TFT Set 14 Guide: How to Play Strategist

Welcome to our trait guide, where we’ll be covering the Strategist trait in the new TFT Set 14: Cyber City. In this guide, we’ll explain how Strategist 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!

Strategist Trait Bonus

Champions: Ekko 2g / LeBlanc 2g / Yuumi 3g / Neeko 4g / Ziggs 4g

Combat Start: Allies in the back 2 rows gain Damage Amp. Allies in the front 2 rows gain Durability. Strategists get triple.

• (2) 7% DA, 5% DR
• (3) 11% DA, 7% DR
• (4) 16% DA, 11% DR
• (5) 20% DA, 14% DR

Strategist is a great positioning based trait that benefits your entire team. Its versatility allows both frontliners and backliners to benefit, giving them increased Damage Amp or Durability. Compared to most other class traits which usually focus on a single stat or two, Strategist feels more universally powerful. No matter what, your champions will always get something out of enabling Strategist.

Strategist Synergy

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

• Ekko – Street Demon
• LeBlanc – Cypher
• Yuumi – Anima Squad / A.M.P.
• Neeko – Street Demon
• Ziggs – Cyberboss

While there are only five existing Strategist champions, conveniently two of them happen to share some overlap. Ekko and Neeko both have Street Demon, and since that’s a vertical trait, there’s very good reason to pair the two together.

However, even without synergies, this is another class trait with an easy 2/3/4/5 layout. So no matter how many Strategists you decide to include, you’ll always be rewarded for adding more.

Ekko Street Demon Strategist 2g

Ekko is probably the most simple of the bunch. His ability Paintover simply heals him Health and deals magic damage to the target. That’s essentially it. However, as mentioned above, having overlap with Neeko makes him extra valuable as a Street Demon. If you plan on going down that road, the trait combination makes for an easy slot-in.

LeBlanc Cypher Strategist 2g

LeBlanc is an AP caster that scales the longer the fight goes on. Each cast of her Data Spike ability sends sigils that deal alternating magic damage between her target and the nearest enemy, but every additional cast adds one more. If your frontline can keep her protected she’ll get progressively stronger over time, giving her potential to be a solid AP carry.

Yuumi Anima Squad A.M.P. Strategist 3g

Yuumi has pretty ordinary abilities overall, but her passive Mana regeneration and access to three traits definitely warrants her inclusion. It’s an easy way to stay flexible on the board while providing solid utility to the team if Strategist is active.

Neeko Street Demon Strategist 4g

Neeko’s Pop Up Mural ability Shields her, then creates an expanding zone three times that deals magic damage to all enemies hit. The third hit applies Chill to the affected enemies, allowing her to be a tanky nuisance that gets in the way of her opponents. Once again, paired with Ekko creates an easy Street Demon + Strategist web, making Neeko an obvious choice when going vertical.

Ziggs Cyberboss Strategist 4g

Ziggs deals AoE magic damage with his Bomberyordle ability. It’s uniquely dealt in a “+” shape, and is also further amplified if Ziggs has the Cyberboss bonus. Both Strategist and Cyberboss are pretty welcome traits since they each only require two pieces to activate, making Ziggs a generically solid backline unit.

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.