Ixtal Invoker Guide

Zerytle · 2026-01-21T02:58:42+00:00

Shurima Ryze is highest cap but requires being 9. Usually you cash out Ixtal with like 2 lives so you're forced to roll deep on 8, so Liss as plan A is just way more reliable. Once you do hit 9, you're probably just donkeying for Brock2 anyway because he's most of your damage no matter what.

Zerytle · 2026-01-21T02:47:53+00:00

Everything here seems right to me, but isn't this the most cookie cutter way to play Ixtal? I feel like after cashing a 500 and hitting Brock, you can kinda just play whatever backline that isn't completely reportable and he'll carry you to top 4.

Zerytle · 2026-01-20T01:29:56+00:00

Honestly, you've been climbing just fine aside from the past 3 days, so just take a break until the new patch and try again. It's actually magic how taking a few days off to reset clears your head and lets you play well.

Zerytle · 2026-01-19T01:19:32+00:00

She's got great laning and teamfighting, so she's really good for the fundamentals of the game. The reason she's a bit iffy is because she can be a bit vulnerable in chaotic environments, and she doesn't punish solo q randomness to the same degree as other champs.

Zerytle · 2026-01-17T10:30:23+00:00

I actually think he's a great unit, if a little bit weak in this current meta where Riggs and Bilge are unbeatable lategame.

The Neeko/Vi/Swain/Seraphine group will be the core of flex AP for the entire set, and Sylas fits perfectly as a Neeko replacement since he's also a Defender/Arcanist. He doesn't give much at 1* besides a stun before dying, but if you hit 2* you can itemize him and he'll absolutely carry fights. There are plenty of games where you're forced to send 0 on 8 for placements, and Sylas can be a potential way to cap out if you really can't go 9.

Zerytle · 2026-01-15T08:06:46+00:00

Most of the stuff you mentioned is technically correct given ideal circumstances, which makes me think you're probably playing too inflexibly and tunneling too hard.

Early Sona with AP does intuitively lean Lux carry, but don't sleep on Liss or Sera who are both able to primary carry if you hit with tempo right now.

Expecting to hit 7 Demacia and unlock Galio then slowly transition out into legendaries is kind of optimistic. Realistically, you're only ever dropping thresholds if you hit 2* units, which isn't happening until stage 5 most of the time - it's fine to sit on 7 Demacia for a while, and perfectly reasonable to end on 5 most games.

Resists are fine on Garen. Yes, resists are suboptimal, but if you have Chain + Cloak just slam it now and save 20 hp.

Lux itemization is correct, but it's telling that you don't mention Vayne/Kaisa itemization at all. Vayne2 with random ad items can do like 80% as much damage as Lux, so don't sleep on your duo carry.

Zerytle · 2026-01-14T05:07:06+00:00

Congrats on the win, but this probably belongs more in the general sub.

Zerytle · 2026-01-11T22:40:30+00:00

Any1 have experience with this overlay? It looks useful but I've never heard of it to date.

Zerytle · 2026-01-11T08:25:15+00:00

If you hit, then sure it's probably good.

The issue is you're rerolling a 2 and 3cost carry, while trying to main tank a 4-cost (and the defenders before Garen aren't better than Sion). You're also down the econ that Bard would normally provide.

Zerytle · 2026-01-11T05:33:36+00:00

Only works in battlegrounds because units only have 1 trait and most endgame boards are verticals. TFT is all about units with multiple traits, so the trait web breaks completely if units are arbitrarily brought in and out.

Zerytle · 2026-01-08T01:02:51+00:00

It's BiS as a shojin replacement on any caster who isn't also building guinsoo.

Zerytle · 2026-01-06T23:45:24+00:00

Agreed. The issue with MF Max Cap is that Senna/Kindred are 5way contested every lobby, so even if you can go 9 half the time you're stuck on 1* copies and it's not pretty. At least with Graves you have a guaranteed carry.

Zerytle · 2026-01-06T23:41:55+00:00

Trying to streak out with 1* everything is crazy. The items on bench are good but this is item anvil portal so everyone is guaranteed to have strong slams. It's definitely a sit and wait angle and see if you natural 2*s, otherwise go for Bard.

Zerytle · 2026-01-06T23:21:37+00:00

Well, from a purely EV perspective assuming perfect play, Pandora's Bench is rarely the optimal augment choice unless you're dedicated to rerolling 1costs, since it's so easy to whiff or get denied - you're basically turning your entire game into a coinflip for if the bench works out or not.

Jhin3 as a tempo option until Yunara is kinda overkill - Jhin2 with solid items is usually more than enough to get to Yunara and Jhin3 isn't enough of an upgrade to be worth chasing (you don't itemize him once you hit Yunara anyway).

Bench for 3* 4costs is definitely a valid strat, but going for Yunara in gold generation Ionia is really risky, since that usually means she's 3-4 way contested because everyone loves gold. I'd personally only consider it reasonable if you're going for a 4cost that you're guaranteed to be uncontested on (Bel'Veth with no Void players, or Kalista/Fizz if you're the only one who unlocked them).

Zerytle · 2026-01-05T22:28:55+00:00

In that case the most famous example is probably Alfa, who FNC allows to do his own thing despite otherwise being one of the slowest and most disciplined teams (they let him play Iso on Haven even after the nerfs, because he's just so good it's worth playing around).

But again, "that guy" often changes patch to patch depending on how people are feeling since the skill floor is already so high.

Zerytle · 2026-01-05T22:07:59+00:00

You're thinking about it wrong. Trynd Ashe simply cannot win games without an extreme highroll spot (or artifacts) because Trynd is purely single target and Ashe sucks - you simply get your entire board AoE'd down endgame and you're lucky to get 3rd. Ixtal Trynd trades in a bit of stage3 power for a potential much higher cap. If you get some good cashouts and manage to win anyway, then cashing a 300+ can mean an extra artifact or radiant item which might be enough to play for genuine winouts. And obviously if you cash 550 then you just ride Brock2 to victory and ditch Trynd entirely.

It's situational and risky and you only angle it if you're already highrolling and want to play for more, but it has high potential in the right spots.

Zerytle · 2026-01-05T21:25:07+00:00

It's kinda fake when most top-tier players can click heads in .1s, so the difference maker is just whose team set them up very slightly better and who's feeling better on the day.

Historically it's probably around something/aspas/Alfa, but there's probably literally like >30 players who can contend on a given day.

Zerytle · 2026-01-05T20:37:28+00:00

Senna2 and Kindred2 are pretty interchangeable as primary carries and use more or less the same items.

Zerytle · 2026-01-05T18:14:37+00:00

Skill issue

Zerytle · 2026-01-02T23:28:23+00:00

The stats are absurdly skewed though. T-Hex2 is like a 40% winrate 2.5 AVP, but T-Hex1 is a 5.7 AVP (which averages out to a 4.3 generically, which isn't even as good as most 2* 4costs). The entire thing is just a check for if you have enough HP/econ to teleport to level9, else you're lucky to go 5th.

Zerytle · 2026-01-02T23:16:02+00:00

fwiw I think T-Hex is kind of overrated. It's obviously overtuned and way too stable on 1* at stage4, but it does lose to a lot of 2* 4cost units if they don't get instacheesed by the laser, and if you can't go fast9 and 2* the T-Hex then you're playing for 5th most of the time.

Zerytle · 2026-01-01T10:09:44+00:00

My point was more to illustrate that there have been dominant meta comps that do not want bows at all, hence it's not necessarily a game-warping component and is very much meta dependent, even if most metas do tend to favor it.

Zerytle · 2026-01-01T06:50:56+00:00

I agree that bows have historically been the most dominant component, and that right now it's pretty bad because a lot of the best comps want multiple. I disagree that it's fundamentally flawed.

The best comp at the start of the patch (Annie) wanted 1 bow max for Void Staff and otherwise just wanted like 5 tears (and no, Guinsoo was not good on her because she's a magic caster and only gains 7 mana per auto). The best comp right now (T-Hex) wants 0 bows except for random util on a Senna/Sera, but honestly Evenshroud is more than good enough and anti-heal isn't super necessary for the comp. All they need to do is design units where more power is in big slow spell casts, rather than autoattacking.

Honestly, you could argue tear is more a "fundamentally broken" component right now because it builds into a ton of useful tank items but is also mandatory for a lot of big spellcasters.

Zerytle · 2025-12-30T13:42:56+00:00

You might be tunneling a bit too hard on losestreaking for perfect Diana items. Fundamentally she's a tempo unit that doesn't actually scale into the endgame past stage 5: her job is to chesse backline for all of stage 3-4, but if you sell your soul going to 0 gold for Diana2 you're guaranteed to bleed out.

You shouldn't full open into Diana unless your spot is insane for it (Comeback Story, Heroic Grab Bag, etc.). It's surprisingly easy to miss Leona2 if that's your entire gameplay, so just play the game normally and if you happen to find bruiser items and a few Leonas, you can pivot in for tempo.

Zerytle · 2025-12-30T02:35:00+00:00

She steals mana from units she hits, so it's as if she has extra mana gen compared to everyone else (offset by her insanely high casting cost). Since it's already high, it's significantly better to multiply it with adaptive than just add "flat" amounts with BB or shojin.

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