Welcome to our special Twisted Fate (short: TF) guide, which was created with the help of long time mid laner Sun-ho "SuNo" Ahn! It is based on the way he prefers to play the champion in his matches.



A short look at Twisted Fate's basic information:


With that said, let's take a quick glance at his abilities, before we discuss tactics, shall we?

Abilities

Passive: Loaded Dice


There is not much to add about this one, it is pretty self-explaining after all. However, the average gold bonus throughout the game is 4 gold per kill.

Q – Wild Cards


This is TF's go to ability in terms of wave clear and poke. The raw damage is quite nice, given that the cooldown is only 6 seconds, especially with a respectable range of 1450.

W - Pick a Card


Pick a Card is hands down THE Twisted Fate ability. You shuffle through cards for some seconds and can lock one in. After several nerfs, Pick a Card seems rather hard to master for new players. But it is all about getting a feeling for it coupled with a good timing. All cards have their place and are used in many different situations, for example a red card makes wave clearing extremely easy, therefore you will have to learn how to handle it.

E – Stacked Deck


Again not much to add, as the attack speed part seems rather irrelevant. Although the Magic damage part seems nice, it is not too noticeable. It can be used for some extra burst when going for a Pick a Card trade.

R – Destiny


Destiny is a very strong ultimate during the laning phase. The sheer pressure your sidelanes get when you disappear from your enemies' minimap for just a couple of seconds is insane. Getting your team a double kill on bot lane or simply counter ganking for your top lane teammate – Destiny has it all.

Masteries and Summoner spells

The masteries are pretty much the same as most mage mid champions chose. A standard 12 / 18 / 0 works best.

In terms of Summoner spells, it firstly comes down to your playstyle and confidence. If your matchup isn't too bad, you'll have to decide between teleport or ignite. Confident players tend to take ignite, as they count in solo kills or gank turnarounds. However, if the enemy champion can give you a hard time, cleanse (against cc on the jungler or opposing mid champion) or heal / barrier could be good alternatives. Some players tend to simply take TP, as it can be used offensively or defensively. The choice is yours.

Runes

Unlike most mid lane mages, TF does not go with the CDR rune trend. Take 9 Magic pen runes (red), 9 Scaling health runes (yellow), 3 Movement speed quintessences and 9 Scaling ability power runes (blue). If you have a hard match up and need the Magic resistance, swap out those blue runes for flat MR.

Spell order

Start with the first point in Pick a Card (W). Get Wild Cards (Q) at level 2 and Stacked Deck (E) at level 3. Max out your Q for the highest damage and pushing power first. Put points into Destiny whenever you can though. After Q is fully skilled, go for W and if there is nothing left, E.

When to pick TF, fitting team comps


Surviving the lane, Leblanc and getting ahead

Now that you roughly know what everything does, let's get to the most important thing: How and when to use it correctly. SuNo described what he usually does while laning in order to grab an advantage. On level 1 you should try to push the minions by AoE damaging them with red card. This will give you lane control and an early level advantage in most cases. Try to hit the enemy champion with your splash effect, when you go for the red card on the caster minions. Occasionally, your can get a blue card out for mana, especially on the enemy champion when he is trying to grab some CS.

When you hit level 2, continue to push the lane. Your Q will help you a lot, other than that, you should still try to get off red cards on the enemy champion and ranged minions. Push the first 2 waves into the enemies turret, but stop pushing after that. The next wave includes the canon minion and helps you reset the waves. This is usually also the moment the junglers get gank-active, don't get yourself into bad positions and put those wards down.

SuNo on the laning phase:


However, if the enemy lineup seems like a weak gank setup (for example: pre 6 Diana coupled with a Nunu), keep pushing the third wave. If you are not sure about the strength of the ganks, simply play it out safe. After a couple of matches, it will get way easier to predict your damage. It helps giving you small advantages, which usually sums up into a great one.

SuNo on playing out the mid game:


Basically, you should use TF's strong kit in a split push. If you get your enemies to react to your play, you can draw a good teamfight out of it. If you did not get the turret early on, but are already level 6, you have to keep an eye out for your sidelanes. No question, this is easily one of TF's best ways to get rolling. If an enemy lane plays overly aggressive / pushes, punish them with a well placed ultimate. Needless to say, try to time your gold card right when using Destiny's Gate.

Another potential advantage can be gained if your jungler has the upper hand and plays aggressive. Is he invading a lot? Then help him out, your ultimate is very strong here. You can basically wait until the fight erupts, pushing the lane. If there is no fight and your jungler got away somehow, the enemy mid lane champion may have lost a minion or two. Don't forget, these small advantages add up. Make 'em count.

Special match up – LeBlanc:

Now, many players struggle against the midlane nightmare LeBlanc (Short: LB). SuNo has played this specific matchup quite often and explains how to overcome and/or even beat her. Your worst enemy in that scenario are ganks. In a straight up 1v1, a TF usually has the upper hand. Practice your movement against her chains, as these are the deadliest tool in a trade. If you manage to dodge her chains, you easily outdamage her in a trade. Your minions usually help you avoiding the chains, make use of it.

Again, if you feel save, keep pushing until the 3rd wave. Be especially careful while said wave is fighting, due to the jungler hovering next to your lane. A good LB may flash W and then chain you, which basically is a guaranteed kill with a jungler, don't feel to bad about yourself when this happens. Generally, try to stun her when she goes in for a trade, throw out your wild cards and move away. Also, make sure to get some MR in your runes for this one.

Building it right

The items you use also depend on your matchup. Usually, you start with a Doran's Ring and build up a Lich Bane. After that, Zhonya's Hourglass is a must buy, followed by the Deathcap and Voidstaff. Throw in some boots, either Ionians (CDR) or Swiftness (flat runspeed). The CDR are pretty strong in terms of offensive stats. Get the boots before or after Lich Bane.

Now, the items change with a harder match up. Although you have to go for a defensive runepage, you might still want to pick up a second Doran's Ring. Before you get your shiny Lich Bane, you want some MR, so rush the Abyssal Scepter. The CDR boots might be your first choice here too, other then that, build like in any other game (Lich Bane > Zhonya's > Deathcap > Voidstaff).

Did you enjoy this guide? If you did, keep an eye out for our next one, as we will show you how to LeBlanc!