Mercenaries have been one of my favorite comps since their release. I simply loved them since they are kind of lucky number Mutants. They are one of the most fun compositions to play, and they can be very strong when combined with snipers. Those two comps are very compatible, and they are in great harmony with each other.
The most important champion for both compositions is Miss Fortune. She is not the strongest champion for snipers, nor for mercenaries, but she is the only one that shares both traits. She is like a glue that holds everything in place and makes these two compositions compatible.
Mercenaries are the composition to go almost always since its champions aren’t really used much for other comps apart from Quin, which is very useful in Challenger comp.
The Mercenaries composition can be very useful. It really depends on how many mercenaries you have got. With three, you aren’t going to do much, but when you assemble 5 Mercs on the field, you are in some serious business. And if you manage to assemble all 7, then you can not lose that game.
Mercenaries: Gain a treasure chest that opens when you win combat against a player. At the start of each planning phase vs a player, dice rolls add loot to the chest. The longer you’ve gone without opening the chest, the luckier the dice.
- 3 – Roll 2 dice
- 5 – The dice are even luckier!
- 7 – Upon winning, roll a 3rd die that grants bonus loot.
Let’s meet the squad:
- Illaoi
- Quinn
- Miss Fortune
- Gangplank
- Tahm Kench
Also read: Best Arcanist Comp
Illaoi
In the first place, we have The Big Mamma herself, The Lady of the Ocean, The Tentacle Monster, The Kraken, but let’s be honest, we all know her as Gangplank’s high school girlfriend. Illaoi is a must-have in every composition, whether it’s snipers or mercenaries you are going to favor in that particular game.
Low-cost, high damage, even higher healing, and immense sustain, Illaoi benefits from any kind of sustain and tanky items that you equip her with. Bear in mind that she may look weak, but trust me, she is not. Compared to the five cost champions with high levels, she is quite a decent opponent.
And because a lot of people don’t know this, she isn’t used that much, so you have a pretty high chance of maxing her level as early as level four of the game. Do a couple of rerolls, and you sure won’t regret it!
The items she benefits the most from are Bramble’s vest, Warmog’s armor, Dragon’s claw, Titan’s resolve, Zz’Rot Portal, Sunfire Cape, Redemption, and any kind of similar item. You get the pattern. I had even won some games when I had her equipped with Morello’s. Don’t ask, just don’t.
Anyways, take me for my word. This girl is a ticket to some easy Elo.
Also read: How to check your TFT match history
Vi
Vi is an essential part of many compositions, including the obvious, Bruisers, and Enforcers, but actually, she is a necessary part of the Sniper – Merc, or Merc – Sniper com as well. If Miss Fortune is the link or the glue that keeps it all in place, Vi would, in that case, be a nail that you, well, nailed through the glue, just in case.
She is powerful and valuable in Bruiser composition, benefiting from the HP buffs, and she is incredible in Enforcer comps, where she can glow with just two enforcers instead of four. But that’s because Enforcers are something that Riot needs to work on since they are kinda pointless to play on their own.
My girl Vi benefits from any kind of tanky items, such as Bramble’s vest, Warmog’s armor, Dragon’s claw, Titan’s resolve, Zz’Rot Portal, Sunfire Cape, Redemption, and not too long ago, a Guardian Angel. But now you can just use The Edge of the Night. You can, but you should probably save it for some carry in the back.
Saying that, it is clearly implied that Vi is a frontliner, and with that, a mighty one. Her place is in the front center of your field, with her tank buddies around her. Her newest addition replacing The Sister Trait is The Rival Trait. This trait is active when you have precisely one unique Rival unit, as Rivals refuse to work together.
Vi’s mana cost is reduced by 20. Jinx gains 40% Attack Speed for 3 seconds after scoring a takedown. In Merc – Sniper or Sniper – Merc compositions, any kind of augment you get, whether it is Sniper or Merc one, she can be equipped with it.
She does benefit more from the Merc one since it provides her with more HP, which then scales with her bruiser trait if Illaoi is on the field as well.
Quinn
This lady has been so underrated throughout the whole Set 6, and in my opinion, unfortunately, it has stayed like that with that patch as well. You see, the thing to understand is that Quinn is not a damage champion, I mean, she does deal damage, but that’s not the point, for she is a Utility champion whose primary role is to disarm and disable her enemies with her ult.
Hence the name ‘’Disarming Assault’’. She is a goldfish, a genie in the bottle for any kind of composition she plays along, even if you added her an augment so she can stay relevant to the team. The benefits are immense. Apart from disarming her foes, she also reduces Attack damage to any nearby enemies for the full length of four seconds.
She is very important both to the Mercenaries and Challenger compositions. Relatively low cost, starting at just two gold, this champion is the one you can max with levels, and you won’t even feel it since she is so underused and played just to fill a spot for the trait.
As for positioning, she is quite versatile.
She can go in the lower end of the board, along with some Snipers, or she can go in the middle, standing behind strong tanks, while giving them her massive support! Item-wise, I wouldn’t spend some of the better items on her since her primary role is not to deal damage but rather to disable and disarm.
She would be most beneficial to your team if you equip her with some attack speed items so she can disarm as many opponents as she can while she is still alive in that particular combat.
Quinn’s ability and stats:
Disarming Assault
Quinn sends Valor out at her target, dealing magic damage to the target and nearby enemies. The main target is disarmed for 3 seconds and all nearby enemies have their Attack Damage reduced by 4 seconds.
- Damage: 150/250/350
- AD Reduction: 40/40/80%
- Health 550 / 990 / 1782
- Armor 20
- MR 20
- Damage 60 / 108 / 194.4
- Speed 0.7
- DPS 42 / 76 / 136
- Mana 70 / 140
Miss Fortune
This champion is the core of this system and composition. She is the bread and butter, the link, the chosen one since she is the only champion that holds both mercenary and sniper traits. Whatever composition you choose, she is an inevitable part of it, whether it’s 5-7 mercs or 4-6 snipers.
At the cost of three gold, MF is an excellent mid-game pick, and if you manage to score her in the first couple of rounds out of fighting minions, there is a good chance you are going to win that game. Miss Fortune is an excellent pick since she combines AD and Ap so well like old Akali or Jax used to do in Summoner’s Rift.
She benefits both from AD items such as The Bloodthirster or Infinity Edge, Attack speed items like Guinsso, or she can just go full mental with a Blue Buff, Rabbadon’s Deathcap, and Jeweled Gauntlet.
Whatever items you choose on her, I would skip the sustain items since I have found out she actually holds well and doesn’t get burst down immediately as some other carries do. Maybe I’m just losing my mind, but I would save those sustain items for Cait or Jhin.
She is best placed in the lower part of the board, skipping the edges, because we must watch out for that Blitz!
She has a tremendous power spike at level two, but I have found out she is pretty quickly maxed to level three, so if you see her in your shop, go for it! With maxed items and at the maximum level, she can do some severe damage. Trust me. I know what I am talking about.
Miss Fortune’s ability and stats:
Make it Rain
Miss Fortune rains 4 waves of bullets down around a random enemy, dealing magic damage to enemies in the area and reducing their incoming healing by 50% for 6 seconds.
- Damage: 200/300/450
- Health 650 / 1170 / 2106
- Armor 25
- MR 25
- Damage 60 / 108 / 194.4
- Speed 0.7
- DPS 42 / 76 / 136
- Mana 40 / 80
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Gangplank
GP is a kind of champion that never really takes the spotlight but rather does well in the shadows of someone else. Kind of like a whole medical and coaching team behind every sports star ever. He rarely gets any credit but rather gives one (pun intended, since he provides gold for his kills).
I have played many games of this patch on the PBE, and never have I once seen someone use a four twinshot trait. I promise I will make it work. Returning to my guy GP, his usefulness was much clearer in the former patch since we had Kog Maw, who was a Twinshot and a Sniper, and GP is Merc and Twinshot, so they would form a synergy.
Nowadays, GP is mostly used to fill the position of lacking Merc since his utility was cut in half with the departure of Kog’maw. That doesn’t mean he is useless, but not as useful as before. He still can do some damage and earn you some gold coins for every enemy he shoots with his pistol.
His placement should be just behind the front line, in the middle, since he tends to die quickly. Item-wise, he can benefit from the Infinity Edge and Last Whisper, but also from some kind of sustain in the form of Warmog’s or Sunfire cape.
He is still in love with Illaoi. Period.
Gangplank’s ability and stats:
Parrrley
Gangplank shoots his target, dealing a percentage of his Attack Damage and bonus damage. If this kills a champion, Gangplank plunders 1 gold.
- Damage: 225/250/300%
- Bonus Damage: 120/160/225
- Health 750 / 1350 / 2430
- Armor 40
- MR 40
- Damage 75 / 135 / 243
- Speed 0.75
- DPS 56 / 101 / 182
- Mana 0 / 50
Tahm Kench
Now, this is what we came for. I adore this guy. From his mechanics and looks in-game on regular Summoner’s Rift to his usefulness in the magical world of TFT. Coming in hot with the price of five gold, Tahm Kench is a game-changer whether you like it to admit or not. He is an integral part of Merc – Snipers, Sniper – Mercs, and Bruiser compositions.
He is the champion you simply can not win without. It’s just how the game works.
While still at level one, I will admit he won’t do much, in case of doing the actual work around the field, but rather annoy you with his damage-less ability. But once he hits level two, god forbid level three, that’s where the fun begins.
Once Tahm starts chomping on his foes, as he does in his lore, you start seeing the benefits and the magic of Tahm Kench. If you are running Merc – Sniper composition, you are likely to have 5 Mercs when Tahm hits the board, and if you are lucky, you might even get a full seven. It happened to me once, happy times.
Anyways, returning to Tahm, since you will have five mercenaries at that moment, and if we just, for an example, say that you are doing well in the game, well you must have since you are able to buy Tahm.
So, this is the late game, and since you have your Mercs at the least number of five, you are probably gonna have some mad items. And a lot of them. At level eight of the game, you are expected to have at least three to four items more than your opponents.
Use that to your advantage. No, abuse it. Tahm benefits from any kind of item you put on him. He is like me when it comes to food, but I rather wouldn’t get into that.
Anyways, where was I? Oh, yes. The most beneficial items for Tahm are coming from the tank or ap section of items.
My suggestions are Titan’s resolve combined with Warmog’s armor and Jeweled Gauntlet. Or you may take another approach and go for Blue Buff, Rabbadon’s, and Redemption. It’s up to you.
No, actually, it’s up to him since when he hits level two, you aren’t much of a factor on the board anymore. Move over Sett. It’s the mighty Tahm Kench who is The Boss now! P.S. Position him somewhere in the frontline. He is a oneshotting tank. Level two asap.
Tahm Kench’s ability and stats:
Devour
Tahm Kench devours his target, storing them in his belly for 3 seconds and dealing magic damage over the duration. During this time, they are invulnerable to other sources of damage and Tahm Kench takes 40% reduced damage.
If they die while inside, Tahm Kench spits out a random item component they were holding, or the cost of the unit in gold. Otherwise, he spits them towards the farthest enemy, briefly stunning targets they impact.
- Damage: 900/1350/30000
- Health 1000 / 1800 / 3240
- Armor 60
- MR 60
- Damage 80 / 144 / 259
- Speed 0.55
- DPS 44 / 79 / 143
- Mana 30 / 60
This composition wouldn’t be possible without snipers which are in great harmony with mercenaries.
Here are our Snipers:
- Caitlyn
- Jhin
- Zeri
Also read: Best Yordle Comp
Caitlyn
For me personally, the best Sniper there is! Wow, we are beginning strong, aren’t we? Cait is one gold-priced champion who has a great range like all of the snipers do. The thing that puts her apart from others, in my opinion, is her ult. Her ult is capable of erasing even five cost champions with full items, even if she is just a fable one gold champion.
The power of Cait’s ability scales with her level, but when I say scales, I mean it quintuples. The power spike you get once you reach level three is mesmerising. Does the enemy have a full item level 3 Viktor that threatens to erase everything on the field with his lasers? No sweat, Cait can simply one-shot that guy, and he is trouble no more!
For the placing of our dearest Sniper Cait, it really depends on your items and do you want her to be your carry through the game. If she is your carry, I would suggest placing her in the corners on the lower part of your board.
BUT, and this is a BIG BUT (again, no pun intended), if you do not have a Quicksilver on her, never place her at the actual corner itself, since if the enemy is playing Blitz, she is going to be grabbed and deleted in seconds, since all of the champions (enemy’s in this case) are going to focus the champion which Blitz grabbed!
If she has quicksilver, the actual corner is your best choice since she is safe for the first five seconds, and Blitz will waste his Rocket grab, and later on, it is becoming less relevant since Blitz tends to die quickly. Also, if you ARE running QS, the corner is also a good hideout since she won’t be the first target for enemy assassins.
Caitlyn’s ability and stats:
Ace in the Hole
Caitlyn takes aim at the farthest enemy, firing a deadly bullet towards them that deals magic damage to the first enemy it hits.
- Damage: 800/1200/2000
- Health 500 / 900 / 1620
- Armor 15
- MR 15
- Damage 50 / 90 / 162
- Speed 0.75
- DPS 38 / 68 / 122
- Mana 0 / 110
Jhin
Now, this is where things get serious! Four gold cost champions and some crazy amount of damage is what defines Jhin as a sniper! I can not stress enough how much damage this guy has. When he is ready to use his spell, the enemy has nothing left to do but to pray for the Heavens above and ask for their mommy!
Although he doesn’t have any kind of sustain and is likely to get blasted by any assassin that crosses his path, it is your job and your decision if you are going to risk it all by playing him offensively or if you are going to have some reason and quip him with a Quicksilver or something similar.
As far as positioning goes, Jhin should never touch the edge of the board unless he has Quicksilver. Items should always be Infinity Edge and Last Whisper no matter what, but for the last item, you have many options and combinations.
You can go Blue Buff which is the highest damage output combination, since he will ult immediately as the fight starts, or you can go for Quicksilver and take some necessary precautions.
A very difficult champion to obtain even at level one, let alone two or three, your goal is to have him at level two by the end game if it is possible. Like most of the Snipers, Jhin’s isn’t working great against burst compositions like assassins and arcanists.
Jhin’s ability and stats:
Curtain Call
Jhin transforms his weapon into a powerful sniper rifle for his next 4 shots. Each shot deals a percentage of his Attack Damage as physical damage, reduced by 33% for each target it pierces through.
The 4th shot is guaranteed to critically strike, and deals 44% more damage based on his target’s missing Health. Passive: Jhin always attacks .9/.9/1.4 times per second. He converts each 1% of bonus Attack Speed into .8 Attack Damage.
- Base Damage: 175/250/444%
- Health 700 / 1260 / 2268
- Armor 30
- MR 30
- Damage 90 / 162 / 291.6
- Speed 0.9
- DPS 81 / 146 / 262
- Mana 0 / 70
Also read: Best Mutant Comp
Zeri
Along with Ashe, the newest addition to our TFT universe, Zeri is a high damage, high-cost unit, which basically tells you, you get what you pay for! In my opinion, she is too strong at the moment, and some nerfs are heading her way on Summoner’s Rift and TFT arenas as well.
She has an insane burst potential, and if you manage to get her up to level, God knows how many seconds will pass before your enemies beg for mercy!
Zeri is powerful at level one as a person would expect a five cost champion to be, but she shines even brighter, nope, scrap that, but she buzzes even stronger when she is at level two, and I am afraid to tell you that one-second delete you get if she somehow reaches level three.
Positioning-wise, at the back, like most of her colleagues, of the sniper trait, you should always try to shield your five-cost unit with some of your other, lower-cost units.
Item-wise, you want to go Guinsoo’s Rageblade for the bonus attack speed, Titan’s Resolve for sustain, and Last Whisper for some good old armor penetration shredding.
Zeri’s ability and stats:
Lightning Crash
Zeri charges herself up with electricity for 6 seconds. While electrified, she aims at the farthest enemy, her attacks pierce, and she dashes after every shot. Passive: Zeri’s attacks fire bullets, each dealing 18% of her Attack Damage as physical damage plus bonus magic damage to the first unit hit. VIP Bonus: Zeri’s Lightning Nova’s radius is doubled.
- Bullets: 5/5/30
- Damage: 11/22/44
Suggested Composition For Mercenaries Composition
Final Thoughts
The Mercenaries composition is one of the best compositions if you can pull it off. The 7 mercenaries are a golden composition for receiving many items. Sometimes if you can pull it off, you can end up with 15 items, compared to other players who will at max have 7 or 8.
You are pretty augment-dependent, and since you can not create The Mercenaries emblem with Spatula, this composition is not something you will manage to pull off every time you play TFT. The thing is, even if you aren’t doing so well and keep losing some fights and after a while, you win a fight, your loot will be even luckier!
You should also check out our article on TFT ranks.
