The focus on four-cost units in TFT Set 9 is leaving fans more frustrated than ever

TFT Set 9’s launch has brought plenty of new aspects to learn, but over time, avid players are noticing one common theme for successful compositions. Not only do they always need specific four-cost units, but almost everyone in the lobby fights for them, and whoever gets them gets the win.

A thread on Reddit from July 6 talked about this, and why almost every good composition relies on rolling a four-cost unit as early as possible to get that top four finish. If you aren’t one of the people who can get the unit you need, as the original poster said, “enjoy 6th-8th place.”

Looking at some of the most powerful traits as of July 6, their carry units are overwhelmingly four-costs. Both Challenger and Void have Kai’Sa, Strategist and Shurima have Azir, and Sorcerer and Demacia have Lux. Those three units in particular have shot up in popularity, both because they’re very strong, but also because they’re crucial to victory.

Related: The Demacia trait in TFT Set 9, explained

For example, if you build the Void composition, the Kai’Sa pickup is victory-defining for two reasons. First off, her ability to do damage to a lot of enemies and use Jeweled Gauntlet to crit often is always useful. But more importantly, picking up Kai’Sa while having all other cheaper Void units grants the player the Void 6 buff, swapping their small Void Remora to a big Rift Herald. Even if you get the Void Emblem for that composition, you want to put in Yasuo, another powerful four-cost unit crucial to compositions in Set 9.

That four-cost element is leaving fans frustrated, because they know how the game will go by 4-1 depending on their luck (or their Augments). Some of the comments in the Reddit thread bring up other options, like Noxus, which focuses on three-cost Darius. The only downside to that is the pool for Darius is arguably more competitive, because all players can roll into him earlier in the game.

This left lots of players in a lose-lose scenario, disappointed that an issue from a previous set only got worse in Set 9. Reddit user Xizz3l said that the “four cost lottery was already the meta last set but it feels even worse this time,” and another redditor echoed that sentiment, saying “at least last set you could occasionally carry with one or two costs with hero augments.”

The result for fans? Waiting until the next patch. Knowing that this is an issue, players are hoping that Riot Games and their TFT balance team adjust it to a more enjoyable state. As user zdogiez said, “I’ll just wait for the new patch like 2 weeks from now.”