TFT Set 12 Guide: How to Play Arcana

How to Play Arcana — TFT Set 12: Magic N’ Mayhem

TFT Set 12 is just around the corner, and, in this guide, we’ll be covering everything you need to know about the new TFT trait: Arcana.

We’ll go over how Arcana works, the different Arcana Champions, good Augments, team comps, and more.

Explore all of the new Set 12 traits here!

How TFT Arcana Works

Arcana Trait Bonus

(2) Use the Arcana signifier item to choose a High Arcana champion. Arcana’s effect changes based on the High Arcana.

• Ahri: Your team gains Ability Power for each 3-star champion.
• Hecarim: Champions holding items gain damage reduction and Attack Damage.
• Tahm Kench: Your team gains Health for each active trait.
• Xerath: Abilities deal bonus true damage for each Charm purchased this game.
• Emblem: Your team gains bonus damage for each fielded champion holding a Spatula item.

Arcana has a similar vibe to Mecha-Prime from Set 8 since you select one unit to become the “High Arcana.” However, instead of transforming into a giant mech, Arcana provides a different trait bonus depending on your High Arcana.

This makes the trait extremely flexible, as you can choose a different bonus depending on what you want or what you can fit in. The trait also only requires two units, making it very easy to flex into a variety of team comps.

Arcana Synergy

Here are all of the Arcana Champions and their other traits:

• Ahri (2G) – Scholar
• Hecarim (3G) – Bastion + Multistriker
• Tahm Kench (4G) – Vanguard
• Xerath (5G) – Ascendant

Considering there are only four Arcana units, there isn’t too much to flex into. Xerath’s other trait, Ascendant, is also Xerath’s exclusive trait. For all intents and purposes, Xerath only has the Arcana trait.

However, there’s still hope. Hecarim and Tahm Kench are both frontline units with the Bastion and Vanguard trait respectively. Ahri has the Scholar trait, which helps you flex into AP comps, and Hecarim’s third trait is Multistriker, flexing into AD comps.

The main struggle with Arcana is trying to fit two of them into one team. None of the units overlap traits, so you need the other units in the team comp to combine with them well.

TFT Arcana Champions

Ahri (2G) – Arcana + Scholar

[See Ahri’s Champion Page]

Ahri is a simple 2-cost backline AP damage dealer, and her Scholar trait helps her gain more mana. She’s definitely more of a selfish unit, but her Scholar trait can be useful in AP comps.

Her High Arcana trait grants the entire team bonus AP depending on how many 3-stars you have. This makes Ahri a potential reroll carry along with other low-cost units.

You’ll need one more Arcana to activate the trait, which won’t be too hard to do.

Hecarim (3G) – Arcana + Bastion + Multistriker

[See Hecarim’s Champion Page]

Up next, Hecarim has three traits, making him more flexible than most units. His Bastion trait makes him a solid frontline unit, and his Multistriker trait also gives him a home in other team comps.

His High Arcana trait bonus is almost like “Cybernetic” granting a buff to champions that are holding an item. The buff grants AD and damage reduction, which is perfect for Multistrikers, who are often melee carrys like Fiora.

Tahm Kench (4G) – Arcana + Vanguard

[See Tahm Kench’s Champion Page]

Tahm Kench is our next Arcana, and he’s a simple but powerful 4-cost tank. His ability provides strong CC, which makes him a great unit for lots of teams.

The Vanguard trait provides more frontline potential, synergizing with team comps that prefer to use Vanguards as their frontline.

Tahm’s High Arcana trait bonus provides bonus Health based on the number of active traits. This is reminiscent of Jazz/Stand United, which incentivizes you to play a team with many small traits rather than one big vertical.

This opens up more potential team comps, but at the end of the day, the meta will determine whether this bonus is effective or not.

Xerath (5G) – Arcana + Ascendant

[See Xerath’s Champion Page]

Lastly, we have Xerath, a powerful AP damage dealer with no real traits other than Arcana. His Ascendant trait makes it so Ascendant Charms appear in your shop, which are essentially more powerful Charms.

His High Arcana trait converts some of his ability damage into true damage, based on the number of Charms purchased. Xerath will likely be a strong carry for many late game boards, including Fast 9 team comps.

Best TFT Arcana Augments

Arcana Crest & Arcana Crown

Gain an Arcana Emblem and an Ahri.

As with almost every trait, getting an Emblem opens up powerful teambuilding options. This can be especially true for Arcana, since with an Emblem, you only need to field one Arcana unit of your choice.

From there, you can decide whether to have the High Arcana be the Emblem holder, or the other Arcana unit of your choosing. If you pick the Emblem holder, your team gains more damage based on the number of Emblems you have.

This is especially interesting if you’re playing game with lots of Emblems. You can pick Tahm Kench for lots of bonus Health (by activating more traits), or the Emblem holder for lots of extra damage.

Trait Tracker

The first time you end player combat with 7 different traits, gain 5 random emblems.

Trait Tracker is a very interesting High Stakes Augment. This Augment gives you 5 random emblems upon fulfilling the condition. If you happen to get an Arcana Emblem, you’re already halfway there.

All of the extra Emblems also play well with the High Arcana effects of Hecarim, Tahm Kench, and the Emblem.

High Arcana Hecarim buffs every item holder, Tahm Kench gives more Health based on active traits, and the Emblem effect gives more damage based on the amount of Emblems.

All of these bonuses are amplified by the 5 random Emblems you get from Trait Tracker. While this may make you dizzy trying to build a team comp with 5 random Emblems, it will no doubt be extremely fun.

TFT Arcana Team Comps

As of writing this article, the PBE has yet to even release yet. While I was fortunate enough to participate in the playtest for Set 12, we definitely need more time to test/theorycraft team comps.

Be sure to check back as I’ll be updating this section with potential Arcana team comps. We also will be updating our TFT Team Comps page as our team plays the PBE.

Thanks for Reading! If you want to try and come up with your own team comps for Set 12, check out our Team Builder. For a full overview on the new set, check out our TFT Set 12 Reveal Page.