Teamfight Tactics patch 12.1 shaking up meta with nerfs to 5-cost champions

Nicholas James Published 05/01/2022

Teamfight Tactics patch 12.1 is here and will look to shake up the meta that has formed over the holidays.

Patch 12.1 targets the best 5-cost champions, Socialite, and a bunch of traits for nerfs. Meanwhile Swain, Seraphine, Caitlyn, Imperial, Yordle, and Innovator are all getting buffs next to some underperforming augments. The Teamfight Tactics metagame has become increasingly stale over the balance hiatus during the holidays and patch 12.1 looks to shake it up significantly.

5-cost nerfs make Teamfigh Tactics less top-heavy

5-cost units have been insanely powerful in Gizmos and Gadgets, with almost every 5-cost able to solo carry or otherwise influence the outcome of a game on their own. Riot Games is clearly looking to trim down the power of the best 5-costs, particularly Tahm Kench, Kai’Sa, and Galio.

Kai’Sa in particular has been one-shotting entire enemy rosters with her infinitely-scaling barrage of Void missiles since the launch of the set. Even one of the lead designers of Teamfight Tactics, Mortdog, commented that Kai’Sa was unfun and too powerful in December 2021.

Galio sees his second set of nerfs after having his AD-focused build nerfed last month. Galio and Socialite have both been overperforming, enabling single units to shred through entire rosters with ease. Socialite 2 will be giving out less mana, and Yordle’s minion creation odds have been made better for more expensive Yordles.

Hextech Augment changes Teamfight Tactics meta

A lot of Hextech Augments are getting balance touches as well, including buffs and nerfs. The augments have been a massive hit over the course of the Teamfight Tactics set, with the player base exploding. The branching decision trees that Hextech Augments offer have kept players interested and intrigued.

Some of the notable augments being rebalanced include a health buff to Woodland Charm after its move up to Chromatic tier. A lot of Heart and Crest augments have been changed to give out a different unit, some increasing and others decreasing in gold value. These changes are mostly contextual and will mainly change two-starring in given games for particular units.

The full patch can be seen on Riot’s website. The patch looks to be a substantial revamping of TFT’s power structure to start off the new year.

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

View full profile