Twisted Fate has ascended to lofty heights not seen in League of Legends for quite some time, with the cardsharp currently a standout power pick across three different roles in ranked queues and pro play.
The Card Master has become so overtuned in Season 14 that he can be played in mid lane—where he usually pops up—as well as top or bot lane and still record a 52 percent win rate, according to League stat-tracking site Lolalytics. That’s on top of a rising pick rate across the same three Summoner’s Rift roles as more and more players realize how powerful “TF” can be.
The main reason for the versatility is because Twisted Fate can very happily build into ability power or attack damage. This means he can fill multiple roles on any team, all while adding a point-and-click crowd-control ability in the form of his iconic Gold Card and pressuring the entire map with his lane-hopping Destiny ultimate.
He’s become so strong he’s even bleeding into pro play, with the Card Master already picked 64 times in 2024. That includes four appearances as an ADC and four more in the top lane, and a whopping 45 bans across nearly every League region—though he hasn’t popped up in China or Korea’s top leagues.
League players are in an uproar over the mage’s reigning position in the Season 14 metagame too, with many demanding Riot Games “drop some nerfs on him” as soon as possible. While most agree Twisted Fate is “bonkers broken,” any big changes will have to wait a few more weeks; the League devs are already most of the way through Patch 14.4’s development cycle. That means any tentative tweaks would be tested for the next update, which will go live on March 6.
How Riot wants to balance Twisted Fate remains to be seen. When playing with an AP focus, the Card Master builds Rod of Ages and Lich Bane while maxing his Wild Cards ability. In bot lane, he prioritizes levelling up Stacked Deck and rushes to complete Statikk Shiv and Stormrazor.
In some small solace, TF hasn’t exerted his influence over the jungle or support just yet—the mage has been played less than 4,000 times in those roles.
Published: Feb 14, 2024 10:31 pm