With the changes in Patch 13.8, the Kai’sa carry composition is still strong. Here’s everything you need to know to play it!
Teamfight Tactics (TFT) patch 13.8 dropped a few days ago, and while all the hacker craziness was toned down, the Kai'sa carry composition remains one of the most formidable in the game. Here's what you need to know to play it.
Kai'sa carry composition
This is what your level 8 board should look like. If you don't hit Syndra on level 8, you can play Lux until you hit Syndra. The most important thing is that 6 Star Guardian, 2 Quickdraw, and those units that give you those synergies are core to the composition. Garen gives 2 defenders, but also provides meaningful crowd control for the team. If you have Star Guardian +1 in the form of Star Guardian Heart or Emblem, you can be more flexible with your late game board. You can add extra Aegis in an AP-heavy lobby or you can also add in legendaries such as Urgot, Fiddlesticks, Janna, and Mordekaiser.
Itemization for the Kai'sa carry composition
Primary carry: Kai'sa (items listed in order of priority)
- Statikk Shiv
- Gunblade
- Giant Slayer > Guinsoo's Rageblade, Jeweled Gauntlet, Hand of Justice
Secondary carry: Miss Fortune (items listed in order of priority)
- Spear of Shojin
- Archangel's Staff
- Giant Slayer, Jeweled Gauntlet, Hand of Justice, Guardbreaker
- If you have Star Guardian Spat, it always goes on MF
Primary tank: Nilah or Rell
- Redemption
- Sunfire
- Bramble/Dragon's Claw
- Warmog's Armor
Secondary tank: Ekko
- Sunfire
- Gargoyle's Stoneplate
- Warmog's Armor
Above are the recommended items for each of your units. Prioritize three items on your primary carry in Kai'sa first. Afterwards, look to make items for a primary tank in either Nilah or Rell. Depending on hero augments and copies of Rells, tank items could go on Rell. However, in a traditional setup, your tank items will be going onto Nilah as she will want to be three-starred alongside Kai'sa.
Be sure to start with Tear, Bow, or Rod on the opening carousel.
Recommended augments for the Kai'sa carry composition
There are too many good augments to list for this composition, but be on lookout for all of these. Any way to get a Star Guardian Emblem on to Miss Fortune is the single best boost to your composition's strength.
Silver augments
- Preparation I
- Exiles I
- Defender Heart
- Stand United I
- Cybernetic Uplink I
- Star Guardian Heart
Gold augments
- Star Guardian Crest
- Cybernetic Uplink II
- Preparation II
- Ancient Archives I
- Exiles II
Prismatic augments
- Ancient Archives II
- Star Guardian Crest
- Woodland Charm
- Cybernetic Uplink III
- Electrocharge III
Hero augments
- Multi-Shot (Kai'sa Carry)
- Hold the Line (Rell Carry)
- Channeled Ferromancy (Rell Support)
- Easy Being Green (Neeko Support)
Early game
Prioritize two-star units that can carry your damage or tank items that transition well into your mid-game board. Make sure you have a good balance of frontline and backline.
Example level 4 boards:
Example level 5 boards:
Mid-game
With this composition, your mid-game board usually resembles your late-game one. It should look like the examples below.
Example level 6 boards:
At level 7, you can fill a missing trait, play a strong unit, or play an extra copy of Rell, Kai'sa, or Nilah. From there, you can decide to either reroll at 7 or push 8, especially if contested, to fit in another unit.
Positioning tips
- Put your carries in opposite corners to maximize the damage of Miss Fortune's ultimate. This will also decrease risk of losing all your damage if your opponent has backline access.
- You can try to place Kai'sa directly in front of melee damage carries (Jax, Warwick) as her single-target damage should eliminate the damage threat before it's threatened.
- Place your tankiest units on the outside of your frontline and your Nilah in between a couple of your frontline units. Doing so will allow your frontline to soak enemy damage and be healed up by Nilah.
- Maneuver your Garen to stun the largest enemy clumps. You can also use this knowledge against enemy Garens and offset your frontline to prevent your carry from getting stunned.
- Beware of clumping in the late game versus enemy AoE (Neeko, Fiddlesticks, Urgot, Janna). It's okay to split your carries towards the later stages of the game when enemies have AoE that can threaten your backline.
Final notes for the Kai'sa carry composition
- This composition is very contested as it's one of the strongest, if not the strongest in the current meta. Be prepared to play it contested or be ready to pivot out.
- If Kai'sa is your main carry, only 2 Quickdraw is necessary. If you find yourself in the position of pivoting to MF carry, then playing extra Quickdraw units is fine.
- It's possible that playing multiple Kai'sa 2s will be your strongest board over the 6 Star Guardian trait, especially if your other Star Guardian units are not two-starred or they are weak or not itemized.
- Scout to see if you are contested. If you are the only Kai'sa player, you can look to three star your Kai'sa and Nilah at level 7 (or 8 if you are able to push levels). If you are contested, you can look to go 8 without rerolling and play for your two-star four-cost units and eventually push level 9.
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