TFT Set 12 Guide: How to Play Bastion

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

Welcome to our trait guide, where we’ll be covering the new Set 12 TFT trait: Bastion.

In this guide, we’ll explain how Bastion works, cover the different champions, provide notable Augment choices, and cover some potential team comps.

Explore all of the new Set 12 traits here!

How TFT Bastion Works

Bastion Trait Bonus

Allies gain 10 Armor and Magic Resist. Bastion champions gain more, increased by 100% for the first 10 seconds of combat.

• (2) 12%
• (4) 25%
• (6) 50%
• (8) 75%, execute increased to 20%

Every set almost always has a simple frontline trait that grants some extra Armor/MR stats. Bastion is Set 12’s simple frontline trait, with some slight differences to spice it up.

Instead of only granting themselves Armor/MR, the entire team gets a flat 10 Armor/MR, which is quite good considering you only need to splash in two Bastion units.

As you get higher in the trait, Bastions will gain more for themselves only. The 8 Bastion is a very interesting trait, making non-Bastions untargetable until 4 Bastions die.

While I say it’s interesting, it feels counterintuitive. Even at level 9, only one unit will be non-Bastion. Having them be untargetable seems like a minor bonus rather than a big vertical trait bonus.

Bastion Synergy

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

• Lillia (1G) – Faerie
• Poppy (1G) – Witchcraft
• Nunu (2G) – Honeymancy
• Hecarim (3G) – Multistriker + Arcana
• Shen (3G) – Pyro
• Taric (4G) – Portal
• Diana (5G) – Frost

TFT Bastion Champions

Lillia (1G) – Bastion + Faerie

[See Lillia’s Champion Page]

Since the Bastion trait is a defensive one, most Bastion’s will have abilities that also provide some defensive utility. In the case of Lillia, her ability heals herself while also damaging enemies around her.

As 1-cost unit, she mainly will be used in the early game. Her potential in late game team comps depends on potential reroll comps or vertical Faerie/Bastion comps.

Poppy (1G) – Bastion + Witchcraft

[See Poppy’s Champion Page]

Like Lillia, Poppy has a similar simple ability, except she gains a shield instead of healing. Her damage is single target, so it’s unlikely she will become a 1v9 reroll carry.

Her late game viability question is the same as Lillia. It really depends if a team comp can reroll, go vertical or utilize both of Poppy’s traits effectively to warrant keeping her.

Nunu (2G) – Bastion + Honeymancy

[See Nunu’s Champion Page]

Moving on, Nunu is our only 2-cost Bastion, and 2-costs are much more forgiving to keep in your team comp compared to 1-costs.

The Honeymancy trait is also a smaller trait compared to others, meaning it’s very possible Nunu sees play in a Honeymancy based comp.

Notably, Nunu’s ability provides the usual damage/defense (healing/magic damage), but he also Chills his target. If you’re able to Bite an enemy melee carry, the 20% Attack Speed reduction can be quite useful, even if it’s a short duration.

Hecarim (3G) – Bastion + Multistriker + Arcana

[See Hecarim’s Champion Page]

Up next, we have the only Bastion with three traits, Hecarim. In general, it’s pretty safe to leave 3-cost units on your board if they’re contributing to your team comp well.

As you reach the super late game (Stage 6), you can look to start replacing lower cost units with higher ones, but that’s dependent on your situation and whether you can afford to do a 5-cost transition.

Notably, Hecarim doesn’t have any defensive utility in his ability. He’s an offensive oriented Bastion, which matches his Multistriker trait.

His last trait, Arcana, is also very flexible, requiring only 2 units to provide a strong bonus for the team.

Shen (3G) – Bastion + Pyro

[See Shen’s Champion Page]

Shen is our next 3-cost Bastion, and he will mainly be used in Pyro team comps. The Pyro trait is quite small, so this is potentially a trait where you can fit 4 Bastion in. It may not be ideal, but it’s possible.

His ability is also very strong, providing damage reduction, knocking up his enemy, and dealing AoE damage.

Taric (4G) – Bastion + Portal

[See Taric’s Champion Page]

Up next, we have our 4-cost Bastion; Taric. He has a unique ability to redirect nearby projectiles to himself, letting him tank more damage.

He also gains damage reduction, and deals damage around him when the ability ends. Overall, it’s a solid ability, but nothing game breaking (hopefully).

Most notably, his Portal trait webs into another trait which synergizes with other Bastions. More on this in the team comps section.

Diana (5G) – Bastion + Frost

[See Diana’s Champion Page]

Lastly, we have Diana the 5-cost Bastion. She dashes around, deals AoE damage and heals/shields allies. Overall, she has a lot in her kit.

If she had some sort of CC, she might be too strong. As she stands, she’s a strong inclusion for team comps that want to include Bastion.

She likely will also see play in level 9 boards as she provides a lot of utility and a duo of Diana/Taric is quite potent.

Best TFT Bastion Augments

Bastion Crest/Crown

Gain a Bastion Emblem and a Nunu.

For the most part, defensive Emblems like Bastion aren’t premium. However, turning any unit into a Bastion opens up a lot of options.

For example, you can use Gwen or Fiora as a Bastion, making them extremely tanky melee carrys. You can also reach 8 Bastion, which provides a ton of defensive stats. The bonus effect is questionable, but it’s interesting to say the least.

For most comps, going from 3 to 4 Bastion isn’t the biggest deal. This Emblem shines when you use it with a specific purpose, like enabling a melee carry or going for the big vertical.

Raid Boss

Your strongest Bastion gains 20% Health. When other Bastions die, they transfer 20% of their Armor and Magic Resist to it. Gain a Nunu and a Poppy.

This is the Augment that can potentially make a vertical Bastion comp viable. Once 5 Bastions die, you will essentially have one unit with the tank stats of all 6 Bastions combined.

This Augment can either make vertical Bastion viable, or it’s a complete meme strategy that has a low success rate. Either way, it looks like a very exciting Augment to play.

Combat Bandages & Combat Caster

Combat Bandages: The first time each ally unit falls below 50% health, restore 175-400 health over 2 seconds.
Combat Caster: When one of your units casts their spell, they gain a 75-225 health shield for 4 seconds.

In almost every video game, spreading your resources across multiple stats results in the best performance. For Bastions, we want to scale their defensive capability.

Since Bastions already gain Armor and MR, the best way to scale this further is through Health. This has a multiplicative effect that increases their effective HP more than simply adding more Armor/MR.

These two Augments are just two examples of ways to get more “health.” Combat Bandages will heal your team, while Combat Caster will grant a shield (which is nearly equivalent to shield).

Both of these can make your team unkillable, you just need a way to actually deal damage as well.

TFT Bastion 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 Bastion team comps. We also will be updating our TFT Team Comps page as our team plays the PBE.

Bastion Blaster Team Comp

[Link to Builder]

This first comp uses the Bastion trait along with the Blaster trait to make a very  simple team comp. You have 4 Blasters to deal damage, and 4 Bastions to tank.

This team comp feels very intentional, as the traits from the Blasters/Bastions line up very well.

• Ezreal/Taric – Portal
• Varus/Shen – Pyro
• Hwei/Diana – Frost

This can make getting through the early game very easy as you have lots of Origin traits to flex into to play strongest board before transitioning to your final comp.

Norra activates Portal (3) while just being a solid overall unit. Smolder is a nice addition for damage, but you unfortunately can’t fit the Dragon trait without cutting something else.

8 Bastion Team Comp

[Link to Builder]

Up next, we have a theoretical 8 Bastion team comp. Since the team already consists of 8 Bastion units, it’s very difficult to fit in units that can carry the team’s damage.

In this situation, I decided to go with Kalista, as Guinsoo’s Rageblade provides the damage scaling necessary to eventually kill the enemy team.

Multistriker is nice to fit in as well, since you can add Camille with the Bastion Emblem. Overall, we have an extremely tanky frontline with Kalista chilling in the back.

Kalista will also be immune to damage until 4 Bastions die, which can be useful against any opponent with AoE or backline targeting abilities.

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.