AD damage to scale in the fight. Jhin is a strong pairing as he is a Marksman who also has Dynamo which has strong synergy with this comp.

Aurora (5G) – Dynamo

On the first cast Aurora swaps places with the left-most champion on the bench and continues fighting. That champion gains (AP) attack speed. If the swapped champion dies, Aurora returns to the board. She teleports to hit the most enemies in a line, dealing (AP) to each one plus additional (AP) split between all enemies hit. The Dynamo trait makes the team gain additional mana with herself gaining an extra bonus.

Thanks for Reading! If you want to try and come up with your own team comps for Set 14, check out our Team Builder. For a complete overview of the new set, check out my blog on TFT Set 14.