TFT 18.5 Tier List and Meta: Best Comps and Patch Changes

Released on October 20, 2026

This patch has 16 buffs, 20 nerfs and 7 adjustments.

What changed

Fae (2/4): Heal: 2.5/4% ⇒ 3/5%; 4th Pixie Threshold: 30000 ⇒ 25,000; 5th Pixie Threshold: 70000 ⇒ 60,000; 6th Pixie Threshold: 110000 ⇒ 100,000
Caitlyn: Empowered Auto Damage: 190/285/470 AD ⇒ 200/300/490 AD
Mama Beak: Mana lock now ends when the Tiny Beaks start to despawn rather than finish, reducing total Mana Lock time by ~1 second.; Ability Attack Damage: 22/33/52 AD ⇒ 20/30/50 AD
Master Yi: AD Form: Starting Attack Damage: 60 ⇒ 63; AP Form: AP Ability Damage: 125/190/285 AP ⇒ 135/200/320 AP
Tristana: Mana Buff: 0/60 ⇒ 0/50; Ability Damage per Attack: 10/15/25 AD ⇒ 12/18/28 AD
Brambleback: Alpha Mark Heal: 4% ⇒ 5%; Armor Ignore: 20% + 25% AP ⇒ 25% + 25% AP
Malphite: Shield: 700/850 AP ⇒ 735/885 AP
Morgana: Initial Curse Damage: 60/90 AP ⇒ 70/105 AP; Curse Bonus Damage: 22/33 AP ⇒ 25/38 AP
Sett: Heal AP Amount: 225/275 AP ⇒ 250/300 AP
Soraka: Initial Star Damage: 225/335 AP ⇒ 235/355 AP; Additional Star Damage: 100/150 AP ⇒ 110/165 AP
Alune: Moonshard Damage: 55/83 AP ⇒ 58/88 AP; Attack Speed: 0.8 ⇒ 0.85; Attuned Durability: 7% ⇒ 5%
Ashe: DoT Damage: 9/14 AD ⇒ 11/16 AD
Taric: Resists: 65 ⇒ 70; Ability empowered two attacks Damage: 100/150 AP ⇒ 130/200 AP
Malicious Monetization: Initial Gold Granted: 4 ⇒ 6
Nesting Anvils: Gold Granted: 4 ⇒ 6
Patience is a Virtue: Initial Rerolls: 4 ⇒ 5

Blackthorn: 6 Piece Enhanced Bonus: 60% ⇒ 50%; Base AP Sacrifice: 12% Damage Amp + 2 Mana Regen ⇒ 10% Damage Amp + 2 Mana Regen
Elderwood (9): 9-Piece Summon Bonus Health: 140% ⇒ 125%
Flora Fatalis: Max Health Healing: 8% ⇒ 7%
Rapidfire: AS Per Attack: 3/5/8/12% ⇒ 3/5/7/10%
Riftbeast (7): AD/AP: 6% ⇒ 5%
Azir: Ability Damage: 46/69/110 AP ⇒ 43/65/105 AP
Kha'Zix: Unisolated Damage: 255/360/515 AP ⇒ 250/345/500 AP; Isolated Damage: 285/410/605 AP ⇒ 280/390/590 AP
Sentinel: Stun Duration: 1s ⇒ 0.5s; Shield: 350/450 AP ⇒ 375/475 AP
Radiant Adaptive Helm: Mana Regen: 7 ⇒ 6; Non Tank/Fighter AD/AP: 40 ⇒ 35
Radiant Blue Buff: Base AD/AP: 30% ⇒ 25%
Expected Unexpectedness: Stage 3 Gold Granted: 18 ⇒ 15; Stage 4 Gold Granted: 20 ⇒ 18; Stage 4 5 Costs Granted: 3 ⇒ 2; 5 Cost roll reward now additionally grants 3 gold.
Flowing Tears: Mana Threshold for Cashout: 6500 ⇒ 7000
Investment Strategy I: Initial Gold: 6 ⇒ 3
Investment Strategy II: Initial Gold: 10 ⇒ 6
Omega Riftbeast: Bonus HP: 10% ⇒ 8%; Bonus AS: 10% ⇒ 8%
Pandora's Bench: Gold Granted: 4 ⇒ 1
Pandora's Items II: Gold Granted: 4 ⇒ 1
Prismatic Destiny: Gold Granted: 4 ⇒ 2
Promised Protection: HP Granted: 200 ⇒ 175
Seraphim's Staff: AP Threshold: 90% ⇒ 110%

Sivir: Ability Damage: 200/300 AD ⇒ 220/330 AD; Bounce Damage: 20% of initial ⇒ 18% of initial
Heart of Steel: Re-disabled due to a bug.
Item Extraction: No longer grants a Veigar
Pandora's Items II+: Appears on 3-2; Grants 4 gold
Pandora's Items II++: Appears on 4-2; Grants 6 gold
U.R.F: Is now excluded from Coronation, Spreading Roots, Spreading Roots+, The Trait Tree, and The Trait Tree+.
We Stick Together: Tailoring changes from 18.3 are now correctly applied.; Tooltip updated for clarity

Analyst tiers recorded during patch 18.5.

Brambleback Riftbeast (S tier): Challenger avg 4.26 (1,822 games); heavily played: 7.0% in Challenger, 9.8% across all ranks (popularity correction 0.07). Raw average says A, analyst score says S.
Alune Vanguard (S tier): Challenger avg 4.13 (851 games). Raw average agrees: S.
Aphelios Elderwood (S tier): Challenger avg 4.31 (1,404 games); heavily played in Challenger: 5.4% pick rate, 1.9x all ranks (popularity correction 0.01). Raw average says A, analyst score says S.
Draven Juggernaut (A tier): Challenger avg 4.30 (2,128 games); heavily played: 8.1% in Challenger, 8.3% across all ranks (popularity correction 0.09). Raw average says B, analyst score says A.
Teemo Reroll (A tier): Few Challenger games (4.29 in 497), Master+ avg 4.39 (10,363 games); stronger in lower ranks (all ranks 4.08). Raw average says S, analyst score says A.
Master Yi Slowroll (A tier): Few Challenger games (4.48 in 373), Master+ avg 4.29 (7,535 games). Raw average agrees: A.
Karma Slowroll (A tier): Challenger avg 4.34 (1,674 games); stronger in high elo (all ranks 4.53); heavily played in Challenger: 6.4% pick rate, 1.7x all ranks (popularity correction 0.03). Raw average says B, analyst score says A.
Draven (A tier): Challenger avg 4.27 (994 games); heavily played: 3.8% in Challenger, 4.9% across all ranks (popularity correction 0.02). Raw average agrees: A.

The previous patch's tiers were not stored; the list follows the MetaTFT trend.

Over the first week of Patch 18.5, Brambleback and Kha'Zix have outperformed other carries. To keep the meta as varied and vibrant as the Enchanted Wilds should be, we're shipping a small and targeted balance patch tomorrow. For full details check the notes: h…
Teamfight Tactics (@TFT), October 27, 2026, X
Our mid-patch update with a partial revert to Brambleback's 18.5 buff and several bug fixes is now live! Full details here: https://teamfighttactics.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/news/game-updates/teamfight-tactics-patch-18-5/
Teamfight Tactics (@TFT), October 22, 2026, X
Article We’ve got a lot to talk about today! We’re covering what to expect from our upcoming standalone client launch plus how it will evolve over the next several patches and a small sneak peek at our next
Teamfight Tactics (@TFT), November 2, 2026, X