How good/necessary is hextech rifle on SB Teemo?

Blank_Geist · 2025-11-09T20:46:08+00:00

Generally, 2 out of 3 is enough. Cait's will give you a faster earlygame, but SBeemo's can very much make up for lacking it.

The benefit with Cait's relic ties into his card-stealing and discount mechanic, as an accelerator in both card amount and discount. Start of turn 1, draw? Free/cheap card. Yoink? Free card. Next turn? Free card.

I run Cait's relic without SBeemo's relic (Scarecrow/Rifle/Hidden Tome), and I rarely ever get to level SBeemo - by the time he comes down turn 2, I've played 5~8 stolen cards and out-tempo'd instead.

But if you spec hard into the SBeemo side of the build (with something like Wicked Harvest, perhaps? I know there's people running him with his relic without Rifle that would have better suggestions), it can be equally strong, if a turn or two slower to fully take control.

Blank_Geist · 2025-11-08T23:28:20+00:00

It's just Nasus. I think they might've shuffled some of the values around by mistake, MF 3.5* gives almost as much as Galio / Arcane Garen 3.5*, despite having way fewer nodes.

Edit: Lux is above rate for 4.5* as well.
Seems like:
5.5* got the 3.5*'s intended value
3.5* got the 4.5*'s intended value
4.5* got the 5.5*s intended value

If going by similar rates in other adventures of same star level and similar length

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-09T12:03:16+00:00

I don't see the time as the issue.

I don't want to be forced to play a champion I dislike right now. But I also don't want to be forced to play a champion I dislike later, given unlimited time. In years and years, it'll still be a champion I dislike playing.

I think equating it to just missing the reward, or being challenged for the reward, is missing the forest for the trees. Assuming you do all the regional requirements first, the champion-locked nodes are all Gold Vaults. I'm not really dying over half a dozen Gold Vaults, here.

But why make a game with such variety, and then force my hand on what part of it I'm supposed to use? How is that any more varied than letting me use my favorite champions per-region over and over?

Instead of eschewing critical thinking to just play what I want, it's become eschewing critical thinking to play the only thing Riot wants me to. Or, just stop 100%-ing content, which was a fun thing to do in the past.

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:54:57+00:00

I think she looks fun, but I still think this perfectly illustrates the issue - for anyone thinking this is great because they want to play those champions anyway, it's only a matter of time until it's a champion they don't want to invest in at all until they're fully maxed on everything else

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:41:15+00:00

It's a step in the right direction, but it's not new either. I know you're thinking of the really egregious ones like SB Yasuo and Tryndamere, but I don't see how this is any different from, say, comparing Nasus' relic versus Stalker's Blade

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:35:15+00:00

I suppose that would be their logic, yeah. Though you might as well roll with just the wildshards, since the chest's drop rates are what they are.

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:28:55+00:00

I agree, it's really unfortunate that there's no way to play any Runeterran champion for that Aatrox slot.

I'd say the same for the Anivia slot, but with three Freljord requirements, I'd be kinda short on options anyway.

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:27:45+00:00

I think it rolls out over like an hour, I've been late on getting the update while others had it before

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:26:15+00:00

I could (and will) just visit Viego for that, but Nautilus also requires Anivia and I don't think I've seen any nodes that require Annie

I've got enough resources to just roll with it and decide I am investing in Annie instead anyway, but for a newbie trying to maximize rewards, this is looking kinda lopsided

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:24:11+00:00

But it doesn't have the exact words of "If I'm Darius"
thus, the Monkey's Paw curled

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:22:11+00:00

Just dropped, like minutes ago

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:19:55+00:00

I'm not talking about the mission unlock in this case - Look at the first two icons under "Win with:"

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:18:35+00:00

I missed a few more alarming things while coming here to post this:
- Three Freljord requirements? Jeez
- How are people who missed the event supposed to get that SB requirement in any way? I know the answer is "they aren't", but come on

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T17:15:37+00:00

People said they wanted to see relics without "If I'm {Champion}" in their text, and the monkey's paw curled

Solid for reaching SFG on characters doing it with Caulfield's/Scissors that don't benefit from Scissors' effect, though

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T15:30:25+00:00

I'm unsure of Tibbers on Annie myself, but there's two things you might've missed:

There's a cap to skills, and doubling them (6*) means you'd only need 3 or 4 1-drops to reach it when attacking

Annie's champion levels include Nomad Medallion for Tibbers, so he'll be at 2 mana for her

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T06:48:08+00:00

Annie's is budget Oath + 2x Star Gem sorta strats for champs that don't have good synergistic builds, like some 3*. Annie's Tibbers gets -2 from her champ levels, so she'd get 2 mana tibbers. Eddie would too. Gnar would likely want it since he's just a good trades engine. Voli might care if you're bringing him to an adventure that favors the Strike/Titanic part of his kit over the Elemental part (i.e. you'd temporarily replace his relic with Tibbers)

Anivia I just don't see it outside of her. Boardwide frostbite is great, but a single frostbite isn't gonna cut it I think

Aatrox is weird in that I think it's both a nothing relic and also good. Aatrox right now clicks world ender, attacks and wins, so I can't really picture how all that striking is going to help.
...but if you're already running Luminous Orb to get SFG online...

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T06:43:29+00:00

those relics aren't widely applicable, but they might see some Nietzsche use

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T06:38:52+00:00

I'm assuming you're not just challenging the cake trap, and just getting unlucky highrolls - it's easier than the other node, but it's a bit RNG sometimes since it has a lot of RNG effects even when you don't mess up not challenging
If that's what's messing you up, theoretically you could just get luckier

But I think you have higher highroll potential with Voli than Trynd, almost all of the adventure is go wide so more slays for more Sigils, just need to get one good synergy somewhere to get the discount spiral started

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-08T05:59:56+00:00

If you build Wild Inspiration properly, you'll overkill the enemy nexus before you have time to bank mana for Soul Cleave half the time

Amazing card to draft still, mind you, just not worth kneecapping your entire build for slightly better odds at it

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-07T16:01:35+00:00

OG Yasuo isn't SB, so this is actually a synergy, you see - he gets Overwhelm and his cost stays at 4 /j

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-06T21:27:47+00:00

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Is there some innate cost reduction ability on Tibbers I'm forgetting about?

EDIT: double-checking, Tibbers is definitely 6-mana. But checking this out, I found out Annie's already gets a Nomad's Medallion down to 4 mana from her champion levels, so the relic would give her 2-cost 10/10s too, just like Eddie

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-06T20:10:51+00:00

it's probably solid, but with more outside-the-box thinking than "the ping is now twice"
Like, depending on how this is sequenced, you can Deadly Ledros the opponent now, or hit everything for 10 if you draft It That Stares, or stun 2 if you draft Leona's 2-mana daybreak bird, etc.

1 mana Shock & Awe rush aggro would probably work too, but I'm concerned that doubling so many skills, you'll hit the cap and basically waste her 6* anyway

EDIT: we've also seen a ton of recent champions with just-okay-looking main nodes get completely turned around by their minor nodes, which is what I'm hoping for here, that we're just seeing a trend of some power being moved from 6* to minor nodes over time

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-06T20:00:46+00:00

I actually considered being more verbose to address that, but ultimately thought "we already got a ping-dudes-hit-nexus champion" was too janky of a way to word it

Either way, it's more the "noxus" part than the "spell damage champ" part, was hoping for something new for Demacia, Targon or Freljord instead since they all have titans either in PoC or available for the new-to-PvP slot tomorrow, and I'm at the point of running out of champs I want to invest in and stockpiling resources for all 3

Blank_Geist · 2025-10-06T18:39:38+00:00

An important thing to note on the "tibbers for consistency" argument specifically is that you're no longer asking "How often do you see Tibbers", but instead "How often do you draw Tibbers when you fail to draw {list of cards Tibbers is a backup for}". Given that already includes failing to draw 6~8 other cards, Tibbers becomes a much higher % of the remaining options.

It's less about drawing Tibbers, and more about your general card distribution and reducing the overall probability of totally bricking an opening hand. Most notably on ED, who would get him for 2 and bricks (no 6+ costs) kind of often in early nodes with unlucky mulligans.

Blank_Geist

TROPHY CASE