New TFT patch brings back encounters, and it looks like reroll meta is here to stay

The Teamfight Tactics 17.2 patch notes have been revealed, and Riot Games is bringing some much-needed variety to Set 17 in its next update. Alongside the long-awaited return of encounters, five new augments have been added. The studio's also taken a big swing at the game economy, reducing gold across the board, while lightly reworking Timebreaker so you'll now need three units with the trait in order to generate rerolls. Emblem roulette has also been tamed, and I'll be very glad if this stops Space Groove Riven from goomba stomping my board. We're also seeing nerfs to overperforming units like Viktor (everyone liked that), and a slew of buffs to others like Lulu, Maokai, and Tahm Kench. At first glance, it looks like reroll meta is here to stay, but we could also see some solid Level 8 boards emerge.

First things first: encounters are back in Teamfight Tactics, baby. Well, some of them are. While we won't be seeing the likes of Gwen's Gifts and the ever-popular Scuttle Puddle make their autochess game comeback, Riot has added five new lobby modifiers that should do enough to keep things fresh. Double Duplicators awards a champ dupe at the start of the game, and then another on round 3-3. Cheaper Levels makes XP cost two gold less. Reroll Start offers up eight free rerolls on 2-1. Artifact Anvil and Stage Three Augments, meanwhile, do exactly what they say on the can, with the former kicking in on 3-3, and the latter in the first three rounds of Stage 3.

By the looks of things, most of these encounters look to mesh well with rerolling, which doesn't bode well for those, like me, who are already quite bored of seeing a million different combinations of the playstyle every game. Primordian's got off Scot-free, and actually has a new trait-specific Prismatic Augment, Heart of the Swarm, though at first glance this looks like it'll require a ridiculous high roll to maximize. At the very least, Talon, Viktor, and Samira have been nerfed, though I do find it odd that the latter of the trio was targeted seeing as she only ever pops up in a Two Tanky spot.

Fast 9's also taken a hit. Vex has been the standout from Space Gods' five-cost pool, and loss-streaking into a Fast 9 win-out with her as the star has been incredibly potent. Naturally, she had to take a hit. Graves has also been readjusted so that his Assault Frame isn't the de facto way to play him, though trying to play him outside of a Stage 3 hit or an Aura Farming spot already felt like a fast eighth angle.

All is not lost though, as Jhin, Fiora, Shen, and Sona have all been given some love. Jhin was an absolute beast on PBE, and my virtuoso-loving self would very much like to go back to 20/20'ing him. Shen is easily the worst five-cost in the game right now, so hopefully a boost to his tankiness and damage will help him actually do something.

Speaking of tanks, it's a big patch for Bruisers. Both Maokai and Tahm Kench have more survivability, though for the River King this has come at the cost of reduced reward scaling. When also taking this patch's Nunu nerf into account, alongside the buff to the untransformed Mighty Mech, it should help rebalance frontline options into a much healthier spot. By extension, this should hypothetically give Level 8 boards a bit more stability by virtue of increasing the odds of hitting a two-star four-cost tank.

On the topic of Level 8 boards, I hope this patch inspires some new default comps in this area, as most are currently conditional. Karma-Leblanc is only as strong as the Arbiter you roll (now reworked). Karma-Nami is at its statistical best with a Voyager Emblem (now nerfed). Mecha requires artifacts or an Anima cashout to really come online. Xayah, meanwhile, will only pop off with specific Stargazer modifiers (especially now her absurd interaction with Battle Bunny Crossbow has been nixed). Considering the nerf to Space Groove Emblem should make Riven more readily available, alongside a light boost to Corki's damage, I can see that duo-carry comp faring much better on 17.2. The Master Yi-Kindred board has also been rising in popularity, so there's at least two solid options already.

As noted, TFT's economy is seeing some real deflation this patch. Stage 1-3 average loot has been "slightly decreased," while the God Armory on 4-7 now gives ten gold instead of 12. God blessings have also been trimmed down a touch, so expect lobby tempo to drop.

Elsewhere, augment distribution's been revised, new god blessings have been added (Thresh can now mini recombob, so watch out for that), Anima cashouts have been adjusted, and there are some new hero augments. Mordekaiser's Heat Death augment and Gragas' Self Destruct are both hilariously fun, so definitely click them if they pop up.

With all of the changes considered, I'm going to take a crack at highlighting some comps I reckon we'll see in 17.2. Teemo-Leona reroll could still be strong depending on how the Arbiter changes land. Primordian will still be a hotly-contested reroll board, and I can see Diana stocks increasing. With Maokai in a better spot, I imagine Bruiser-fronted NOVA boards like Yi-Kindred will only become more popular. With both Miss Fortune and Lulu receiving buffs, their Replicator reroll board could also see more play. Finally, with the Mighty Mech, Yi, and Psionic (Biomatter Preserver and Target-Lock Optics) item buffs, alongside the Kench changes, Yi-Karma is now a far more appetizing prospect. Actually, forget you read that last one.