Teamfight Tactics Cybernetic One Trick Guide

by Dracaryx

Another Cyber guide bro?

I hear you, and I swear I’m not here to reinvent the wheel. Instead, this guide will aim to challenge aspects of what many perceive as “conventional Cyber wisdom,” including a comprehensive discussion on 6 Chrono/3 Cyber, a composition that I believe to be overlooked and underplayed on the NA server.

Intro

Cybernetic and Chrono units are a natural pairing. Every Cyber unit except Ekko has a corresponding Chrono counterpart with the same secondary trait. The Chrono trait provides valuable ATK SPD to Cyber’s auto-attack-based carries, while the units themselves provide additional CC/utility.

For the entirety of the season, the standard Cyber comp has been 6 Cyber 2 Chrono, with some additional flexibility at Level 9. However, Cybers have suffered repeated nerfs to both their trait and their primary carry, Vayne. Chrono on the other hand, has been buffed substantially in terms of both the trait and the individual units. These balance shifts have led to a state where 4 Chrono 3 Cyber (Level 7-8) and 6 Chrono 3 Cyber (Level 9) represent viable variations on the Cybernetic formula. A key point on which 4/6 Chrono differ from 6 Cyber is that they prefer Lucian as primary ranged carry. Lucian is less reliant than Vayne on AD from the 6 Cyber trait due to his magic damage ability, which was buffed substantially. He also enjoys more flexible itemization and backline access through Blaster trait, at the expense of reduced single-target DPS and safety.

At the time of my climb from GM to Challenger, the NA meta was dominated by two comps: Star Guardians and Mech. I entered every game with the expectation that at least half of my lobby would consist of these two comps. SG in particular is often considered a counter to Cyber due to Neeko’s frontline CC in conjunction with Syndra’s backline access. However with proper itemization/positioning and the additional flexibility afforded by 4/6 Chrono variants, Cybers can be played favorably into both of these comps. Furthermore, 4/6 Vanguard comps that serve as a midgame counter to Cybers have extremely poor matchups into SG and Mech. You may not find this guide to be as applicable if your meta does not match what I have described here.

First, I will discuss itemization as this heavily influences our decision tree. This will set us up to walk through the various stages of the game that ultimately lead us to our final comp of 6 Cybers vs 6 Chrono/3 Cybers. Finally, I will go over some tips on positioning/galaxies with a TL;DR summary at the end. Let’s get to it!

Itemization

Vayne: In the current meta, GS > LW > IE. GS is necessary for killing Mech and Neeko. I will only prioritize LW over GS if there are 2+ Bramble Vests in the lobby, as most 4 Vanguard players will drop down to 2 Vanguard as the game progresses or be knocked out by Mech/SG. However, all three items are slammable; priority only matters when given the luxury of choice. You should prioritize these components on carousel until you have a total of 3 completed items (multiple GS can replace IE and/or LW in most lobbies).

Lucian: All of Vayne’s items can be used on Lucian. In addition, he can put other item components to use in the form of Red Buff, DCap, and Luden’s which can be easily transferred later if desired. He is also a better user of Deathblade than Vayne due to Blaster trait. I have had mixed results with Blue Buff as the frequency of dashing can sometimes place him in extremely awkward positions (this can be somewhat mitigated by placing him in the 2nd or 3rd row so his first dash goes backwards, but it’s still unreliable). Additionally, I suspect but cannot confirm that the increased time spent dashing may actually decrease his physical DPS, especially with Chrono 4/6. One of Lucian’s main strengths is his itemization flexibility, and you should take full advantage of this by not hesitating to slam items on him while winstreaking.

Irelia: TG is preferred. She is not a bad unit, but is an unreliable carry especially vs. SG and mech. TG provides the optimal benefit/investment ratio, especially given the item-hungry nature of Cybers. A major benefit to prioritizing GS that Gloves become more available for TG. Double GS+TG should be a serious consideration over GS/IE/LW, especially if playing 6 Chrono. If playing on an item-rich galaxy such as Treasure Trove, you can opt for something along the lines of IE + BT/HoJ + Infil Spat/GA.

Ekko: Usually receives Red Buff transferred from Lucian, then carousel items. Any mana/AS item works well to get him to ult faster. Be cautious of AP as Ekko’s ability consists of an auto-attack + bonus magic damage, and only the bonus damage scales off of AP. Thus AP is essentially only 50% effective on Ekko. The exception is JG, as the crit from JG can apply to Ekko’s autos as well. Irelia is a better choice for Deathcap, if she doesn’t have TG already.

Utility items: Zephyr/Shroud > Locket/Frozen Heart/Redemption. One major advantage of Cybers is that they utilize utility items better than any other composition due to their trait providing innate raw stats. Zephyr deserves special mention as it can single-handedly win fights and is perhaps the most skill-intensive item in the game. Versus Mech and SG, Zephyr removes their solo frontline unless they build QSS, at which point your Zephyr unit can easily be moved to target backline. Shroud carries similar impact versus SG even after the mana-reave effect nerf; the only problem is it requires Glove which is a valuable item in Cybers. Locket/Frozen Heart/Redemption represent the next tier of utility items and are frequently built because they do not share GS/LW/IE components. I will usually opt for any of these utility items over a pure tank item like Bramble Vest or Warmog’s. Zz’Rot and Zeke’s are also strong, but compete for Bow and Sword, respectively. Ionic Spark is not an item to aim for because Cybers get little value from the MR reduction, but is strong in the early game. Cloak is better used for Zephyr and Rod is better used for Locket, if given the choice.

Spat: FoN >>> Infil > BM/Celestial > DS. FoN is by far the best choice as it enables you to play 6 Cyber 4 Chrono at Level 9. I will usually hold Spat throughout Stage 4 in order to try and complete FoN. Infil Irelia is overrated and her main function is to grant Ekko ATK SPD. Some players will advocate stacking Infil Irelia over Vayne, I believe this is incorrect as she is still not a reliable carry even with Infil. 3BM synergy is inconsistent and should not be highly prioritized, but is playable on Vayne/Ekko if better options are not available. Celestial/DS pair with Ashe/Jhin, respectively, at level 9.

Walkthrough

Carousel: Priority is Sword = Glove > Bow. I prioritize Bow lower because multiple bows are more difficult to utilize, unless you are open to playing Bang Bros, but any of these starts are great. If you lose carousel, just try to get something that isn’t Cloak.

Stage 2: Standard early game basics apply: play strongest board, level if winstreaking, and always ask yourself how you can make your next 10. I level on 2-1 if I have something meaningful to play, and pre-level on 2-3 if I cannot make 10 anyway. If you cannot find Lucian you can use TF, Caitlyn, or Ziggs as interim carry. Value health highly and generally do not int for loss streak unless it is the last round before neutrals.

Stage 3: Hopefully you can find Lucian/Vayne naturally here and start collecting Cyber/Chrono units. Generally you will want to play Lucian over Vayne until Vayne has at least 2 completed items. Even with LW, Vayne can easily get stuck on Vanguards in the midgame with her weak base AD. While Lucian has 5 less AD than Vayne, he makes up for it with magic damage from his ability and backline damage through Blaster trait. The gap becomes even more substantial for Lucian 2 vs Vayne 1. From the point that you play Cybers until the end of the game, you will be looking to add Chrono to your team. Exceptions can be made to fit in Blaster/Sniper, or an exceptionally strong non-Chrono unit like Jayce, but you should always look to add Chrono back in ASAP.

Conventional 6 Cyber requires you to greed components in order to itemize as many Cybers as possible on 4-3. If you are already strong, you may do this and slam mid-fight if needed. However, sometimes you lowroll your opener and loss streak Stage 2. This is acceptable, but you really want to flip your streak or at least preserve health on Stage 3, which means slamming items. As we will discuss later, item shortage is easier to work with than HP shortage. While utility items like Zephyr/Locket/Redemption/Frozen Heart are preferred, lower priority items like Bramble/Spark/Warmog’s are acceptable to slam here as well. Sword/Bow/Glove should be kept for GS/IE/LW if possible, however if in a truly precarious position I will consider DB and TG as well. In either case, try to avoid leaving components on bench. Non-cyber non-chrono units like Jayce are good holders of spare components as they never make your final comp.

Stage 4: At Stage 4-1, you should be Level 7 with hopefully around 50 gold. This is a critical decision point for this composition.

It is key to understand that 4 Chrono/3 Cyber is in many cases stronger than 6 Cyber/2 Chrono throughout Stage 4, because you often do not have enough components to distribute to your Cybers at this point. 6 Cyber/2 Chrono is only stronger if you have 2+ completed items for Vayne plus enough spare components to itemize at least 4 other Cybers. 2 naked Cybers are likely better replaced by 2 Chrono units. Since 4 Chrono/3 Cyber gains no real synergies at Level 8, you may instead stay at Level 7 and utilize the extra gold to roll for upgrades. The ultimate goal with both variations is to reach Level 9 for Ekko 2 + Thresh 2 w/ bench; 6 Cyber uses a “fast 8 go 9” approach while 4 Chrono/3 Cyber uses “roll 7 skip 8 go 9.” If you try to circumvent the item restriction by always greeding components, then you will often lose too much HP to go 9 anyway.

With this in mind, you are presented with three main options:

1. Fast 8 Cyber

This is the move when you have 2+ (GS/LW/IE), spare components to itemize your other Cybers, and a comfortable amount of HP (>50). Having at least one of Leona or Fiora 2* is also important as these units can be difficult to find at 8. This tried and true approach works great when you are highrolling as you can easily snowball your lead to Level 9. However when entering Stage 4 with <50HP you risk falling to 30HP or less by your rolldown, especially when facing Mech players who often roll down on 4-1. Without the correct itemization, your Level 8 powerspike is not substantial enough to compensate for this and you would have been better off playing 4 Chrono/3 Cyber. The large contrast between these scenarios is the reason why many perceive Cybers to be a “first-or-eighth” comp. By following this traditional route only when highrolling, we can keep our firsts while choosing a different option to minimize our eighths.

1. Slow 8 Cyber

This is an option when you have 2+ (GS/LW/IE) but do not meet the other conditions. Here, you will roll to build a strong 4 Chrono 3 Cyber board during Stage 4 with the intention of playing 6 Cyber at 5-1 after you receive your remaining item components from neutrals. Commonly this occurs because you correctly slammed non-carry items earlier to preserve HP, leading to a component shortage. If this was successful and you have HP>50, you may slowroll to 40-50 gold each round. If you have multiple (3+) pairs to hit, you may roll an additional 10-20 gold. If your HP is low despite slamming items, or you greeded too hard, then you need to roll as much as it takes to become strong, even if that is all the way to zero, in order to avoid a fast 8th.

Fortunately this is one of the easiest roll-downs in the game as you can just read the top line of text and buy any “Chrono” or “Cybernetic” unit (just check before making any 2*s). A standard Level 7 board looks something like this: https://lolchess.gg/builder/set3.5?deck=7635fa50ebbb11ea9881e3630ff774c4 but the only requirement is that you play either Lucian or Vayne and their Chrono counterpart (Lucian is better than Vayne here assuming equal star level, but Vayne can be played if your items are already on her). There are 7 Chrono units and 6 Cyber units (excluding 5-costs) so be flexible and play what you hit, generally prioritizing 2*s. If your bench gets full, prioritize holding Cybers. The lowest priority Chrono units are TF (no synergy overlap) and Riven (expensive and low utility, but you may play her if 2*).

1. Chrono Commit

Here, you do not have 2+ of (GS/LW/IE). Hopefully this is because you lowrolled items on winstreak, so we have HP to work with. The worst case is when you have neither HP nor items, which probably means you got Mortdogged on carousels. Without the correct itemization, our 6 Cyber Vayne carry will not be very effective, so we take a different route. The same rolling guidelines above apply, with the difference that we no longer need to hold Fiora and Vayne which frees up our bench and economy. You should still hold Irelia as she will be used for Mana Reaver at 9, and can be played over Leona if not trading down on star level. Do not break econ to hold a 5th/6th Chrono unit, you will have plenty of time to find one at Level 8/9.

The other difference is that we no longer have to worry about separate item components at all. We are free to slam Double Frozen Heart Vi, or Double Locket Leona, or Zephyr and Shroud. It is key to get as strong as possible and build a streak and HP buffer through Stage 4, because our next spike will not happen until Level 9. In general, I will only go for 3* units if I am highrolling. It is okay to hold extra Lucians while rolling for the rest of your upgrades, but as soon as your board is 2* it is time to stop rolling. Lucian 3* is a fantastic unit, but never forget that the goal is to go 9.

As with most guides, the constellation of possibilities is much more complex than what I have presented here. The goal is to equip you with the knowledge to make and learn from your own decisions.

Stage 5+: This will be an extension of the decisions that you made in Stage 4.

If you went Fast 8 Cyber, hopefully you are strong and can push for Level 9. It is expected to take some losses while doing this, which is why HP is so important. Alternatively, you misevaluated your strength/had a bad rolldown and lost 50HP on Stage 4. That’s okay it happens to the best of us, just play for Top 4 by rolling down every time you hit 20-30 gold/donkey rolling if sitting on multiple pairs.

If you went Slow 8 Cyber, level to play 6 Cybers and sell your extra Chronos. If you somehow still don’t have 6 Cybers even after rolling throughout all of Stage 4, just commit to 4/6 Chrono by selling extra Cybers and slamming/stacking items. Then, try to push 9 or roll down if needed.

If you went Chrono Commit, you have the same goal of reaching Level 9 with the additional challenge that you do not spike much at 8, which makes HP even more important. You probably don’t have much to roll for, so just focus on positioning every round. Hold a 5th/6th Chrono and go 9 as soon as you can play them, because it is a huge power spike. One theoretical option is to play 6 Chrono non-Cyber variants such as Jinx/Jhin/Xerath, however I have no personal experience with this (I am a Cyber one-trick, after all).

Ultimately, going 9 requires a combination of HP and board strength. I believe this is true regardless of what comp you play, as even the strongest boards can lose rounds due to positioning and fight RNG.

Standard Level 9 Cyber: https://lolchess.gg/builder/set3.5?deck=35f4e920ed4311ea9688bfcddb7f2b3b

Standard Level 9 6 Chrono/3 Cyber (Vi 2 > Ekko 1): https://lolchess.gg/builder/set3.5?deck=5a4f94c0ed4311eaa94b9d281a9f3031

Both comps are fully capable of 1st place with Ekko 2 + Thresh 2 w/ bench. Scout every turn and drop your Zephyrs/Shrouds at the last possible second. Hopefully luck is in your favor!

Positioning

I believe that the idea of “default positioning” is unhealthy and that experimentation is key. Try different positions, and critically evaluate every round how the fight may have changed if you had positioned differently. What I would like to share here is one key position that I have found to be particularly effective vs. both SG and Mech as a result of such experimentation.

SG and Mech both run tanky solo frontliners with AOE cc. The most common scenario with frontline-backline Cyber positioning is for your melee units to cluster around this frontliner, feeding mana into their AOE ability until your frontline is stunned/destroyed. The simplest answer is to build Zephyr, but what happens if you don’t have Zephyr or they have QSS? In this scenario, I adopt the following positioning: https://lolchess.gg/builder/set3.5?deck=0ae3b5b0ebc911ea9b9d99ccb6d74e61

Here, we run our own tanky frontliner (Vi) who is fed mana by weak auto-attacks and ults almost immediately. Meanwhile, our backlined melee units focus and kill Blitzcrank’s pulled target, often remaining out of range of Neeko’s stun. In some cases, Mech will even turn to follow Vi and ult backwards. Around this time, Ezreal should ult into an SG clump. Your stacking 4 Chrono buff should allow Lucian to clean up the fight shortly afterwards. This positioning only really works with Vi 2, which is a good reason to roll at 7 so you can farm Mech and SG players throughout Stage 4. In Stage 5 and beyond, Vi may no longer be tanky enough to solo frontline so you may dual frontline a second unit alongside her. If playing 6 Chrono, Riven is a good choice as she also slips behind the enemy. Items that complement this positioning include Frozen Heart or Redemption to allow Vi to ult faster, and Locket on Leona to cushion the first Syndra/Viktor ult. Counters to this positioning include Astro Snipers (who may cc/kill Vi before she ults) and opposing Cybers with Vayne carry (who can cancel Vi’s ult), so keeping track of your matchups is important.

Without Blitzcrank, such as when running 6 Cybers, you can instead try pulling your frontline to the side corners like so: https://lolchess.gg/builder/set3.5?deck=773158e0ebf611eaabd5552d5500d02f

However this is less effective overall and your goal should be to reach 9 ASAP and play Thresh for Mana Reaver, which greatly helps vs. Neeko in particular.

Solo/duo frontline Vi/Riven is also effective against GP, as you delay his ult and may get him to ult backwards.

Another positioning pearl is to place your ranged carry and Ekko on the same side in order to exploit Viktor’s laser targeting (credit to GrandVice8). However, Lucian and Vayne both have mobility that give them a good chance of avoiding the brunt of Viktor’s laser anyway.

Against infiltrators, Vayne can be solo cornered to take advantage of her aggro drop. Shaco should not be able to kill Vayne before she tumbles, and Fizz in particular may catch her in AOE if there is another unit near her. The exception is Zed, as the ATK DMG steal will drastically reduce Vayne’s effectiveness during the fight. Lucian is slightly more susceptible to infiltrators but also more flexible in his positioning. Backline Irelia with Mana Reaver is another good choice against infiltrators as she can kill them and reset, hopefully into backline.

Galaxies

Galaxies that give you additional items, i.e. Superdense, Treasure Trove, Galactic Armory, favor 6 Cybernetic. Superdense deserves special mention as you are able to play 6 Cyber 2 Chrono at 7 into 6 Cyber 4 Chrono at 9, using the FoN as a free component. I anticipate that the new galaxy Big Bang in 10.18 will be particularly good for Cybers as it includes both Treasure Trove and Superdense.

Salvage World is my favorite galaxy and benefits both compositions. I will start Glove on this galaxy in an effort to form early TG, which provides high value and can be later broken apart for IE+LW if needed.

Plunder Planet encourages you to slam items early and roll earlier in order to be as strong as possible throughout the game. This favors 6 Chrono 3 Cybers unless you are highrolling items+units and don’t need to roll to be strong, in which case you can go for an early 6 Cyber to snowball to 9.

Trade sector makes hitting 3* Lucian/Vayne a more viable option if you are presented with the opportunity. My biggest advice would be to mind your economy, your goal is still to hit Level 9.

Dwarf Planet heavily favors 6 Chrono 3 Cybernetic because Vayne’s Sniper damage is reduced. I actually have a high winrate on this galaxy because Mech is so popular, which can be exploited through itemization and positioning. However this galaxy is being removed anyway.

I have somehow never played on Manatee’s Delight so I cannot really comment on this one. In theory, try to make FoN and then Infil Spat if unable to complete.

“Thanks bro, my secret is gone and every lobby is Cyber now”

Cybernetics can easily support multiple players, especially once you factor in the 6 Chrono variation. The flexibility and decision trees in this composition are complex enough to reward more skillful/experienced players in the long run. Compositions that are strong against Cybers such as 4 Vanguard Snipers, 4 Vanguard Mystic, and Bang Bros are generally poor vs. SG and Mech. Thus I believe that the meta is actually in a very healthy place despite the prevalence of SG and Mech, and I don’t foresee this guide or patch 10.18 changing that.

TL;DR Summary

Carousel: Sword > Glove > Bow

Items: Vayne items (GS > LW > IE) first, then Zephyr and utility items

Lucian 1 > Vayne 1 unless 2+ Vayne items; Lucian 2 > Vayne 1 almost always

Slam items early if needing to preserve HP

4-1: Decide to fast 8 for 6 Cyber or roll 7 for upgraded 4 Chrono, based on HP/units/items

5Head positioning vs. SG/Mech (need Vi 2): https://lolchess.gg/builder/set3.5?deck=0ae3b5b0ebc911ea9b9d99ccb6d74e61

Go 9 if you can, 3*s are bait unless highrolling

Extra item galaxies (Superdense, Armory, Treasure Trove) buff 6 Cybers

Conclusion

The current strength of Chrono units adds flexibility to Cybernetics by providing a much-needed Level 7 option and an alternative Level 9 option, minimizing the first-or-eighth nature of the comp for consistent LP gains. Through this additional dimension, Cybernetics become very well-positioned against the two dominant comps, SG and Mech. I hope you find some information in this guide to help you in your end-of-season goals, whatever they may be.