Teamfight Tactics 9.15

Dota Autochess was a surprise hit when it came out, which was doubly surprising as it was simply a custom game mod. The combination of gambling and real skill took the internet by storm, so much so that Valve has officially sanctioned it and released their own version. Eager to ride the train, Riot Games also released their own version based in their world of Runeterra - Teamfight Tactics. How well does it hold up?

Teamfight Tactics is based in the Legaue of Legends client, but is enough of its own game to warrant a completely separate review. Therefore, if you have installed League already, you won't need to install a separate package. For those unfamiliar, Auto Chess is a genre where you build teams based on synergies and position them to face off against other player teams. It's a little more in depth than that, but that's the short of it.

This version of Auto Chess does a few things differently from its contemporaries. First of all, it has a separate comeback mechanic compared to its competitors. It has a special "Carousel Round" between every PVE round. Every surviving player is thrown into a roundabout carousel of 9 champions that all hold an item. The lower place you are, the faster you're allowed out to grab waht you need. This can prove crucial if you need an extremely rare champion to finish your team synergies, or an item to put on your hypercarry champion.

Another thing it does differently is that it has direct matchups, something only Dota Underlords shares with it. That means that every round is guaranteed to have half of the game lose, which speeds up the pace dramatically.

Teamfight Tactics is still regularly getting updates, but is already deep enough to be played competitively. I recommend you give this game a shot!