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In this second Set 16 video, Mortdog steps away from pure content rundown and talks directly to engaged TFT players — the people who grind 100+ games a set, follow the meta closely, and care about long-term game health. Instead of just listing champs and traits, he explains the design goals behind Lore & Legends: how carries are defined, why verticals are being toned down, what “legendary soup” is supposed to look like, and how augments, artifacts, and bugs will be handled throughout the set.
Highlights
- Carry Philosophy & Utility Units
Not every champ is meant to be a 3-item carry anymore. Some units (like Lulu, Diana, Singed, Cho’Gath, Aphelios, etc.) are intentionally designed as secondary/utility pieces rather than primary win conditions. - “Threat-like” Design & Flexibility
Many 4- and 5-costs are built to function with minimal trait investment, so you can actually pivot when you hit a random legendary instead of being locked into one vertical from 2-1. - Verticals vs Wide Boards
2- and 3-piece trait entries (e.g. 2 Bruiser, 2 Arcanist, 3 Demacia, 3 Ionia) are intentionally over-tuned so splashes feel great, while full verticals are not meant to be the best capped boards at high elo unless you have emblems. - Traditional Leveling, Less Free Reroll
The set is designed around level 8/9 with strong 4- and 5-cost boards. Reroll is still possible, but if a low-setup, always-forcible reroll comp becomes the best comp, it’s on the chopping block. - Legendary Soup Expectations
Endgame boards full of legendaries are expected and fine — the problem is if the same few legendaries (e.g. Shyvana/Kindred/Volibear) appear in every winning board. Those outliers will get targeted nerfs. - Prismatic Traits & Emblems
Prismatic traits are tuned to feel special but not mandatory. Emblems and spatula access are being monitored so they’re achievable without every game being decided at 2-1. - Items & Radiants Reset
Component and radiant item balance has been re-baselined so rods/tiers/cloaks aren’t permanently “grief picks.” Radiant items are expected to need tuning, but the goal is a healthier overall item ecosystem. - Artifacts vs Radiants (Power Budget)
Artifacts are meant to be ~1–1.5 items in strength and never stronger than your best radiant. If something like Portable Forge is overperforming, artifacts will be nerfed until it falls into line. - Augment Tailoring & No Trash Options
A lot of work went into making sure you don’t see clearly dead augments at each stage (2-1, 3-2, 4-2). Direction-locking augments at 2-1 (like old crown/crest spam) are heavily reduced. - Meta Reports & Transparency
Mort commits to early-set “Monday morning meta reports” where he publicly calls out over/under-performing augments and artifacts, plus their target placement ranges, so players can hold the team accountable. - Bugs & Quality Goals
Lore & Legends is intentionally less system-complex than KO Coliseum (no fruits), with more internal/“jam day” testing. Bugs will still exist, but the team is aiming for a much higher quality bar and faster responses.
