This guide was originally written as our initial impressions of Set 18 at the time of its reveal, prior to the PBE launch. For up-to-date guidance, click on any champion links, or check out our Meta Comps section below.
Welcome to our trait guide, where we'll be covering the Vanguard trait in TFT Set 18: Enchanted Wilds. In this guide, we'll explain how Vanguard works, cover its different champions, explore potential trait combinations, and highlight Vanguard meta comps, including Apheliguards and Thrill of the Hunt.
This guide was written by Oli.
Vanguard Meta Comps
Vanguard gives you a flexible frontline with natural links to Lunar, Elderwood and Riftbeast. That leaves plenty of room to choose your damage dealers around the items and upgrades you find.
Here are a few comps that play around the Vanguard trait.
Apheliguards
Apheliguards plays Aphelios and Brambleback behind 4 Vanguard, with Ancient Sentinel as your main tank. Give Sentinel the Alpha Mark and pair him with Taric once you find him.
A Riftbeast opener with Cinderling, Murkwolf, Scuttlecrab and Rakan works well, or use Xayah behind upgraded Vanguards. Push to level 8 for your 4-cost carries, then add Ivern or Lux at level 9.
AD components and an economy augment are strong indicators. Item augments such as Carve a Path helps supply B.F. Swords for Aphelios and Brambleback, making it easier to itemise both carries.
Carries: Aphelios, Brambleback, Ancient Sentinel and Ivern Leveling: Fast 8
Thrill of the Hunt
Thrill of the Hunt pairs Rengar and Mama Beak with Hecarim as your main tank, working towards 4 Vanguard. Slow roll at level 7 for your carries and frontline, also collecting Diana copies.
An early Rengar lets you start building Rival stacks. Support him with Ornn, Alistar and Xayah for Elderwood, or play around any upgraded frontline.
Rageblade or Edge of Night components and uncontested 3-costs are good signs. Heroic Grab Bag or Trade Sector helps finish your upgrades, while Mama Beak should hold the Alpha Mark once 3 Riftbeast is active.
Rakan's Entrancing Dance ability gains a shield, then grants the ally who has dealt the most damage this combat some attack speed. This makes Rakan a great support unit that will buff up your main carry even further while also offering 3 traits, making him a strong 1-cost unit.
Elise can transform into a spider with her Spider Queen ability. While transformed, Elise gains max health and her attacks deal bonus magic damage while also healing her, making her one tough spider. If that isn't enough, then every cast after her first transformation will grant her decaying attack speed.
Hecarim's Spirit of Dread ability gives him Armor and Magic Resist for a few seconds while also restoring health. This will make him a nightmare to take down, especially if he's itemised. He's not alone, though, as his ability will launch Spectral Riders at the nearest enemies, which will deal magic damage and even stun them for a few seconds.
The Ancient Sentinel's ability is extremely powerful. Once they cast Azure Shockwave, they'll gain a shield and slam the ground, sending a fissure toward the most enemies. It doesn't just do damage, enemies will also be knocked up and Mana Reaved.
The play with Ancient Sentinel will be to make him cast first before the enemy champions get their ability off, as Mana Reave will increase the Mana cost of their next ability, giving you the edge at the start of every team fight.
Taric pairs with your strongest carry, and his passive makes it so that when he or his paired ally drops below a certain HP, he will unleash emerald energy, which will grant a bunch of shields to keep them alive.
As for his active, when Taric casts Emerald Radiance, Taric restores health while he and his paired ally deal bonus magic damage on their next attacks.
Thanks for reading! If you want to try creating your own team comps for Set 18, check out our Team Builder. For a full overview of the new set, check out our TFT Set 18 Reveal Page, or explore all of the new Set 18 traits here!
