TFT CODEX

Vanguard Aphelios

Also called Aphelios Fast 9 · Vanguard Fast 9

Fast 9Carried by Aphelios

Teamfight Tactics Set 18·Patch 18.5·Ranked games, Diamond+, last 7 days·Updated 2 Nov 2026, 05:17 UTC·Difficulty Easy

—Tier
#5.87Avg Place
25.7%Top 4 %
6.0%Win %
0.1%Play Rate
1,228Games, 7 days

Final board

The board at level 9, where most of its games end, from its games at all ranks over the last 14 days. Press a level to see the board on the way.

The Night Arena: an obsidian TFT board lit in gold
★★
★★
★★
★★

Positions are our rule by attack range, not measured. Riot's match data has no positions. Dashed levels are planned.

4Aphelios★★
  • Guinsoo's Rageblade
  • Kraken's Fury
  • Infinity Edge
carry
or
  • Taric
3Diana★★
3Fiddlesticks★★
  • Gargoyle Stoneplate
  • Warmog's Armor
1Rakan★★
or
  • Varus
  • Shen
5Kennenflex
or
  • Akali
4Amumuflex
or
  • Maokai
3Kha'Zixflex
or
  • Sentinel
1Ornnflex
or
  • Soraka
1Xayahflex
or
  • Alune
  • Lillia

Open in Builder
Aphelios

How to play this

When
You hold Recurve Bow and B.F. Sword, and nobody else in the lobby is on Aphelios.
  • #5.82 alone41% of games
  • #5.81 with one other42% of games
  • #6.13 with two or more17% of games
Others on Aphelios in the lobby, over 2,968 games of this patch at all ranks.
Items
Slam Kraken's Fury first (Recurve Bow + Negatron Cloak): of Aphelios' most played build, the item its boards placed best with, #5.61 over 1,115 boards at all ranks. our rule Hold the rest:Recurve BowB.F. SwordNeedlessly Large RodSparring Gloves
Level
Level to 9. Its games also end at level 10 (12%). Level 9 around 5-1: about 20 rolls (40 gold) to 2-star Aphelios; about 30 if three copies of each are on other boards. model Finishes at level 8.5 on average. Boards at its levels average 4.27 across every comp; this one averages 5.88, 1.61 worse. Level is partly how a game went and partly the plan, so this is context, not a grade.
Carries

Aphelios 3★ on 0% of boards

Guinsoo's RagebladeInfinity EdgeKraken's Fury Guinsoo's Rageblade, Infinity Edge, Kraken's Fury

#5.83 over 131 games at all ranks

Stage by stage

Stages 2 and 3 are our plan; 4 to 6 are the level its players were measured at.

Stage 2 Level 4 plan

Play Ornn, Rakan, Xayah and Fiddlesticks.

Aphelios' items go on Xayah until Aphelios comes in at level 8.

Stage 3 Level 6 plan

Add Diana and Varus.

3% of its games end at level 6.

Stage 4 Level 8 measured

Its players average 8.0 when they go out in stage 4.

Add Aphelios and Kha'Zix; sell Ornn and Varus.

32% of its games end at level 8.

Stage 5 Level 9 measured

Its players average 8.5 when they go out in stage 5.

Add Amumu.

45% of its games end at level 9.

Stage 6 Level 9 measured

Its players average 9.2 when they go out in stage 6.

Its games end around round 5-3 on average, with 14 gold left.

Which version?

Two comps play Vanguard around Aphelios. They share the three below; the units only one of them plays tell you which one you are on.

Every version plays
or DianaApheliosor Amumu
You are here
Not gradedVanguard Aphelios
#5.87 avg25.7% top 41,228 gamesFast 9
Played on about 1 board in 1,429 in the last 7 days; a grade needs 1 in 100.
Carried by Aphelios
Only this one plays
RakanFiddlesticksor Kha'Zixor Xayahor Ornnor Kennen

Ranked games, last 7 days, Diamond+. A dashed portrait is a flex slot: many of its games play another unit there.

No tier yet fewer than 400 games in 7 days   Not graded played too rarely to grade

Board at every levelthe board level by level, with its traits and the options its games play

The board at every level from 4, with what each level adds and sells. From level 7 up it is measured over 3,887 games at all ranks over the last 14 days; below that it is planned.

63%78%832%945%1012%
Lv 4planOrnnRakanXayahFiddlesticks221Aphelios’s items on Xayah
Lv 5planOrnnRakanVarusXayahFiddlesticksAddedVarus2221Aphelios’s items on Xayah
Lv 6planOrnnRakanXayahDianaFiddlesticksVarusAddedDiana22221Aphelios’s items on Xayah
Lv 78%DianaFiddlesticksKha'ZixOrnnRakanHecarimXayahAddedKha'ZixHecarimSoldVarus133221
Lv 832%ApheliosDianaFiddlesticksKha'ZixRakanXayahOrnnAmumuAddedApheliosAmumuSoldHecarim12222221
Lv 945%AmumuApheliosDianaFiddlesticksKha'ZixRakanXayahOrnnKennenAddedKennen122222221
Lv 1012%KennenAmumuApheliosDianaFiddlesticksKha'ZixOrnnRakanXayahLuxAddedLux1122222221

Not a reroll comp: nothing is 3-starred on even 1 board in 5.

How these rows are made

Level 7 and up are the boards this comp’s games ended on. Riot’s match data keeps only that last board, so the levels below are planned by one rule from this comp’s own units and traits and Riot’s shop odds, and marked plan — how the rule works. Hover a trait badge for what it does.

Item builds, measuredthe carries’ three-item builds, with average place and games

The carries’ most played three-item builds this patch, with the placement of the games they were built in.

ChampionBuildAvg PlaceGames
ApheliosGuinsoo's RagebladeGuinsoo's RagebladeInfinity EdgeInfinity EdgeKraken's FuryKraken's Fury#5.83131
ApheliosDeathbladeDeathbladeGuinsoo's RagebladeGuinsoo's RagebladeKraken's FuryKraken's Fury#5.5199
ApheliosGuinsoo's RagebladeGuinsoo's RagebladeKraken's FuryKraken's FuryLast WhisperLast Whisper#5.7898

Components to hold Recurve Bow ×2, B.F. Sword, Needlessly Large Rod, Negatron Cloak, Sparring Gloves

Variationswhat close versions add or leave out, and how they placed

Other boards this comp ends on, over the last 14 days. Each row is a version’s usual final board and what it plays instead of this comp’s own board at that level.

Lv 9AluneKennenAmumuApheliosLilliaDianaFiddlesticksKha'ZixRakan4.26avg place317 gamesPlaysAluneLilliaInstead ofXayahOrnn
Lv 8ApheliosDianaFiddlesticksKha'ZixLeBlancOrnnRakanXayah6.48avg place231 gamesPlaysLeBlancInstead ofAmumu
Lv 9AmumuApheliosNidaleeDianaFiddlesticksAkaliOrnnRakanXayah6.27avg place136 gamesPlaysNidaleeAkaliInstead ofKha'ZixKennen
Lv 9MaokaiApheliosDianaFiddlesticksKha'ZixLeBlancOrnnRakanXayah6.12avg place109 gamesPlaysMaokaiLeBlancInstead ofAmumuKennen
Lv 9AluneKennenAmumuApheliosLilliaDianaFiddlesticksShenVarus4.93avg place104 gamesPlaysAluneShenVarusLilliaInstead ofKha'ZixRakanXayahOrnn
Augments that fitby trait and by our rule; no augment has a number of its own

What each augment grants, set against what this comp measured: the same rule the overlay uses when it reads the three on offer. A measured line is the comp’s own placement at a trait level; a line by rule is a fact about the comp, such as the damage its carry is built for.

MeasuredThe comp’s own placement at a trait’s levels, beside the augments that give the trait.

#4.00

Lunar 5: averages 4.00 here, against 5.89 at Lunar 2 (2,199 boards)

#4.42

Fae 4: averages 4.42 here, against 6.06 at Fae 2 (2,713 boards)

#5.13

Flora Fatalis 2: averages 5.13 here, against 6.13 at Flora Fatalis 1 (3,060 boards)

#4.22

Rapidfire 4: averages 4.22 here, against 5.91 at Rapidfire 2 (2,348 boards)

#5.85

Elderwood 5: averages 5.85 here, against 6.18 at Elderwood 3 (2,133 boards)

Riot’s match-v1 data does not report which augments a player took, so no augment has a number of its own on this page or anywhere else on the site. The augment reference lists what each one grants.

Questionswhat people search for about this comp, answered from this page

What people search for about this comp, answered from the numbers on this page.

How do you play Vanguard Aphelios in TFT Set 18?

Fast 9. Players of this comp who go out in stage 6 are level 9.2 on average. Its games end most often at level 9 (45%).

What items does Aphelios need?

Its most played build this patch is Guinsoo's Rageblade, Infinity Edge and Kraken's Fury: #5.83 over 131 games.

Is Vanguard Aphelios good in patch 18.5?

In Diamond+: average place #5.87 and 26% top 4 over 1,228 Diamond+ games in the last 7 days. At all ranks it averages #5.86 over 1,355 games.

Is Vanguard Aphelios contested?

Yes, contest costs it: with nobody else on Aphelios it placed #5.82 (41% of games), with one other #5.81 (42%), with two or more #6.13 (17%), over 2,968 games of this patch at all ranks.

More about this compladder boards, traits, by bracket, trend, also played

At the top of the ladder

The newest boards of this comp from the players on our leaderboard, best placed first. A name opens that player’s games, board and items included.

  1. #1102#2600Challenger · KR · 1,916 LP · level 8 · 2026-10-26
  2. #4AL3XEM#GGEZChallenger · EUW · 1,543 LP · level 9 · out at 6-2 · 2026-10-26
  3. #5MKOI Safo20#BADChallenger · EUW · 1,618 LP · level 8 · out at 5-2 · 2026-10-23
  4. #5CoachTFT lemonss#0810Challenger · VN · 1,694 LP · level 10 · out at 5-5 · 2026-10-20
  5. #8Matcha#huyChallenger · VN · 1,636 LP · level 8 · out at 4-3 · 2026-10-27
  6. #8ぺっくる#DACKChallenger · JP · 1,564 LP · level 9 · out at 5-1 · 2026-10-23

Traits

Active on the final board above, with the next breakpoint the trait offers.

Rival1next 2Defender2next 4Fae2next 4Inferno2next 3Juggernaut2next 4Lunar2next 3Rapidfire2next 3Vanguard2next 4Flora Fatalis1next 2

What each tier of this comp’s own traits was worth on its boards. The small number under each average is how many boards sat at that tier.

TraitPlacement at each tier
Defender25.922,80844.9982
Fae26.062,47944.42234
Flora Fatalis16.132,60425.13456
Inferno25.341,33135.4233754.59103
Lunar25.892,13034.8763044.6215154.0069
Rapidfire25.912,28535.0944444.2263
Rival15.882,1645.4486
Vanguard25.863,01244.86311

By bracket

Diamond, Master, Grandmaster and Challenger against the whole sample. Each board carries the tier of its own player where the sampler held it.

BracketGamesAvg PlaceTop 4 %Win %
Diamond+1,228#5.8725.7%6.0%
All ranks1,355#5.8625.8%5.8%

Trend

Avg Place on each of the last 7 days. The bars are scaled to the range shown, so the shape is the comparison and the figure under each bar is the day.

Also played

Families sharing at least 4 core units with this one — the same board taken a different way.

CompTierShared unitsAvg PlaceGames
Summoner Aphelios & Lillia—4#7.1554