Remember to subscribe our Youtube Channel: 

======

I am the author of this post

• Original link:

======

Before We Go Further

• The purpose of this post isn’t to share the only correct way to play Zoe, but rather the way that works best for me.

• Initially, I saw top NA player SpencerTFT on YouTube playing Zoe, and after trying a few games, I found it quite interesting.

• Later, I discovered that the CUPX team had been studying it for a while, and I learned a lot from them, for which I am very grateful!

• At the same time, several well-known EU and NA players were confused about where the strength of this comp comes from while climbing. Even they needed time to understand, so Zoe isn’t a low-effort comp to learn.

• Up to now, I’d say I’m only proficient, but not an expert. For example, I just learned where to place Ahri in the late game.

Some Important Tips First

• It’s not just about rerolling 3-star units to win!

• Please read the entire post before trying it out. I’ve summarized many pitfalls so you don’t have to go through them and then claim the comp doesn’t work.

• Many people think that Poppy Augment or Lillia Augment is great. Sorry, but this comp isn’t about winning just because you have a 3-star synergy unit.

• Every Augment choice is crucial to feel the satisfaction of climbing with 4 Gold Warriors.

• Here’s my summary of this comp: it’s a low-cost comp that requires flawless decision-making. You don’t gain momentum even with losing streaks in stages 2 and 3, with the earliest power spike at 4-1. But if every decision is correct, you will be rewarded. When the comp is complete with two mistakes allowed (>20 HP), that’s when the climb starts, similar to Milk-Monkey in the old time.

Some Game Play

Core Composition

TLDR: Slow roll in stage 3, buy charms consistently, achieve all 3-star units with multiple items and correct positioning to start climbing.

4 Bastion + 2 Scholar + 2 Arcana + 2 Witch stays constant. Use remaining slots based on emblems and units you get to transition into high Scholar, high Arcana, 3 Portal, etc.

The core is using multiple 3-star units and Ahri’s Arcana effect to increase AP for the whole team, similar to Lotus Kindred from last season. AP equals both damage and tankiness.

You must have a lot of items. At least have one Thief’s Gloves to cheaply build a 3-star frontline tank. Overwhelm the opponent with high-star units and multiple items.

1. Zoe: Main carry in early game, more like an item carrier. 2 mana regen and 1 damage item, generally built from Tear items, Bow items, and Rod items. The exact build depends on the components you get. And remember to move all Zoe items onto the late game carry like Ryze or Ahri.

2. Ahri: Important late-game carry. CUPX upload a nice Ahri positioning strategy. It can easily raise your game result with 1+:

3. Poppy and Lillia: One with Thief’s Gloves, the other with Ionic Spark and other tank items. Even though they are 1-cost units, with the AP boost, they are tanky and deal enough damage but don’t need 6 full items.

4. The key is that the Ionic Spark on the frontline helps deal more damage quickly, similar to Mage Swain from previous seasons.

5. 2-star Ryze is an important source of damage for the late-game 4 Scholar build. If you are going for 4 Scholar instead of 4 Arcana, you'll need to remove the 3-star Zoe's items and give them to Ryze.

Overall Strategy

First of all, it's impossible to play if someone else is contesting because you absolutely need a 3-star Ahri. (Although I did win with a 2-star Ahri once, but that was because I got Ryze early and had a Arcana Emblem)

Stage 2:

• Don't keep any units that is not in the comp, including the fourth Bastion.

• Try to lose all rounds, but if the quality is very high and you can win streak, go for the strongest lineup.

• Zoe with some items can swap units very well, and losing streaks have a high tolerance.

Stage 3 (most important turn, detailed analysis):

• First is 3-1

  • the only goal is to find an econ charm. It can be a Small Replicator or Missed Connection. If your gold down to 50 and still don't have it, take any econ charm next. Don't let your economy drop below 30.

  • 3-1 is very important. On one hand, there are many 1-cost units, and your economy should be good. (I assume you took an econ augment first). You can D for a top econ charm, saving at least 10 gold in reroll costs.

• For the rest of stage 3

  • Do not lvl up. Maintain 50 gold and slow reroll for 3-star units.

  • Don't rush to spend all your gold. You still need to reach level 8 for the complete build. If you don't have the gold to reach level 8, you will die in stage 5 even with a win streak in stage 4.

  • During this time, not only D units but also buy charms. Econ charms help you 3-star faster (like Missed Connection).

  • Combat charms increase your tolerance. D twice per wave and buy a charm, more if you have the gold. But ensure you can D at least twice in the next wave.

Stage 4:

• You might need until 4-3 to 4-5 to 3-star everything.

• Stay confident in your decision and don't panic spend all your gold.

• Stage 4 usually doesn't auto-start the win streak. Wait until stage 5 to go lvl8 for a full win streak into the finals.

• Full 3-star front and back line, 3-5 full items on backline, quality items like Thief + Spark on frontline.

• This is the quality needed for a stage 4 end push. You might only lose to positioning, charm issues, or early fully built monster comps like Mordekaiser Syndra.

Augment Choice

As mentioned earlier, this composition requires both economy and items to enhance overall thickness and quality.

Some combat augments are also very useful, such as Inspiring Epitaph and Martyr, but generally, item-based combat augments are more versatile.

Since economy is needed, it's always a good idea to go for an economic augment first. The most recommended economic augments are:

• Silver Refund: Grants gold upon combining 2-star units. This can generate at least 30 gold for rerolling.

• Silver Pandora’s Bench: Essential for finding multiple 3-star units, especially 1-cost units. It can later transform into higher-cost units.

• Silver Replicator: Not very strong but useful for getting multiple 3-star units, saving at least 30 gold in reroll costs.

• Gold Pilfer: Steals the first killed unit. Accelerates the 3-star timing by stealing high-cost frontliners.

• Gold Failure Makes You Stronger: Provides both gold and items, crucial for the Zoe composition.

• Prismatic Upgraded Adventure: Gives rewards for 4-star units. Tailor-made for this composition but the rewards can sometimes be suboptimal.

For combat augments, most item-based augments are good choices. Some specific high-tier augments include:

• All colors of Pandora: Very versatile, offering a lot of usable items for both front and back line.

• Silver Golden Remover: Very handy for making and changing items, especially useful for multiple Thieves.

• Gold Spellblades: Best suited for short mana bars and high AP, perfect for Zoe compositions.

• Gold Little Buddies: Provides high-cost attributes to low-cost units, great if you can 2-star Ryze early.

• Gold Item Collector: Provides additional stats for the whole team, beneficial for both front and back line.

• Arcana Emblem: Allows for a high AP build, can be used to transition to a 5 Arcana composition.

• Gold Thieves + attributes: Needed for multiple Thieves, offering additional attributes and functioning as two completed items.

Some augments to avoid:

• Prismatic New Recruit: Appears to add population and provide replicators but offers less overall improvement.

• Poppy and Lillia enhancements: Require offensive items, disrupting the balance between front and back line.

• Lucky Gloves: Although multiple Thieves are needed, it's not worth upgrading with this prismatic augment.

• Gold Dragon's Claw: While it looks good, the front line isn't suited for long battles, making it less effective as a combat augment.

Finally

Hope you all enjoy reading this post! See you next time!

======

Me——Master-GM in previous set, current Diamond player in EUW: 

In the last two champions tournament (2022, 2023), the winners of that year's first international event were beaten twice and eliminated by the runners up of the first event...

2022 - Masters iceland GF- Optic Gaming (Won) vs Loud (Lost)
2022 - Champions tournament - Loud beat Optic in Upper finals, Loud beats Optic in Grandfinals. (Loud 2-0 optic)

2023 - Lock in Sao Paulo GF - Fnatic (won) vs Loud (lost)

2023- Champions tournament - Loud beat Fnatic in upper bracket, Loud eliminates Fnatic in lower bracket. ( Loud 2-0 Fnatic) ...

So coming in to this year and current champs :

2024 - Masters Madrid GF - Sen (won) vs GenG (lost)
2024 - Champions tournament - GenG beat Sen in group upper bracket... now GenG vs Sen in lower bracket in an eliminator match for spot in playoffs...

you see where this is going.... of course these are just patterns but it was funny how it happened 2 years in a row...