Norra, Smolder and Briar make their TFT Debut in TFT Set 12 Magic n'Mayhem
As Teamfight Tactics kicks off the release of their 12th expansion, Magic n’Mayhem, the team at Riot Games has come together to bring players an all-star lineup of new and returning champions to try out.
But among the cast of champions, there are three of particular interest as they are making their TFT debut. Two of them are among League of Legends newest champions and one is a character that hasnt quite made its debut in League of Legends but has been highly anticipated. Here is a look at Smolder, Briar, and Nora in TFT Set 12.
Briar
First debuting in League of Legends back in September of last year, Briar is finally coming to TFT and her debut is one that players shall remember as she comes in as a Legendary five-cost champion.
As one the most impactful champions in TFT Set 12, Briar plays the role of a backline assassin thanks to her ability Certain Death which causes Briar to leap to the largest group of enemies dealing physical damage in a 2-hex radius and also stunning them for a duration. If that wasnt enough, the ability also makes Briar enter a frenzy making her gain attack speed, omnivamp and giving her attacks a cleave effect dealing damage to adjacent enemies
As for what compositions this damage carry will excel in, Briar is a part of the Eldritch origin which summons an “old god” when the team loses a percentage of their health. As for her other two traits, she is a Shapeshifter which grants her bonus max health and triples the bonus on their first ability cast.
So not only is Briar inherently tanky with that bonus, her third trait is unique to her and its called Ravenous. Briar does bonus damage for each HP the player is missing and during each round, the player can sacrifice three HP to make Briar gain even more health.
Hitting a Briar early will certainly bring death to enemy boards as she becomes a tanky DPS assassin, shout out The Yordles.
Smolder
Everyone’s favorite little dragon AD Carry from League of Legends, Smolder is making his debut in TFT as a five-cost champion.
His ability, Learning to Fly, makes him standout in this set but the concept isnt entirely unique. Functioning similar to Auerlion Sol in TFT Galaxies and Singed in TFT Rise of the Elements, Smolder’s passive is that he flies around the board hitting the nearest enemy in his range. So while he technically has range, he will be traveling around the board instead of being a backline carry. His active on his ability turns his attacks into powerful fireballs dealing bonus damage.
As for Smolder’s traits, he is a Blaster Dragon. Blaster is a simple trait that grants holder of the trait bonus damage that amplifies for a duration after using their ability. Dragon however is a little more complex. While the Dragon trait is active, all Dragon attacks and abilities burn and wound targets for a duration but when a player has three Dragons active, their abilities get upgraded.
Smolder’s upgraded ability sunders his target which combined with the other Dragon perks essentially turns enemies into very easy-to-kill targets and since Smolder flies across the board, he is a carry while also making his targets easy prey for the rest of the team to knock off.
Norra
Norra isn't in League of Legends but is significant in League of Legends lore, as the master to fan-favorite champion, Yuumi, Nora is described as a very powerful wizard and that is true in TFT Set 12.
Norra enters the set as an Explorer, Mage and Portal five-cost champion. The Explorer trait is unique to Norra as it allows her to summon Yuumi who can be attached to any ally champion by hovering the cat over them. Once attached, whenever Norra casts her ability, Yuumi casts as well but also, when Norra dies, so does Yuumi.
This is important as Norra’s ability is Portapalooza. This ability summons and launches a ball at the current target. Once it reaches the target, it explodes dealing magic damage and “paperfies” the area dealing magic damage over time for a duration. If subsequent balls land in an area that is already paperfied, it will bounce to a new location that isnt.
Norra and Yuumi excel at making the entire board paperfied thanks to the Mage trait which while active, allows Mages to double cast their abilities at the cost of doing reduced damage. And of course, Norra is the head of the Portal trait which brings out whacky things out of a Portal that scale in craziness depending on the number of Portal champions on the board.
Players can experience all of these champions and more when TFT Set 12 Magic n’Mayhem hits live servers on Wednesday, July 31st.
WARREN YOUNGER