Alongside the Hextech trait, Camille, Jayce, Vi, and Jinx blasted into the Convergence with Patch 9.16. What did they add to Teamfight Tactics? What was their impact on the meta? We debunk all these questions in this article!
Position matters
Because of the new Hextech trait, it's crystal clear that Patch 9.16 shifted towards a meta in which positioning is really important. We used to care only for Yasuo and Blitzcrank positions but this era is now dead and forgotten. Because of the Hextech trait, it is now almost mandatory to position properly if you want to avoid all your items to get disabled.
- Position your champions according to the Hextech trait — meaning you will try to keep all tiles free around champions that carry items. Keep in mind that such positioning will make the Guardian trait unplayable.
- Do not stack all your items on the same Champion. If you're aiming at a full-built hyper-carry such as Aurelion Sol, Draven, or Jinx, you will eventually need to stack three items on the same champion. However, during the early or the mid-game, it might be interesting to split some of your items among your Champions. One Champion carrying one item might become the target of your opponent's Hextech trait, thus letting your hyper-carry free to do his job with his three items still enabled.
Impact on Probabilities
It's basic maths: if you increase the overall pool of Champions available in the game, you're reducing the chances of getting the same Champion. With the addition of five new Champions — Twisted Fate a few weeks ago, and the four Hextechs with the latest patch — it's now statistically harder to level-up a champion.
Aiming for Four Hextechs?
For now, reaching the second breaking point of the Trait seems pretty useless. Jinx and Vi are strong champions, but we can't really say the same for Jayce and Camille. These two latter ones will indeed create a weak point within your compositions, so we strongly suggest you avoid them. Most of the time, the first breaking point of the Trait will be enough to disable all your opponent's items — meaning you don't actually need more.
Our Opinion on Hextechs
Cost: 1 gold
Camille is probably the weakest champions of the Hextech family — and not only because she is a Tier 1 champion. She can easily be a part of your frontline within a Blademaster composition, however, she requires tank items to be actually viable.
Cost: 2 gold
Jayce has actually one insane burst when he transforms but his damage output will eventually fade away while his range will stay the same. Compared to other Shapeshifters, Jayce seems a bit weak when leaving the early game. He might carry you for a few rounds, but you will eventually ditch him for another Shapeshifter.
Cost: 3 gold
Within the current meta, Vi is a must pick — especially because she plays a key role in the Void/Brawlers composition. Like other Champions who have a Crowd Control ability, Vi dominates the late-game.
Cost: 4 gold
Jinx is without a doubt the most powerful champions of the Hextech family. Her passive ability makes her a true machine of war — especially since she doesn't need mana and is thus countering the Demon compositions.
To sum it up quickly: Hextech trait is worth it, but all four Champions entitled with this Origin aren't good to play. If you're aiming at a Demon/Shapeshifter composition, then it might be interesting to pick Jayce in the early game before ditching it for Shyvana. Following the same logic, you can pick Camille to quickly reach the (3) Blademaster, but you will eventually get rid of her.
If you want to follow the meta, then pick Jinx and Vi, and aim at a Void/Brawler/Gunslinger composition: you will crush everyone on your path.
Sadly, Pantheon won't be shipped to live servers until Patch 9.17. However, we can comfort ourselves with the Patch 9.16b and the load of nerfs that it brings...
