Into the Arcane Overview

Dive Into the Arcane with a roster packed with TFT Arcane exclusive units and traits!
Game Updates
Riot Prism

Welcome to Into the Arcane, a set that allows you to relive, reshape, and reimagine Arcane stories in the Convergence. With over 12 characters from Arcane and some extra-thematic neighbors to pad things out, Into the Arcane will allow you to play between your watch sessions and evolve as you watch—wait, what does that mean? But it’s not just Arcane characters: the full roster is about a third from Arcane, another third from Piltover and Zaun, and the final third from across Runeterra. Into the Arcane launches on November 20th with Patch 14.23. Let’s dive into just a few of the characters and traits you’ll encounter; cutting first in the line is Chem-Baron!

CHEM-BARON (3/4/5/6/7)

  • Singed 1G Sentinel

  • Renata Glasc 2G Visionary

  • Renni 3G Bruiser

  • Smeech 3G Ambusher

  • Silco 4G Dominator

  • Sevika 5G High Roller, Pit Fighter

High-stakes traits, where you can take huge risks for powerful cashouts, are back. They’re returning with the cutting-edge innovation that only the Chem-Barons of Zaun could concoct. When active, you’ll gain Shimmer after each player combat, increasing while your loss streak is at least 3. From there, with every 100 Shimmer gained, you’ll be able to buy Illegal Items from the Black Market. Buy one, or save your Shimmer for even more substantial rewards. You’ll wanna field more Chem-Barons to harvest even more Shimmer, plus they’ll be helpful to keep around when you cash-in that purpley susness for an equally-sus weapon—let’s check a few of the many weapons out (note these numbers are not final):

Salvaged Mining Gauntlet: 100 Shimmer

  • 25% AD, 20% AS

  • Attacks deal additional true damage

  • Turn around a quick cash-out for a solid AD item great for Smeech or Sevika

Destabilized Chemtank I: 200 Shimmer

  • 10 Armor, 10 MR, 200 HP

  • At 50% Health gain a 25% max HP shield. Every few seconds afterwards gain a smaller shield. 

  • Gain increased sized

  • While Singed and Renni utilize the Chemtank best, Sevika won’t say no to greatly increased survivability—who knows, maybe she’ll survive just long enough to hit a Jackpot! 

Virulent Virus III: 400 Shimmer

  • 50 AP, 30% AS, 10 Mana

  • After dealing ability damage, apply an infection that deals an additional 40% of it over 6 seconds as true damage.

  • Prismatic III Bonus: Infected enemies deal 25% less damage and on death, join your side with 1000 HP that rapidly decays over a few seconds.

  • Virulent Virus II is the third tier of the item, which has a bonus passive in addition to its original. Most base illegal items will have Prismatic (III) and Gold (II) tier version that significantly warp their power. 

  • Virulent Virus is best on Silco and Renata Glasc, who can apply its passives while benefiting the most from its base stats.

Dimensional Heirloom: 700 Shimmer

  • Not much is known about this highly illegal item, but it is almost impossible to obtain and even less possible to overcome. 

All Chem-Barons equipped with Illegal Items gain max Health based on the trait’s breakpoint.

Chem-Baron is a high stakes trait where you won’t pivot much after turning your loss streak into a never-lose-again-streak (that’s called a win streak for the knowers out there). Early game, you’ll want to continually lose without losing too much health—keep fights close if you can. Activate the trait early with the chainsaw-wielding terror, Renni, who acts as much like a tank as she does a single-target CC machine. Or field Smeech, the fast and chaotic Ambusher who targets enemies with the fewest items before leaping to the next defenseless prey. Both Renni and Smeech are TFT-exclusive Arcane characters that are just as likely to be paired with the rest of the Chem-Barons as they are other Bruisers (Vi and Renni synergy??) or Ambushers (Jinx and Smeech can be friends now?).

Arm yourself with the Chem-Baron 5-cost, Sevika, whose arm turns a gacha ability into a gotcha LP as it rotates between Flamethrower, Extendo-Punch, Chomp, and the ever-elusive Jackpot (it fires out a lot of gold and the occasional treasure chest)! But the output isn’t the only thing Sevika’s rolling through. Her High Roller trait allows her to gain Durability briefly and roll a random Jinx mod on top of the ability she rolls. The mod can be launching random rockets at enemies, gaining a shield, generating a bit of gold, or significantly amping up her ability!

ENFORCER (2/4/6/8/10)

  • Steb 1G Bruiser

  • Maddie 1G Sniper

  • Camille 2G Ambusher

  • Loris 3G Sentinel

  • Twisted Fate 3G Quickstriker

  • Vi 4G Pit Fighter

  • Caitlyn 5G Sniper

If you pursue the most dangerous game, you better come with the Enforcers. Enforcers gain a shield at the start of combat and mark the highest-health enemy units as WANTED! The more Enforcers you bring into the sewers of Zaun, the more WANTED! enemies you can flush out, and to help you with the deed, Enforcers will gain Damage Amplification. Manage to take a WANTED! enemy down and all allies will be inspired with Attack Speed.

The Enforcers come straight out of Arcane and into the Convergence (with a Camille and a Piltover-clad Twisted Fate to round out the roster). They’ll bring the early game tempo-threats of Steb and Maddie. Steb is a great healer who provides a ton of impact in skirmishes with few units, while Maddie will aim for the head—or the farthest enemy from her. As a Sniper, Maddie will benefit from creative positioning to maximize her damage and keep those early-game win streaks streaking. Early access to Loris and Enforcer 4 should help you continue your streaking until you can get the two late-game carries for the trait.

As the leader of the Enforcers, Caitlyn’s Air Raid calls in the air support to bombard enemies over 5 seconds. If an enemy is caught in the epicenter, Caitlyn will lock in and immediately fire a hex-shot, dealing increased damage.

CONQUEROR (2/4/6/9)

  • Darius 1G Watcher

  • Draven 1G Pit Fighter

  • Rell 2G Sentinel, Visionary 

  • Swain 3G Form Swapper, Sorcerer

  • Ambessa 4G Emissary, Quickstriker

  • Mordekaiser 5G, Dominator 

Conquer enemy boards and reap the rewards of a fully realized Noxian empire! Conquerors gain Attack Damage and Ability Power, and their takedowns grant stacks of Conquest. After gaining enough Conquest, you’ll open a War Chest full of increasingly valuable loot! The more Conquerors you field, the quicker you’ll ramp Conquest to rack up stronger and stronger War Chests. You’ll also get more AD and AP at additional breakpoints.

Snowballing early in the game is vital for Conqueror players. Don’t be afraid to roll or push levels a bit harder in the early game; as long as your Conquerors are getting kills, you should be able to catch up. In the early game, the axe-bros, Darius and Draven, will be your front and backline, with Rell and Swain to help you gather even more Conquest from the occasional tank takedown or in Swain’s case, a mid-game AP carry.

Conqueror starts rolling when you’ve tempo’d to the later levels and can field the TFT debut of Ambessa, the bad-ass melee Quickstriker. Ambessa switches between two stances every cast. She gains one range with her Chains and hits extra hard, dashing and striking in a half-circle. When she shortens the chain leash on her glaives, she wails on foes in close range, gaining Omnivamp and attacking twice as fast. In this stance, her cast will have her slam her current target, and then dash out to safety.

Ambessa’s secondary trait, Quickstriker, allows her to move faster and gain Attack Speed based on her target’s missing health when active. Adding a Nocturne to activate Quickstriker alongside Blitzcrank for Automata, which provides a bit of Armor, MR, and flat damage for Automata units,  will provide more durability for your team without denying too many kills for your Conqueror. Blitzcrank is a nice add here to proc Dominator for the 5-cost of Conqueror, Mordekaiser. Check out him and Ambessa in action below!

FAMILY (3/4/5)

  • Powder 1G Amusher, Scrap 

  • Violet 1G Pit Fighter

  • Vander 2G Watcher

Family is stronger together. The tight-knit Family we came to know and love last season still support each other, lowering their max Mana and gaining additional bonuses. They’re always open to adding more Family members too, so if you want to create new bonds, use that Family Emblem liberally! 

(3) Mana reduction, Damage Reduction

(4) Mana reduction, Attack Speed

(5) Mana reduction. Family members will attempt a heist on the topside! After combat, find loot and more for each surviving family member!

Family is best played as a reroll comp engine. Save up to 50 gold as fast as possible and slowly roll to 3-star your Family members (and their pals). Reroll family, alongside units like Gangplank and Trundle, to activate additional synergies. Get a Family Emblem and adopt a unit that’ll benefit from the reduced Mana and Attack Speed—the grown-up Vi is a perfect match here.  If your family expands to Family (5), get ready to go all-in, spiking as fast as possible by rolling down so more Family members can take from topsiders and give to your Tactician! 


FIRELIGHT (2/3/4)

  • Zeri 2G Sniper

  • Fly Guy 3G Watcher

  • Ekko 4G Ambusher, Scrap

Every few seconds, Firelights dash. While dashing, they attack with infinite range and restore a percentage of the damage they have taken since their last dash. The more Firelights you gather, the more they’ll heal.

Throw some Firelights into a reroll comp with the likes of Kog'Maw, Garen, and a few other Watchers who gain more durability, and kick back as your Firelights kite around while Watchers soak up the damage. 

Firelight brings TFT exclusive Arcane unit, Scar, who will stun nearby enemies and heal up. He’s the perfect CC tank to distract your foes as Ekko swoops in with an assault of afterimages. Save your AP Fighter items like Crownguard and Bloodthirster for Ekko, as he’ll need to survive long enough to dash out before going back in.

REBEL (3/5/7/10)

  • Irelia 1G Sentinel

  • Vex 1G Visionary

  • Akali 2G Quickstriker

  • Sett 2G Bruiser

  • Ezreal 3G Academy, Artillerist

  • Illaoi 4G Sentinel

  • Zoe 4G Sorcerer

  • Jinx 5G Ambusher

Ready to paint the Convergence blue? Rebels gain max Health, and after losing a portion of their team’s HP a smoke signal appears, granting Rebels Attack Speed for a few seconds and additional power for the rest of combat. That power grows as you further invest in the trait.

(3) AD & AP

(5) More AD & AP, and Health

(7) Even MORE AD & AP, more Health, and Stun all enemies for 2 seconds

(10) The smoke signal triggers at Combat Start and every few seconds.

Gather the Convergence’s blue-haired girls (and Ezreal and Sett, I guess) and get ready for your foes to go up in smoke as Jinx rallies them to victory. But Jinx isn’t just the iconic visual for the trait; she’s also the trait’s 5-cost, and she’s packing her entire arsenal this time around.

Jinx alternates between three different weapons each time she casts. Flame Chompers are first, and they’ll deal physical damage to 3 nearby groups of enemies. Her next cast has a bit more utility—Zap deals damage to enemies in a line and stuns them. Her final cast in the rotation fires the Death Rocket which deals a high amount of damage in a huge AOE—it’s the entire Piltover Council board.

BLACK ROSE (3/4/5/7)

  • Morgana 1G Visionary

  • Vladimir 2G Sorcerer, Watcher

  • Cassiopeia 3G Dominator 

  • Elise 4G Bruiser, Form Swapper

  • LeBlanc 5G Sorcerer

Assembling this sinister coven grants you a Sion, bound in chains and freed after the Black Rose casts five times, or when he loses about a third of his health. Adding more Black Rose champions further empowers Sion.

(3) Summon Sion

(4) Once he deals damage to them, Sion’s enemies take more damage from the Black Rose

(5) When freed, Sion unleashes dark magic

(7) Upon death, Sion restores to life with power beyond death

Each Black Rose star level increases Sion's power. This isn’t the Dawn of Heroes Sion summon you may be familiar with; this Sion awakens and charges into his opponents, gaining a shield before smashing his axe into them.

The woman who led in the resurrection of Sion, LeBlanc, emerges from the shadows as Black Rose’s 5-cost. LeBlanc’s Chains of Fate chains together enemies, dealing damage split between them. While they’re chained, when one takes damage, the others also take additional damage. If a chained foe dies, LeBlanc will steal some of their Mana and split it amongst her allies.

ACADEMY (3/4/5/6)

  • Lux 1G Sorcerer

  • Leona 2G Sentinel

  • Ezreal 3G Rebel, Artillerist

  • Heimerdinger 4G Visionary

  • Jayce 5G Form Swapper

School’s in session, and we’re studying items—just which items, though, will depend on the game course you’re taking. At the start of each game, the Academy sponsors 3 different items, changing each game, similar to Exalted from Inkborn Fables. Just by activating the trait, you’ll receive one of the sponsored items. When a sponsored item is equipped, the wearer will gain bonus Health and Damage Amp, with Academy units gaining much more. As you move up in breakpoints for Academy, you’ll receive more sponsored items and gain more Health and Damage Amplification.

At the top of his class, Piltover’s golden boy is the Form Swapping 5-cost for Academy. Just by fielding him, you’ll receive a placeable Hextech Forge, which will change based on where Jayce is placed. In the front two rows, when Jayce casts, the forge grants a Shield for a few seconds to the 3 allies closest to it. When Jayce is in the back, the Forge will grant allies closest to it Attack Speed when Jayce casts. If the Forge is dead, Jayce will revive it with reduced Health.

Just like his Forge, Jayce is versatile himself. Thanks to his Form Swapper trait, where you field Jayce will change his ability, and if the trait’s active, grant him either Damage Amplification (if placed in the back 2 rows) or Damage Reduction (when placed in the front 2 rows). When placed in the front, Jayce’s ability will summon 2 Hexgates and knock the target into one of them, dealing damage. His target then flies back to their original position from the second gate, dealing physical damage to all enemies in the path. When backline, Jayce will throw unstable crystals at the nearest enemies. The crystals deal physical damage causing a chain reaction of explosions that deal additional damage to enemies nearby.

EXPERIMENT (3/5/7)

  • Zyra 1G Sorcerer

  • Urgot 2G Pit Fighter, Artillerist

  • Nunu 3G Brawler, Visionary

  • Dr. Mundo 4G Dominator

  • Twitch 4G Sniper

Out of the Academy and into the Laboratory. Experiments create Laboratory hexes on your board. When you place an Experiment on a Laboratory hex, they’ll gain the Experiment bonus of all other Experiments on Laboratory hexes, plus max Health. As you pursue greater knowledge by achieving higher Experiment breakpoints, you’ll be able to have more Laboratory hexes, more health, and at (7) Experiment, your Experiment bonuses will double. As to what those bonuses are, let’s take a look!

Zyra: Ability damage bleeds enemies for bonus true damage over 3 seconds

Urgot: After retargeting, dash to the new target, then gain a Shield and Attack Speed for 4 seconds

Nunu: After dealing damage, deal max Health bonus magic damage

Dr. Mundo: On takedown, gain max Health for the rest of combat

Twitch: After every 5 instances of damage on a champion, deal physical damage to them equal to a portion of their max Health

SCRAP (2/4/6/8/10)

  • Powder 1G Family, Ambusher

  • Trundle 1G Bruiser

  • Ziggs 2G Dominator

  • Gangplank 3G Form Swapper, Pit Fighter

  • Corki 4G Artillerist

  • Ekko 4G Ambusher, Firelight

  • Rumble 5G Junker King, Sentinel

Fan favorite Scrap is back! Scrap champions are masters of improvised innovation. They’ll cobble up any component into a full item at the start of combat, but you’ll need to invest deep in Scrap to turn multiple components into full items. Scrap units also gain a shield at the start of combat based on each component your team holds, including ones used in full items. At (6) Scrap, the items become lucky (selected to fit the unit better), and at (9) Scrap, components that transform will become Radiant items!

The Junker King, Rumble, is the 5-cost of Scrap that’ll have you upgrade his mech as he drops the Equalizer, raining missiles that burn and wound targets. For each missile that misses, he’ll restore a bit of Mana, and if there’s only one enemy left, he’ll unload the entire Equalizer onto them.

EMISSARY (1/4)

  • Tristana 2G Artillerist

  • Nami 3G Sorcerer

  • Ambessa 4G Conqueror, Quickstriker

  • Garen 4g Watcher

Emissary is only active when you have exactly 1 or all 4 unique Emissaries. Each Emissary will have their own bonus that can help your team in novel ways, and if you have all 4 Emissaries, their bonuses will double!

Let's see what bonuses these Runeterran representatives bring:

Ambessa: Your team gains 2 Armor and MR for each different opponent defeated. 

Garen: At combat start, Garen and allies to his left and right gain a portion of his max Health.

Nami: Your team's attacks grant bonus Mana.

Tristana: Allies gain AS per their star level

Whether you are rerolling with Tristana and using the other Emissaries to cap out your board, or just using Garen to maximize the three belts you got, you can mix, match, or field all Emissaries to create Runeterra-wide alliances and LP dividends.

That’s a lot, and it’s not even everything the set has to offer. Keep a lookout for more articles on our Mechanic or Cosmetics in the future, or look back on what we learned from our last set, Magic n’ Mayhem, with our Learnings piece. With that, we’ll see you on November 20th with the release of Into the Arcane alongside Patch 14.23!