Set 6 Initial Impressions

Set 6 is great.  Easily the best set thus far, even if we were forced to play the initial patch for the next 3 months.  The only true balance outlier is Twisted Fate, who egregiously has extra Armor/MR.  Yone is too forgiving, Fiora too weak, Lux too punishing.  A few of the augments are not balanced very well (Phony Frontline especially).  This is my entire list of gripes.  I only hope the high complexity and sheer amount of reading don't scare off the casual players.

I hope to see the following for accessibility's sake alone.

• Socialite and Mutant need to be revealed at the start of the game.  It's not fun to repeatedly have to figure these out, especially when they drastically change the power level of affected units.  I am OK with the second Socialite hex staying hidden because revealing will probably just confuse people.
• The first augment should be on 2-1, not 1-3.  Too many of the augments are really committal, and you're often forced to take a massive risk at the very beginning of the game.  

My core argument in favor of these is fun.  Clerical work is not fun.  Having to take a massive risk before the game really begins is not fun.

Twisted Fate

Twisted Fate is probably the best unit that's ever been in TFT.  1 cost, 1 auto to first cast, huge AOE, reasonable base damage, Range, good traits, decent base HP... AND 5 EXTRA ARMOR AND MR?  Something always slips through the cracks early in a sets life cycle, and here it's TF.  Unlike set 4.5's Rakan, who basically made every fight go to overtime and killed the entire team with Sunfire Cape at 2 star, TF is a fun unit to play with that's just too powerful, nothing egregious.  Maybe it's a little egregious that 2 star TF is an acceptable carry into the end of the game, especially with Morello and maybe a GA too, but he's certainly not shining at that point.

If you get the privilege of starting Rod/Belt TF so that you can fish for early Morello, you're really doing it.

I think you might be able to play Vanguard/Mystic this set with Braum/TF/Darius, filling out the rest of your comp as needed, but only because TF is so overpowered.  Hopefully I'll get to try it once.

No More Demotion

One of the best general changes this time around.  Demoting sucks, and it's a huge incentive for people to stop playing or make alt accounts and grief bad players.  Especially with end of season cosmetic rewards on the line, this is a fantastic change.  Everyone has gone on that awful streak where they play 20 games while tilted, drinking, limit testing, and demote from Master to Diamond or worse.  I personally know someone who demoted from 750 LP GM to Diamond 1 in the span of a week.  Their (I)dentity is safe with me.

Quick Thoughts:

Best/Worst Unit by Cost

• (1) Best: TF, obviously.
     Worst: Ziggs, can lose to creeps
• (2) Best: Swain, CC/Good Traits/Resilient.
       Worst: Kog'Maw, 30 AD KEKW
• (3) Best: Zac, great CC/Good Traits
       Worst: Lissandra, buggy and narrow
  
• (4) Best: Yone, stupidly forgiving
       Worst: Fiora, stupidly low damage
• (5) Best: Yuumi,  Good at everything except actually killing units
       Worst: Viktor, takes 8 years to cast, bizarre ult targeting

Item Priority

1. Rod:  Morello and Spark are the best items.
2. Belt:  Strong and versatile.
3. Sword/Glove:  Comps that want these items really want them.
4. Bow:  Similar to Sword/Glove but worse.
5. Cloak/Tear:  Usually easy to come by later in the game if you need them.  Largely taken to insure Bluebuff or Runaan's respectively.
6. Chain:  None of the chain items are good except for Titans.

Until next time,
Kevin