How to Play Noxus
Welcome to another in the series of our How to Play TFT trait guides.
Set 9 is finally here, and there are tons of new champions and traits to cover. We’ve covered Demacia in a previous guide, and this time around, we’re hopping over to Noxus. So far in Set 9, Noxus has some
Let’s get right into the guide.
If you haven’t checked out all of the Set 9 information yet, check out out Set 9 Reveal Page!
How Noxus Works
Noxus is a trait that simply gives stats to your Noxus units, including Health, AD, and AP. However, the catch is that as you defeat other players, this buff will increase.
There are 7 other players in the lobby, and for each enemy you defeat with Noxus, the buff will increase by 10%. (and caps out at 70%)
This means that if you’re lose streaking, it’s probably not a good idea to pivot into Noxus. If you pivot into Noxus, you’re starting your board with a 0% increase. Noxus usually works best if you can get the buff rolling a bit in the early game, and continue to build into more Noxus units or higher cost Noxus units.
Noxus Trait Bonus
Noxus: Noxus units gain Health, Ability Power, and Attack Damage. This is increased by 10% for each different opponent that either you have conquered in combat or is dead.
- (3): 175 Health, 15 AP, 15% AD
- (6): 375 Health, 30 AP, 30% AD
- (9): 550 Health, 55 AP, 55% AD
Noxus Synergy
There are a total of 7 Noxus units, so there are tons of different traits you can branch into. Here’s a list of all the other traits:
- Shurima
- Invoker
- Challenger
- Slayer
- Yordle
- Sorcerer
- Strategist
- Juggernaut
- Rogue
- Bruiser
Much like Demacia, there are no shared traits outside of Noxus in the Noxus units. If this were the case, it would make it too easy to play the trait vertically. What you see most often are Noxus units being used in other comps, as 3 out of the 7 units have 3 traits.
3 Noxus is a solid early game board if you can get it going early, and Noxus comps can comfortably transition into 6 Noxus. However, I doubt you will see Noxus 9 very much, as that requires 2 Emblems/Augments to give your team an additional Noxus. Furthermore, having no shared traits outside of Noxus makes only going vertical quite unattractive.
Lastly, the biggest thing to note about Noxus is that there is no 4-cost carry in the Noxus trait. This means that most, if not all Noxus based comps will likely be some form of reroll comp.
Noxus Champions
Let’s briefly go over each Champion in the Noxus trait and what you can do with them.
Note: These abilities are based off the PBE, so while the values may have changed, the overall champion design should remain the same.
Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia is the first Noxus unit, and she has 3 traits. Shurima is a pretty decent early game trait if you get 3 together, and Noxus 3 early is also effective if your units are upgraded. The important thing to note is that Cassiopeia deals bonus damage to Wounded enemies, and her ability also Wounds. However, Teemo (2-cost) is also a unit who can Wound enemies with his ability. This makes the two of them a solid pair early on.
Samira
Samira is another 1-cost Noxus unit, and she brings Challenger to the table. You’ll often see Samira paired with other low cost Challengers like Irelia or Warwick for some early power. She is also a solid item holder for AD items if you want to eventually transition into a different comp. Noxus doesn’t have a consistent AD carry outside of Kled, so you’ll usually use her for other comps. Even still, if you can get an early Noxus 3 board with 2 Challengers, you can start building up your Noxus buff early with Samira.
Kled
Kled is the first 2-cost Noxus unit, and he also has 3 traits. Yordle is quite a contested trait for many reroll comps, but Kled often isn’t a 3-star priority over other units like Tristana, Poppy, or even Teemo. However, this may change if we see Slayers become a more meta comp. Slayer is a trait that is somewhat of a high roll comp, as it utilizes an Emblem to reach it’s potential, but if you can hit, it’s a solid comp.
Swain
Swain is another 2-cost Noxus unit with 3 traits. Swain is extremely good in specific AP comps as he provides both Strategist and Sorcerer. Swain is also a frontline magic damage hybrid unit, making him very important for Sorcerer comps that need frontline. In Noxus specific comps, he can sometimes be useful, but is largely dependent on if you have a Noxus Emblem. I’ll go more into detail on that later in the comps section.
Darius
Darius is our first 3-cost Noxus unit, and he is also a Juggernaut. It’s quite common to see Juggernaut comps with Darius, but Noxus usually isn’t present in those comps. While Darius 3 is quite strong for Noxus comps, he isn’t necessarily the primary win condition for Noxus comps. Having him 3 starred simply gives you an a slight edge in late game fights as a stronger tank and deals more damage.
As for his ability, his signature dunk is back, with the reset mechanic. In the mid game, Darius can definitely pop off, but he usually falls off late game and struggles to get resets.
Katarina
Katarina is the other 3-cost unit for Noxus, and in my opinion, is the primary win condition for Noxus comps. Having a Katarina 3 with good items, imo, is more important than Darius 3. This may change over time as different patches change the game, but Katarina is a solid carry at the moment, just unreliable.
Some fights, Katarina will jump into the backline and assassinate enemy carries. Other times, she will whiff her ability on a unit about to die and deal no damage. The floor is very low with Katarina, but with items like Slayer Emblem, her ceiling can be very high.
Sion
Last but not least, we have the big beefy boy Sion. Sion is difficult to hit in Noxus comps as you are usually slow rolling at level 6 or 7, making it unlikely you’ll find him. If you do hit him, he’s a great upgrade over a low-cost unit like Cassiopeia or Samira. Sion is also a very common unit to splash into just about any comp in the late game as he provides strong CC and frontline.
Best Noxus Augments
Here is a quick list of some of the standout Augments for the Noxus trait.
Noxus Heart / Crest / Crown
Every single trait benefits from having +1, but for Noxus, this is especially true. As mentioned previously, Noxus comps are usually reroll comps. This means you will be staying lower level like 6 or 7. Being able to have an extra Noxus unit, or an Emblem to place on a stronger unit greatly increases the power of your board.
While you can definitely still play Noxus comps without an Emblem, they’re a bit on the weaker side. With an Emblem, you can definitely push into the top 2 of a lobby.
Idealism
Gain a Hand of Justice. Champions with a Hand of Justice deal 18% increased damage.
Idealism is a strong Augment on just about any comp as Hand of Justice is a very flexible item. HoJ’s weakness is that while it is flexible, it’s not usually the BiS item for some carries. However, in Noxus comps, HoJ is definitely one of the best items you can make on both Katarina and Darius. This makes this Augment a great one to pick if you’re planning to play Noxus.
Jeweled Lotus (Legend)
Your units’ Abilities can critically strike. Your units gain 15% Critical Strike chance.
Jeweled Lotus is also another very solid augment for Noxus. Once again, both Darius and Katarina deal a majority of their damage through their ability, so having crit greatly boosts their power. This allows you to exchange Jeweled Gauntlet on Katarina for a different item. The same goes for Darius and Infinity Edge. (Although Darius usually doesn’t want Infinity Edge anyway)
Noxus Team Comps
With everything in mind, let’s go over a few sample team comps for the Noxus trait. Keep in mind that these team comps aren’t meant to reflect the meta. These are simply different paths you can go down when approaching the Noxus trait.
As different patches come and go, different variations will be better than others, or the trait as a whole might be underpowered. If you want to see meta team comps, be sure to check out our Tier List.
Noxus 6 Team Comp (With Emblem)
[Link to Builder]
This first comp is likely the strongest and most consistent comp for Noxus. However, it does require you get an Emblem. Without the Emblem you are either forced to run Samira over Azir (which is not good at all) or to go down to Noxus 3.
All things considered, slow rolling at level 7 for this comp can do quite well, depending on how many upgrades you hit.
Noxus Juggernaut Comp
[Link to Builder]
This second comp is the Noxus 3 comp I was referring to if you can’t find a Noxus Emblem. Instead of running low-cost Noxus units, you switch them out for Juggernaut units to provide some better frontline. However, if you’re rerolling for Juggernauts, you might as well be playing Demacia instead.
I would say the success of this comp hinges on hitting both Katarina and Ekko. If you can hit both 3 stars, you can still do very well. However, hitting Ekko 3 can be very difficult depending how many Zeri players are in your lobby.
Slayer Katarina Comp
[Link to Builder]
This last comp is a Slayer comp that once again focuses on Katarina. With a Slayer Emblem, you can also build around Kled as another carry for the comp. If you are able to hit three 3-star units, like Katarina, Kled, and Zed, you can use the Yordle trait to upgrade Kled to 4-star.
Because of this, I usually see this comp slow roll at level 6 to stabilize, and then finally put in Yordle at level 7.
Lastly, if you aren’t able to hit Kled 3 or Zed 3, but you still hit Katarina, you can opt to drop the Yordle synergy for more Slayers like Gwen and Aatrox. The issue is finding these Slayer units when you’re lower level.
Conclusion
All in all, Noxus is a very interesting trait. Many of the low cost units have 3 traits, but there actually isn’t too much flexibility in terms of Noxus comps. They all somewhat revolve around Katarina and Darius, and maybe Kled if you’re lucky.
It’s way more common to see Noxus units splashed into other comps to make use of their 3 trait units, but some Noxus comps can still top 4 pretty decently.
We hope you enjoyed this guide, and hopefully it helps you climb some ranks. Good luck and have fun!
Thanks for reading! Be sure to check out our meta team comps page, or head to our Team Builder to try and come up with your own comps.
