SPatch 18.1
Riftbeast Elder Dragon TFT Set 18 Ranked Comp
A tier S TFT Set 18 ranked comp for patch 18.1: how to build it, which items and augments to prioritise, and how to position it.
Fast 9RiftbeastLate Game
How to Play
Riftbeast is a trait family with more than one viable payoff rather than a single fixed comp, and trackers disagree on which carry is strongest. This build plays the vertical Riftbeast frontline through the mid game, then transitions into a seven cost Elder Dragon as a late-game hyper carry once you're at full gold and levels.
Core Units
Krug
3-cost Frontline
Brambleback
4-cost Frontline
Ancient Sentinel
4-cost Frontline
Mama Beak
3-cost Utility
Elder Dragon
5-cost Carry
Taric
5-cost Frontline
Gnar
5-cost Frontline
Early Game
Krug and Mama Beak are both cheap enough to play from the opening rounds while you bank gold. Riftbeast bodies are common and cheap, so you can afford to hold a wide frontline without spending much of your econ on it.
Mid Game
Add Brambleback and Ancient Sentinel as you level, stacking the Riftbeast count for its team-wide bonus while your frontline tanks the early game. Taric and Gnar round out the front as you push toward level 9.
Late Game and Final Board
Elder Dragon is a seven cost unit, so hitting him is not guaranteed, and this comp's late game depends on getting there with enough gold left to roll. When he lands with Infinity Edge and Last Whisper, he can single-handedly close out a game your Riftbeast wall has already stabilised.
Best Items
Krug wants pure tank itemisation: Gargoyle Stoneplate, Spirit Visage, and Warmog's Armor. Save your strongest AD items, Infinity Edge and Last Whisper especially, for Elder Dragon rather than spending them early.
Best Augments
Riftbeast verticality augments and anything that grants bonus gold or shop rerolls both suit this comp, since reaching Elder Dragon depends on economy more than any specific augment.
Positioning
This comp runs an unusually tank-heavy frontline of up to five bodies, so positioning is mostly about spreading Krug, Brambleback, Ancient Sentinel, Taric, and Gnar across the front two rows rather than protecting a fragile backline.
Flex Units and Alternative Carries
If Elder Dragon isn't coming, Brambleback can be itemised as an alternate carry instead, since he has real damage potential in his own right. Mama Beak is a flexible early body you can swap for any other cheap Riftbeast unit.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Rated S tier across multiple trackers, with a genuinely tanky floor even before Elder Dragon lands. The tradeoff is the same as any seven cost plan: real variance in whether you actually hit him, and sources disagree on which unit in the family is the true payoff carry.
Want to actually climb with this?
The free breakdown gets you started. The guide gets you to gold-plus.
This page covers the Riftbeast Elder Dragon fundamentals. The full e-guide covers every transition, contested-lobby adjustment, and augment line piloting decision that separates a 4th from a 1st: the stuff that doesn't fit in a free writeup.
See what's in the guide