TFT Set 14 Guide: How to Play Bruiser

Welcome to our trait guide, where we’ll be covering the Bruiser trait in the new TFT Set 14: Cyber City. In this guide, we’ll explain how Bruiser works, cover the different champions, and give a quick rundown of the other potential traits you could branch into.

Explore all of the new Set 14 traits here!

Bruiser Trait Bonus

Champions: Alistar 1g / Dr. Mundo 1g / Darius 2g / Gragas 3g / Mordekaiser 3g / Cho’Gath 4g / Kobuko 5g

Your team gains 100 max Health. Bruisers gain more.

• (2) 20% Health
• (4) 45% Health
• (6) 75% Health

Bruiser is a simple as it gets, offering 100 Health to your team with additional Health scaling for Bruisers. During the early game this is a pretty sizeable amount and requires very little investment to enable it.

However, later on once damage values are higher it won’t likely be too impactful. Going vertical with an army of tanks isn’t typically a great idea, and unfortunately the 6-piece doesn’t offer anything exciting.

Bruiser Synergy

Here’s a rundown of the traits you can branch into from Brusier:

• Alistar – Golden Ox
• Dr. Mundo – Street Demon / Slayer
• Darius – Syndicate
• Gragas – Divinicorp
• Mordekaiser – Exotech / Techie
• Cho’Gath – BoomBots
• Kobuko – Cyberboss

There unfortunately isn’t any overlap between Bruisers, but that’s okay. Picking up a couple for the extra 100 Health will likely be the more common scenario, as it nets you an early benefit and keeps your options open.

Alistar Golden Ox Bruiser 1g

Alistar’s passive ability reduces all incoming damage by a flat amount, making him great at tanking damage in the early game before champions scale with items and upgraded tiers. Additionally, his active ability Gilded Endurance deals magic damage and Stuns the target for two seconds.

This is excellent utility for a 1-cost unit, as CC is always welcome and a two second duration is above the norm. It may even be enough to keep Alistar relevant in the later stages of the game, despite the reduction falling off.

Dr. Mundo Street Demon Bruiser Slayer 1g

Dr. Mundo makes great use of his Bruiser trait since his passive ability increases the amount of max Health he gains from any source. As for his active ability, he flexes on enemies by healing himself and damaging the target. This makes him a great meat shield as a 1-cost unit, and on top of that he comes with three traits for extra flexibility.

Darius Syndicate Bruiser 2g

Darius’s Kneecapper ability first heals himself, then deals physical damage and Sunders nearby enemies for six seconds. This allows him to fulfill a tank and supporting role, particularly for your AD carries that can take advantage of the debuff. Additionally, if you decide to give him the Kingpin hat his ability range increases, allowing you to Sunder a wider range of foes.

Gragas Divinicorp Bruiser 3g

Gragas, just like Darius and Dr. Mundo, heals at the start of casting his ability. Afterwards, he throws a cask towards the largest group of enemies within range (3 hexes), dealing AoE magic damage to those nearby.

What separates Gragas from others is his Divinicorp buff, giving additional Health to his entire team. This works perfectly alongside a Bruiser buff, providing a nice extra buffer with little cost.

Mordekaiser Exotech Bruiser Techie 3g

Mordekaiser’s Antivirus ability grants him a four second Shield while slamming the targeted enemy for magic damage. This damage extends in a 2-hex line, Stunning all enemies that get hit. This pairs extremely well with his Techie trait as it will also apply a damage debuff to those hit (for a few seconds).

As a 3-cost unit with an AoE Stun and debuff capabilities, Mordekaiser looks very strong. If that’s not enough, he’s got three traits that only take 2-3 units to enable.

Cho’Gath BoomBots Bruiser 4g

Cho’Gath is an AP tank that deals magic damage in a cone with his Sonic Scream ability. This scales with Health and AP, and every cast also increases the size of Cho’Gath and the ability itself. With enough time this can really get out of hand, as the longer he survives in a fight, the harder it will be to kill him. He definitely fits the Bruiser role well.

Kobuko Cyberboss Bruiser 5g

Kobuko can deal a good chunk of extra damage thanks to his passive. It grants bonus magic damage to each attack, and also gives him an eight second Shield once his Health is reduced to a certain percentage. During that time, he also has increased Attack Speed, gains Omnivamp, along with a healthy boost of Mana.

As for his active ability, well, the name sells itself; Game Over! Kobuko gains increased Durability for a moment as he picks up an enemy, Knocking Up all enemies within range. This is even further amplified if Kobuko gets the Cyberboss bonus, extending the range and greatly increasing the damage. Standalone Kobuko can do a ton of work, but alongside a Cyberboss squad he’ll be an absolute menace.

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.