TFT Patch 10.1 adds new Lunar trait and items, nerfs Nocturne

The first Teamfight Tactic update of 2020 is here. Patch 10.1 adds new champions, new Little Legends, and new items.

TFT is starting the year with some major changes that include a new trait with two new champions. This will be the second set of new units to be added to Set 2 Rise of the Elements, the first one being Soulbound with Senna and Lucian.

Patch 10.1 adds Lunar trait and little legends

TFT Patch 10.1 adds the new Lunar trait with two champions, Leona and Karma.

• Lunar: Every 7 seconds, your team gains 15% Critical Strike Chance, 15% Critical Strike Damage, and 10% Spell Power. It stacks up to four times.

Leona is a tier-one Warden and Lunar. Leona’s ability is called “Lunar Barrier” and it reduces all the damage done to her by 40/90/140 for 5 seconds.

Karma is a tier-three Mystic and Lunar, and her ability is “Inspire.” At the start of the combat, Karma creates a bond with the closest unit and grants the ally a shield that absorbs 250/400/800 damage for five seconds. The ally also receives an extra 60/70/80% Attack Speed.

Compared with Soulbound, which is more of an offensive trait, Lunar is a defensive trait that boosts the carries on the team. The Warden trait makes Leona a reliable and cheap from line. The additional Attack Speed granted by Karma is a good boost for the carry on the team.

Leona and Karma are not the only new faces in TFT Patch 10.1, as the game also added three new little legends.

Flutterbug, Craggle, and Tocker are the new little legends available. Flutterbug is a small bug that loves hiding. Craggle is a statue made of Demacian petricite that resembles Galio. Tocker is a little bird that enjoys tinkering with things. Each little legend egg is expected to go for 750 RP. The little legends will hit the store later this week.  

Item changes in TFT Patch 10.1

TFT Patch 10.1 brings major changes to the items starting with the addition of three new items, Last Whisper, Titan’s Resolve, and Bramble Vest.

• Last Whisper (Sparring Gloves + Recurve Bow): This item will replace Repeating Crossbow. When the unit deals a critical hit, it reduces the target’s Armor by 90% for 3 seconds.
• Titan’s Resolve (Chain Vest + Recurve Bow): This is replacing Phantom Dancer. When a unit hits or gets hit by a critical strike, they get a 2% damage bonus that stack up until 100%, at this point the unit gains 25 Armor and MR. It resets every round.
• Bramble Vest (Chain Vest + Chain Vest): Replaces Thornmail. Denies the bonus from critical attacks. When the unit gets hit by basic attacks, it deals magic damage to all nearby enemies. The item scales with the wearer’s level.

TFT Patch 10.1 introduces a new mechanic with three items that scale based on the star level of the unit holding it. These items are Locket of the Iron Solari, Luden’s Echo, and Statikk Shiv.

• Locket of the Iron Solari: Shields allies within two hexes in the same row for 250/275/300 damage for 8 seconds.
• Luden’s Echo: Deals 120/160/200 magic damage.
• Statikk Shiv: Deals 80 magic damage to 3/4/5 enemies.

Because of the scaling mechanic, these items work better with units from tier three and below because they’re easier to get to three stars.

Three items were reworked in Patch 10.1, Frozen Heart, Iceborn Gauntlet, and Ionic Spark.

• Frozen Heart: Nearby enemies’ attack speed is slowed by 40%. If the unit stacks this item, the radius increases.
• Iceborn Gauntlet: After casting a spell, the wearer’s next basic attack freezes the target for 1.5 seconds. Guaranteed crowd control for certain compositions.
• Ionic Spark: Enemies within 3 hexes that cast a spell are zapped, taking magic damage equal to 200% of their max Mana.
• Quicksilver: Wearer is immune to crowd control.

The new items bring new options to the board, and new mechanics like scaling encourage players to pursue three stars units. The meta is likely to shift around some of these items to better take advantage of them.

Changes to champions in Patch 10.1

At least two champions from each tier received a nerf or buff in Patch 10.1, and the most significant are Amumu and Nocturne.

Amumu is a Warden-Inferno that was introduced alongside the Soulbound champions. Soon, Amumu became one of the favorite five-cost units for players. The AOE plus a Morellonomicon and the Inferno trait literally set the board on fire. The only way to counter Amumu was to kill him fast.

In Patch 10.1 some of his power was taken away.

• Amumu: Stun Duration, 1.5/2/5. Ability Damage, 100/200/1337. Amumu Starting/Total Mana, 75/150.

Amumu still is a good option in the late game and the nerfs should not affect his playability.

The other champion to be nerfed is Nocturne. This unit was the favorite of the players in recent updates. Because of the bugs that made him deal more damage, Nocturne was easy to abuse if it was part of a Blademaster composition. Patch 10.1 addressed those bugs and made adjustments to the base stats.

Nocturne: Attack Speed, 0.7. Attack Damage 55.

This means that the “blender” meta is finally over.

The full patch notes are available here.