TFT Pivoting: When to Change Comps From Stage 3, and How

TL;DR: Change comps when leaving costs less than finishing, when your board already plays another line better, or when your items point somewhere else. A lost round, a missed roll or one rival isn’t enough. Holding a pair of a 4-cost at level 8, finishing stays cheaper than a fresh 2-star until only 2 copies are left in the pool. A fresh 2-star is about 81 gold, which takes 4 rounds to save from 50 gold with no win gold, so each stage can pay for a smaller move than the last. Move along what you already own: items first, then your upgraded units, then your level.

The worked examples are hypotheticals: sums on Riot’s numbers, not records of real games. Gold figures are averages on the shop odds Riot last printed, with the rest of the cost tier in the pool, so your own shops will run hotter and colder. Riot publishes no pivot figures and neither do we, so the calls here are reasoning. The sums count player rounds only.

What counts as a reason to pivot?

Our flexible play guide names the reasons to change lines and covers the early game. This page starts at Stage 3, where each reason has a price. Run the feeling past this table first:

What just happened	Is it a reason?	What to do instead
You lost a round or missed a roll	No	Stop at your number and look again next round
One rival is on your carry	Not by itself	It costs gold, not the line
A tier list rates another comp higher	Only if you hold its pieces	Check what you own, further down
The copies you need are nearly gone	Yes	Run the table in the next section
You hold more of another line than your own	Yes	Field it now
Your items fit another carry far better	Yes, if that carry is within reach	Price it below

One more to keep apart: a goal can change without the comp changing. If a rival’s 2-star has ended your 3-star on a 4-cost, as our scouting guide’s count shows, you stop rolling for the 3-star and keep the board. That’s the cheapest pivot there is.

When does leaving beat finishing?

When your next copy costs more than a new 2-star would. Every gold figure here is the rolling guide’s sum: 20 gold shows about 45 champions in Set 18, times the odds for that cost, times that unit’s share of its cost tier.

• Odds. The ones Riot last printed: 40% for 3-costs at level 7 (17.1, April 2026), 30% for 4-costs at level 8 and 15% for 5-costs at level 9 (16.1, December 2025). Riot’s notes from 18.1 to 18.6 print no change to those rows.
• Pool. Each 3-cost has 18 copies, each 4-cost 10 and each 5-cost 9 (Riot’s 14.15 notes). Set 18 has 14, 14 and 10 champions at those three costs, by the game data behind our champions list. Riot prints no rule for how a slot chooses inside a cost, so the sum treats every copy left as equally likely.

Copies on other boards are gone from the pool, and so are your own. Here’s your third copy with a pair in hand, rolls plus the unit’s price, in gold:

Copies of your unit left in the pool	3-cost at level 7	4-cost at level 8	5-cost at level 9
8	37	30
7	41	33	42
6	47	38	48
5	56	44	56
4	69	54	68
3	91	70	88
2	134	102	128
1	264	198	248
A fresh 2-star of a new unit, full pool	58	81	115

Read the bottom row first, then find the first row above it that costs more. That’s where leaving starts to win: 4 copies left for a 3-cost, 2 for a 4-cost, 2 for a 5-cost. Counting from your pair, rivals have to hold 12 of the 16 copies left of a 3-cost, 6 of the 8 left of a 4-cost, or 5 of the 7 left of a 5-cost. So it takes a lot of rival copies to force you off a pair.

Three things move that line:

• What your pair sells for. The fresh figure is before you sell it. We found no Riot page that prints sell prices, so read yours in the game. If a 4-cost pair gets you back around the 8 gold you paid, 3 copies left (70) sits close to a fresh 2-star (about 73).
• The new unit’s own pool. That 81 assumes nobody else is on it. With a rival on 3 copies of the new unit it’s about 115. Scout the new target as well as the old one.
• What you already hold of the new unit. This is the big one:

You hold of the new unit	3-cost at level 7	4-cost at level 8	5-cost at level 9
Nothing	58	81	115
One copy	40	56	80
A pair	20	30	42

A single copy on your bench takes about 25 gold off a 4-cost move, and a pair takes about 51. That’s why a pivot you prepared for costs so much less than one you started this round.

Can this stage still pay for the move?

Count the rounds, then the HP. Income is 5 gold of base income, Riot’s last printed figure, plus 1 gold for every 10 you hold, a rate we work out from a 2021 Riot line, and we count no interest past 50 gold, as our economy guide explains. A lost round costs a flat amount by stage, and each enemy unit left adds 1. Adding Riot’s 14.9 and 16.1 lines, that’s 6, 7 and 10 in Stages 3, 4 and 5.

Here’s a save-up for a fresh 2-star of a 4-cost, 81 gold, on a board that keeps losing to 5 enemy units, with no win or streak gold:

Gold now	Rounds to reach 81	HP if every loss is at Stage 3 prices (11)	Stage 4 prices (12)	Stage 5 prices (15)
70	2	22	24	30
50	4	44	48	60
30	6	66	72	90
20	7	77	84	105
10	9	99	108	135

Then take off the floor. Our HP guide keeps more than 20 to 26 HP going into Stage 4 and more than 26 to 32 going into Stage 5, which is our judgment, not a Riot number. Set against that, here’s what each stage can afford:

When	What the sums leave room for
Stage 3	A full change of line, if your bank or your HP can pay. It’s the only stretch where a 30-gold bank and 6 rounds of saving might still fit
Stage 4	A fresh 2-star only from about 50 gold, or with wins paying for it. Anything you hold a pair of, at any bank that covers about 30
Stage 5 and later	Only moves you already half own. A pair costs one roll-down, and a fresh line costs more HP than you have left

Wins change all of this. A board that keeps winning collects 1 gold a win plus streak gold, and pays no HP while it saves. So the best time to change lines is often while your current board is still holding, not after it has collapsed.

Which way are you moving?

A move across the same cost only pays for copies. A move up also pays for a level. A move down pays through worse odds, because a level stays with you.

Sideways, at the same level. The tables above. It’s the cheapest kind.

Up a cost. Add the level. Riot’s 18.2 notes put level 7 to 8 at 56 XP and, after the mid-patch update there, level 8 to 9 at 68. An XP buy is 4 gold for 4 XP: “Buy XP 4” and “Reroll 2”, seen on the Reroll and Buy XP buttons in a patch 18.5 game on 29 October 2026, with Riot’s Hyper Roll article and 17.2 notes in support. The 18.2 notes treat 1 XP as 1 gold. Riot’s pages say you also gain a little XP each round but print no amount, so these are before free XP:

The move	Level bill, empty bar	Fresh 2-star	Total
Level 7 line to a level 8 line on a 4-cost	56	81	137
Level 8 line to a level 9 line on a 5-cost	68	115	183

Down to a cheaper carry. Odds move against you as you climb. By the rows Riot last printed, 3-costs go from 40% at level 7 to 32% at 8 and 25% at 9, and 2-costs go from 40% at level 6 (14.24) to 30%, 20% and 17%. In gold, rolls and buying included:

Goal, one named unit	Level 6	Level 7	Level 8	Level 9
2-star of a 3-cost	88	58	71	88
3-star of a 3-cost		210	256	320
3-star of a 2-cost	173	225	328

So a late move into a reroll line pays more than a reroll started at the right level. Our early game guide makes the same point from the other end, and the reroll guide covers those lines.

Reroll first, then up. This one is planned from the start. Riot’s Space Gods review (August 21, 2026) sets out its design view that a reroll on 1- or 2-costs shouldn’t take first place on its own, without something else going right: staying healthy for level 8 or 9, or powering up an expensive second carry. So once a cheap carry is finished, the next spend goes on the level and that second carry. Hitting the 3-star is where that spending starts, not where your game’s plan ends.

How do you keep your items through a move?

Choose the new line by your items, because items are the hardest thing to change. Units can be sold and levels can wait. A finished item stays what it is unless something rerolls it or breaks it apart.

What you want to do	What it takes	What it costs
Change who holds an item	A Magnetic Remover unequips all of a champion’s items, by the game’s text	One Remover. Riot’s 14.23 notes (November 2024) drop one from every PvE round. We found no later line that changes that, so check your bag
Change what an item is	By the game’s text, a Reforger unequips them too and turns them at random into new ones close in type and quality	One Reforger, and you don’t choose the result
Break an item back into components	In Set 18, the Salvager Wisp. By the game’s text, units you bench lose their items and those items break apart, and Riot’s 18.2 notes refer to it doing that	A Wisp your shop has to offer, so don’t plan on it
Avoid the problem	Hold loose components until you know	Fights you lose meanwhile. Our slamming guide has that sum

The rules for both consumables are on senseos.gg’s consumables page.

Some items travel further than others. As an example, here’s how many different carries list an item in their build, across the 21 lines built from our own match crawl (patch 18.6 data). Those lines have 13 different carries:

Finished item	Carries listing it	Lines listing it
Spear of Shojin	7	11
Infinity Edge	3	5
Gargoyle Stoneplate	3	4
Striker’s Flail	3	4
Warmog’s Armor	3	4

Every other item in those lines is listed by 1 or 2 carries. That’s a count of builds, not a rating of strength. Riot’s 18.4 notes rate Crownguard above its other tank items wherever a unit can build it, and only 1 of those 21 lines lists it. The use is narrower: an item near the top of this table leaves you more places to go. The names will change with the set, and you can make the same count from any comp list you trust.

Start a new line from what you hold. A pair takes about 51 gold off a 4-cost move, as the sums above show, so don’t start from a tier list when you look for a new line. Start from your 2-stars and ask which lines already contain them. Our comps page is a place to look, and our comps and builds guide explains core and flex units.

How do you set up a pivot before you need it?

Spend a little while it’s cheap, so the move is already half paid:

• Keep one copy of your best backup. It takes about 25 gold off a 4-cost move. It costs a bench slot, plus at most 1 gold a round in interest, and only if buying it drops you below a ten. From 34 gold a 4-cost leaves you on 30 and costs nothing. From 31 it leaves 27, which is 1 gold a round.
• Roll for two names when you can. Two names beat a bigger bank, as our rolling guide’s table shows, and whichever hits decides your line.
• Prefer the item that travels when two are about equal. Only when they’re close, though. A slam your board needs now beats a flexible one it doesn’t.
• Count before each big spend, not after. Our scouting guide says what to look for and when to stop.
• Decide before you press roll. Changing targets halfway through a roll-down spends the gold on neither plan. Pick the name, the backup and the gold you’ll stop at.

What does that look like in a game?

A hypothetical. Stage 4, level 8, 46 HP, 44 gold. You hold a pair of a 4-cost, and rivals hold 5 of the 8 copies left, so 3 are in the pool. At 12 HP a loss you survive 3 more, so nothing forces a panic. Your items suit two carries.

Option	Average gold	What the sum says
Finish your pair	About 70	More than you hold, with few copies left to find
A fresh 2-star, holding nothing of it	About 81, less the sale of your pair	About the same bill, so stay unless your items favor the new carry
A backup you hold one copy of	About 56	The cheapest line, and it brings a second target

So in this spot the single copy on your bench settles it. Roll for the backup, buy your third copy if it shows up, and stop at your number. With no backup on the bench, the same spot says stay. One 4-cost bought a round or two earlier flipped the call.

Move the same spot to Stage 5 and the answer tightens. A loss to 5 enemy units is now 15 HP, so 46 HP survives 3 with 1 HP over, and one loss takes you to 31, inside the HP guide’s floor for Stage 6 of more than 30 to 36. A new line has to arrive in this roll-down or not at all.

What changes when Set 19 lands?

Riot’s schedule lists 19.1 for December 1, 2026, and warns that dates can change. The method carries over, and the inputs may not:

• Without Wisps in the shop, rolls get cheaper on paper. The 45 champions per 20 gold comes from Set 18’s Wisp slot. Ten full shops would show 50, which takes a tenth off every rolling figure here.
• Champions per cost can change, and that moves every share. Recount from the new roster.
• Odds, pool sizes, XP and player damage are Riot’s to change, and 16.1 changed several at a set launch. Read the 19.1 notes before you trust a number here.
• The item table is an example. Rebuild it from Set 19’s lines.

What should you do in your next game?

Your spot	The call
Lost a round, or missed a roll	Stay. Look at the count, not the feeling
Pair of a 4-cost, 3 or more copies left	Finish it, unless a backup you hold is cheaper
Pair of a 4-cost, 2 or fewer left	Leave. A fresh 2-star costs less
Chasing a 3-star that the count has ended	Keep the comp, change the goal
Another line already beats yours on your board	Field it now
Stage 3, bank healthy, board holding	The best time for a full move
Stage 5 or later	Only move to units you already half own
Below two losses left at the next stage’s prices	Don’t pivot. Spend on the board you have
Choosing between two equal items	Take the one more carries can use

If you want a second opinion while you decide, TFTSense gives econ and leveling calls and tells you what to slam and who should hold it.

Sources

All read November 4, 2026. Riot publishes no page on pivoting, so each number links to the Riot page that sets it.

• Riot Games, patch 10.6 notes, published 2020-03-17, for base income.
• Riot Games, Teamfight Tactics: Hyper Roll, published 2021-04-14, for win gold, the XP buy and the XP gained each round.
• Riot Games, Gizmos & Gadgets Set Mechanic Overview: Hextech Augments, published 2021-10-21, for max interest of 7 at 70 gold, which gives the rate of 1 per 10 used here.
• Riot Games, patch 14.9 notes, published 2024-04-30, and patch 16.1 notes, published 2025-12-02, for player damage, and 16.1 for the odds at levels 8 and 9.
• Riot Games, patch 14.15 notes, published 2024-07-30, for copies per champion.
• Riot Games, patch 14.23 notes, published 2024-11-19, for Magnetic Removers from PvE rounds.
• Riot Games, patch 14.24 notes, published 2024-12-10, for the odds at level 6, and patch 17.1 notes, published 2026-04-14, for the odds at level 7.
• Riot Games, patch 17.2 notes, published 2026-04-28, for the line that supports the reroll price.
• Riot Games, Dev TFT: Space Gods Reviewed, published 2026-08-21, for its design view on cheap rerolls.
• Riot Games, patch notes for 18.1 (2026-08-25), 18.2 (2026-09-09, with the mid-patch update headed September 14), 18.4 (2026-10-06) and 18.6 (2026-11-03), for XP costs, the rate of 1 XP to 1 gold, the Salvager Wisp, Crownguard and the absence of odds changes.
• Riot Games, Patch Schedule, Teamfight Tactics, for the 19.1 date.
• The game itself: “Buy XP 4” and “Reroll 2”, seen on the Reroll and Buy XP buttons in a patch 18.5 game on 29 October 2026.
• The game’s data files, read November 4, 2026, in a version not yet updated for 18.6, for champions per cost and what the Magnetic Remover, Reforger and Salvager do.
• Our own match crawl: the 21 comp lines built from it (patch 18.6 data), for the counts of items. Those counts are our own arithmetic on those lines.

Update log

• 2026-11-04: First version.