17.4c is one of the most packed TFT metas in recent memory. There is a clear S-tier comp, but multiple A-tier lines are genuinely capable of winning out a lobby if you hit your board. Whether you prefer to reroll on 7, fast 8, or race to level 9, there is a comp here that fits the way you play.

TFT Patch 17.4c: Complete Meta Cheat Sheet

Comp & TierBest-In-Slot (BIS) ItemsStrategy & Play Conditions

Vanguard Fast 9

S-Tier

• Vex: Guinsoo, Void Staff, Gunblade

• Sona: 2x Nashor’s, Jeweled Gauntlet

• Nunu: 2x Protector’s Vow, Adaptive

• Leveling: Aggressive win-streak tempo; skip Level 8 to race straight to Level 9.

• Condition: Requires an AP item opener and high health storage.

• Pro Tip: Pivot to an 8 AP board if bleeding out before Stage 4-5.

Space Groove

A-Tier

• Riven: Groove Emblem, Titan’s, Sterak’s

• Nami: Nashor’s, Jeweled Gauntlet, Void

• Nunu: Protector’s Vow, Mana Tank

• Leveling: Fast 8 rollout. Core focus is slow-rolling for a full 2-star board transition.

• Condition: Grab an early Space Groove Emblem via Spats or trait augments.

• Pro Tip: Slam AP items on Nami first before managing ribbon assets.

Corki Riven

A-Tier

• Corki: Last Whisper, Striker’s Flail, Deathblade

• Riven: Bloodthirster, Titan’s, Sterak’s

• Rammus: Raw 3x Defense items (No Sunfire)

• Leveling: Standard Fast 8. Stabilize at 4-1 or 4-2 to find 2-star primary carries.

• Condition: Exploits Fateweaver crit buffers; build raw AD scaling parameters.

• Pro Tip: Swap Bramble for Dragon’s Claw if the lobby trends heavily AP.

Stargazer Xayah

A-Tier

• Xayah: 2x Kraken Slayer, Red Buff

• Jhin: Infinity Edge (Required), Last Whisper

• Bard: Archangel’s, Morello, Void Staff

• Leveling: Fast 8 core. Samira holds items until Jhin is secured at Level 8.

• Condition: Strict constellation priority: Serpent > Boar > Altar > Mountain.

• Pro Tip: Bypasses manual Sunder item needs entirely if running Aatrox.

Samira Reroll

A-Tier

• Samira: Last Whisper, Shojin, Deathblade

• Ornn: Generic defensive tank items

• Xayah: Leftover baseline bow components

• Leveling: Slow-roll at Level 7 to aggressively target Samira 3 and Ornn 3.

• Condition: Relies on the Level 5 Space Groove stacking trait breakpoint.

• Pro Tip: If on a loss streak, force your rolls on 3-5 to protect your health pool.

Here are the five best comps right now, what each one needs to go online, and the exact spots where you should be forcing each line.

According to BunnyMuffins’ updated 17.4c meta snapshot, the full tier ranking sits as follows: S: Vanguard Fast 9. A: Space Groove, Corki Riven, Stargazer Xayah, Dark Stars, Samira Reroll, Lissandra Reroll. The lower you go in A tier, the more conditional the comp becomes. That said, any of these five can top 4 or win in the right spot.

The One Augment Rule That Applies to Every Comp

Before the comp breakdowns, there is one decision framework that separates players who consistently top 4 from those who barely squeeze into it. Take econ augments when your board is weak or you are short on gold, item augments when they spike your current carry and combat augments when you already have what you need from the other two categories.

If there is a standout trait-specific combat augment for your comp, you can take it and patch up your econ from god rewards or portals. This is not a rigid rule but a strong default that applies across every comp in 17.4c.

Vanguard Fast 9: The S-Tier Line Everyone Is Trying to Play

Vanguard Fast 9 sits alone at S tier right now and the reason is simple: a fully two-starred back line of Vex, Sona, and Bard with a properly tanked Nunu is nearly impossible for most lobbies to handle.

The conditions to play this are a tempo AP opener, at least one item augment, and enough HP to reach level 9 comfortably. Ideal games involve an 8-plus win streak that lets you skip level 8 entirely and jump straight to 9 for your 5-cost units.

Item breakdown:

  • Vex: Guinsoo’s Rageblade, Void Staff, Gunblade. Giant Slayer and Red Buff are strong alternatives. Do not play Vex at all without Guinsoo’s.

  • Sona: Two Nashor’s Tooth and Jeweled Gauntlet are best in slot. Shojin or Blue Buff work as substitutes for the mana generation.

  • Bard: Generic AP or utility items. He is more flexible than the other two carries.

  • Nunu: Two Protector’s Vow plus Adaptive Helm. Vow is the single most important item in the entire comp and you want at least one, ideally two.

Leona printing Arbiter is one of the best opening moves available to this line right now. The 17.4 Arbiter rework guarantees one offering from each category (Consistent, Conditional, and Economy outputs), so Leona 3 from Arbiter printing can solve your front line problem almost on its own.

If you cannot fast 9 by stage 4-5, pivot to a stable level 8 AP board rather than bleeding out trying to hit 9 on low HP.

Space Groove: Best Emblem Comp in the Patch and It Just Got Buffed

Space Groove moved into firm A-tier status this patch and the buffs it received explain exactly why. Riot increased the level 7 Space Groove bonus from 10% to 15%, bumped Groove Duration at level 3 from 3 to 4 seconds, and pushed per-Groovian healing from 8.5% to 9.5% max HP. Those are not small numbers.

The comp is best played when you can get a Space Groove emblem cheaply, through augments like Earth’s Gambit, Spreading Roots, or Trade Tree. If you hit a random spat from a gold orb, this is also the best comp to slam it into.

The single most important tip for Space Groove: Build AP items on Nami first, not the emblem’s ribbon items. Nashor’s Tooth and Jeweled Gauntlet, or Shojin into Jeweled Gauntlet, are what you want on Nami before anything else. Once Nami has enough mana generation to stay permanently in the Groove, she stacks AP from the level 5 Space Groove trait breakpoint and becomes extremely hard to deal with.

The Space Groove emblem goes on Riven, not just because she benefits from the healing and stacking AD, but because her small mana pool keeps her in the Groove almost constantly. If you do not have Blitzcrank, Nasus fills his spot. Main tank Nunu with Protector’s Vow for CC. Tahm Kench takes raw tank items.

Items:

  • Riven: Space Groove Emblem, Titan’s Resolve, Sterak’s Gage. Edge of Night and Bloodthirster are also strong.

  • Nami: Nashor’s Tooth, Jeweled Gauntlet, Void Staff. Morello, Blue Buff, and Shojin are valid alternatives.

  • Nunu: Protector’s Vow plus mana-generating tank items.

Do not build Void Staff as your first item on Nami. It costs a bow and a tear and is not strong enough in the early-to-mid game to justify blocking better items.

Plan an econ augment on either 3-4 or 4-2 so you can afford to roll for a full two-star board. A one-star Space Groove board is extremely fragile. A two-star board at level 8 is one of the most powerful boards in the patch.

Corki Riven: Still Punishing, Even After the Nerfs

Riot did nerf Corki in 17.4. His Missile Damage dropped from 30/44% AD to 28/42% AD and Meeple Rocket Damage fell from 120/180% AD to 110/165% AD. Despite that, Corki Riven still sits comfortably in A tier.

The comp plays as a standard fast 8. Your goal is to reach level 8 on 4-1 or 4-2 and find Corki, Riven, and Rammus as two-stars. From there, you push to level 9 for Bard and other 5-costs to cap the board.

Items:

  • Corki: Last Whisper, Striker’s Flail, Deathblade. Infinity Edge is an alternative. Corki is a Fateweaver so he already has inherent crit chance. Prioritize items that stack crit scaling.

  • Riven: Bloodthirster, Titan’s Resolve, Sterak’s Gage. Riven scales from both AD and AP but since the goal is to maximize Last Whisper’s Sunder through dual AD carries, keep her itemized around AD and healing.

  • Rammus: Generic tank items. Three real tank items on Rammus is non-negotiable. Skip Sunfire Cape and Shroud of Stillness entirely.

One lobby-reading tip that matters in 17.4c: many lobbies skew heavily AP right now. If that is the case, swap Bramble Vest on Rammus for Dragon’s Claw. The added magic resist goes a long way when you are up against multiple AP front-liners.

Meeple Riven is the highest cap for this comp and worth prioritizing if you can set it up.

Stargazer Xayah: High Ceiling, Strict Requirements

Stargazer Xayah is an A-tier fast 8 comp that becomes genuinely unbeatable in the right setup, and genuinely unplayable in the wrong one. The constellation you land matters more than almost any other variable.

Constellation priority: Serpent, Boar, Altar, then Mountain. Below Mountain the constellations are still technically playable, but the power drop-off is real. Do not force this comp on a bad constellation.

The 17.4 mid-patch update nerfed Huntress’ team-wide attack speed from 15% to 12% while buffing Stargazer-specific attack speed from 12/35/55% to 15/45/70%. The net effect means Xayah herself scales better, but the trait is slightly weaker as a whole-board buff.

Items:

  • Xayah: Two Kraken Slayer is BIS. Red Buff and Guinsoo’s Rageblade are the two premium attack-speed alternatives. If you see the Titanic Hydra artifact, this is a hard force.

  • Jhin: Infinity Edge is mandatory. Last Whisper and Striker’s Flail round out his ideal build. Do not build Guinsoo’s on Jhin.

  • Rammus: Generic tank items. If you tank Rammus, three Meeple trait is mandatory. The Tahm Kench and Nunu variant is easier to flex if Meeple is difficult to reach.

  • Bard: Archangel’s Staff, Morello, Void Staff.

Do not build Sunder on this board. The comp almost always runs Aatrox, which makes Sunder redundant.

Until you find Jhin, Samira fills the secondary carry role. She holds leftover AD items well and her trait synergy with Nunu adds free board value. At level 9, Blitzcrank is typically the best unit to add.

Samira Reroll: The Dark Horse Grinder in A Tier

Samira Reroll is the cleanest 3-cost reroll line available right now. It sits in A tier on the BunnyMuffins snapshot and is one of the best one-trick comps in the entire patch for players willing to commit to it.

The gameplan is to play out of a strong Space Groove opener, ideally with a Samira item slam early. You want to slow-roll at level 7 for Samira 3, Ornn 3, and eventually reach 7 Space Groove. Hitting all three of those conditions puts you in contention for a win.

Items:

  • Samira: Last Whisper, Shojin, Deathblade. Giant Slayer is a strong fourth option. Samira is very BIS dependent, so heavily prioritize augments that let you find her core items.

  • Ornn: Generic tank. Once Ornn hits 3-star, his radiant items generate a substantial HP lead.

  • Xayah: Holds leftover bow items on the board.

The level 5 Space Groove breakpoint (AP and AD gained per second while in the Groove) is the most important trait breakpoint in this comp, same as the full Space Groove build. Prioritize reaching and maintaining it.

If you are playing from loss streak, plan to hit everything on 3-5. Do not drag out loss streaks beyond that or you will give up too much HP to come back from stage 4 pressure.