Set 18 TFT Guide: Learn how to play Draven Elder Dragon AD 95 in one guide

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1.Key Idea:

The key in this comp is use Draven and Elder Dragon's combined AOE damage to delete enemy team all together.

Draven's ult is his R in Summoner's Rift, where he throws his axes in a line, so make sure Draven stands in a line with the most enemies.

Normally, the opposite corner of enemy carry is very good, but it can be countered and requires calculation.

For example, your enemy may very well read your intention and switch at the last second, so you have to play the mind game with him, this is part of the game.

Then after Draven chop enemies down to 12% health, Elder Dragon can execute them. Elder Dragon also stuns the whole enemy team with his firat cast which is extremely useful in late game.

Don't get stuck on one 5-cost, be flexible!

Draven can be replaced with Lux if you have AP carry items instead of AD.

Lux is recently buffed in the D-patch, She is actually a very good choice now.
If you don't have attack speed or AP items but have Blue Buff and Spear of Shojin, you could also play Ashe! Ashe can be very good even without 2 Hunter.

Ezreal is also good if you start with an Elderwood opener and have Spear of Shojin. Elderwood is great as a pivot since the plants are very strong during the mid game.

He is mostly played when you have Executioner Emblem on Draven, because he can enable 3 Executioner for 30% Bleeding Bonus True Damage. However if you don't have Executioner Emblem, then Ashe is normally better than Ezreal, because Ashe can slow enemies with her ult which is very impactful in late game.

Must remember:
Whatever version of 95 you are playing, don't lose your HP intentionally!
Intentionally loss streaking is very bad in this set.
Play a strong board early and go to Lv9 step by step patiently!
If you don't have enough HP to go Lv9, just settle with a Aphelios or Sivir board at Lv8.

2.Early Openings

1. Inferno Elderwood Opening

Akali is a great fighter early, don't underestimate her, she can be pivot into Rengar or Brambleback ,then eventually Elder Dragon!

Varus is a early game AD caster, he is good at carrying Spear of Shojin, he is not very strong but he can do well in Stage 2. Then later on you can pivot into Sivir or Ezreal, eventually Ashe.

Xayah is a great attack speed marksman who is best at carrying items made of Recurve Bows. Which means not only those items that are shown on the picture but Last Whisper, Red Buff, Giant Slayer, etc.

Then you use her to pivot in to Tristana (could be reroll Tristana Rengar), Aphelios or Draven in the end.

You only need to have one of those carries itemized! Save some items for your tank!

2. Riftbeast Opening

Murkwolves→Elder Dragon (Could play Brambleback at Lv8 before Elder Dragon, Brambleback is also very strong.)

Mama Beak → Draven (Could play Aphelios at Lv8 before Draven comes or if it's dangerous to go Lv9, Aphelios is very close to Draven in Patch 18.1 in most cases.)

Xayah, Caitlyn, Mama Beak, Master Yi, Aphelios.

↑ Potential Item Carrier for Draven

Note: 3-Costs champion + Heroic Grab Bag is a very cheesy but incredibly simple and effective way to fast 9. Especially if you get it at 2-1, you will dominate stage 2 with your 3-costs 2 star, and have a lot of extra econ.

3. How to handle Stage 4

If you want to play a 95 board in high elo, you almost have to take a beating at Stage 4, unless you are playing an 84 board into 95. (Meaning: a Level 8 four-cost board into a Level 9 five-cost board.)

But 84→95 is safe and risky at the same time, you could guarantee Top 4, but could also get stuck at Lv8 and never get to go 9.

In a truly high elo lobby, even if you are playing a 3-cost or 4-cost carry board perfectly, you could still lose Stage 4 fights regardless, making the investment seem pointless afterwards.

Which means, fast 9 sometimes is the only solution.

Think about it in this way:

You win early game → Your enemies now want to win Stage 4 to secure Top 4 → You sacrifice Stage 4 → Your enemies roll down to 0 in Stage 4 → Your enemies throw their heaviest punches into the ocean → You fast 9 and win the game.

This is a perfect strategy with one precondition:

You have to win early game.

If you don't win early game, you won't have enough HP to take a beating at Stage 4 and survive.

So make sure you treat early game seriously. Slam your items (we talked about Thief's Gloves being good on Elder Dragon and Kennen), play your strongest board, and sometimes cheese with augments. This is how you truly play 95 in high elo.

If you have the "Duo Queue," "Glided Steel," or "Luxury Subscription" augments, you could welcome your 5-cost a little bit earlier, saving yourself the trouble of finding an item holder during the pivot and potentially winning some rounds during mid game.

However, it also comes with a risk — it could be a completely different 5-cost that can't use your items at all. So you should only choose these augments when you are sure your items are flexible, or when you are really stuck at an economy breaking point and don't have enough gold to find an item holder.

4. How to choose your tank

Maokai is a scaling tank, if he comes early then he is the best.

But if Maokai comes around the same time with Taric, then Taric is better.

For 4 costs tank, they are crucial for your mid game, and enable your synergies.

2 stars 4 costs tank > 1 star 5 costs tank

For example, if your Amumu or Sentinel gets upgraded to 2 star first, then they should be your main tank.

5. How to itemize Elder Dragon best?

Elder Dragon is a lot like Brock from Set 16, they both have very low attack speed and their first ult can stun the whole map.

Elder Dragon's best artifacts are: Mittens, Death's Defiance and Silvermere Dawn.

Infinity Force, Titanic Hydra, Fishbone, Gold Collector are A tier artifacts on Elder Dragon. They are not the best but still will perform much better than normal items.

A lot of people mistaken that you have to get perfect damage items on Elder Dragon, that is not true.

Elder Dragon's BIS items are Infinity Edge, Sterak's Cage, Striker's Flail.

But he is also great with items such as Red Buff, Blue Buff and Quicksilver.

Therefore as you can see, you can literally create a lot amount of combos for Edler Dragon's items. He is even very good with Thief's Gloves.

6. Item Flexbility

You don't need perfect items for this comp!

However you should prio Backline Carry items (means Draven, Ezreal or Lux) items more than your Tank items.

We talked about Elder Dragon and Kennen are totally fine with TG (Thief's Gloves), and frontline items can create very little difference.

Draven really needs that one Guinsoo's Rageblade to guarantee his attack speed, which equals to Ezreal and Lux need Shojin or Blue Buff.

On top of the core item, the rest two items can be slightly flexible. But in general for Draven: You can choose between Executioner Emblem, Kraken's Fury and Death Blade. Double Kraken' is also really good.

For Ezreal: Shojin (Blue Buff) + Death Blade, Last Whisper, Striker's Flail.

Ivern is best with mana items, Double Spear of Shojin or Adapative Helm are best on him.

Potential flex slots:

Elder Dragon or Kennen can be replaced with Gnar, Gnar can use fighter items and TG (Thief's Gloves) just as well.

After Gnar, you could add in Alistar for 2 Brawlers and 3 Elderwood, making your frontline even tankier.

You could also always add in Lux, certain Lux gives special benefit to your whole team or weaken enemy team.

If Draven has Executioner Emblem, then you could add in Soraka for more Executioner, so Draven/Ezreal/Kennen can be buffed together.

We have a detailed guide for Draven 95 and Draven bounty. Please click here to see the guide if you are interested!

Thank you so much for reading! <3