When to Use Emblems in TFT: Is a Spatula or Pan Worth It?

TL;DR: An emblem is worth it when one more count moves a trait up a level on units you’ll field anyway, and the holder can spare a slot. The sum is new bonus times units, minus old bonus times units. Landing between two levels buys almost nothing for the rest of your board. On a board where one carry deals nearly all the damage, an item in that carry’s slot usually beats the step. With two special pieces, compare two emblems against one more unit. A Reforger can swap an emblem, but only at random, so build the one you can use now.

Worked examples are hypotheticals unless a patch is named: sums on Riot’s numbers, not records of real games. No Riot figures on when an emblem pays were found, so the calls here are reasoning. The recipes are on senseos.gg’s Spatula and Frying Pan page; this page is the decision. Trait and item numbers change by patch, and the game data files can lag behind Riot’s notes, so trust the tooltip in your game.

What does an emblem cost you?

One basic component and one item slot. By the recipes in the game data files, a Spatula or Pan can’t build a normal item. Its other use is pairing with a second special piece. So the real price is the basic component that joins it, plus the slot.

You build	It uses	Item slots	What you get
A completed item	2 basic components	1	Its stats and effect
An emblem	1 Spatula or Pan, 1 basic component	1	1 more count in a trait, plus a stat bonus in Set 18
A Tactician’s item	2 Spatulas or Pans	1	1 more team slot, plus a small chance of gold

Riot has also said what an emblem’s stats should amount to. In 16.2 (January 2026), it raised them to about 3 components of power, below core items, and 16.3 held them to that. Riot hasn’t restated the target for Set 18, though 18.2 and 18.3 still tune emblem bonuses. So stats alone rarely make the case. The trait count does.

When does one more count pay?

When it crosses a level on units that use the bonus. The sum:

Gain = (units after x new bonus) - (units before x old bonus)

Here are two Set 18 traits on Riot’s printed numbers, with the emblem going on a fifth unit that lacks the trait:

Trait, and the patch that last printed it	Units and level	Bonus on each	Total
Hunter (18.3)	4, at (4)	40% AD	160 points
Hunter with an emblem	5, at (5)	60% AD	300 points, up 140
Rapidfire (18.5), at 10 stacks by the game data files	4, at (4)	7% Attack Speed an attack, so 70%	280 points
Rapidfire with an emblem	5, at (5)	10% an attack, so 100%	500 points, up 220

The game data files list Hunter (4) at 45%, against the 40% in Riot’s 18.3 notes. On 45%, the step is 120 points, not 140, so read your tooltip.

By the game data files, a Deathblade adds 55% AD to one unit. Next to that, 140 points across five Hunters looks like an easy win. But count only the points that land on units doing damage. If one carry deals nearly all of it, that carry’s share of the step is 40% to 60%. On a carry with no other AD bonus, that’s 160 over 140, or about 14% more damage (160 over 145, or about 10%, if Hunter (4) is 45%). A Deathblade in the same slot is 195 over 140, or about 39% more. The game data files also give it 10% Damage Amp, which Riot’s 18.4 notes say multiplies with AD, and that takes it to about 53%.

So on a board with one carry, the item beats the step if they compete for that carry’s slot. On a board that spreads its damage, or with a stand-in holding the emblem, the step wins, because then you’re only giving up a basic component.

Landing between levels buys almost nothing. By the game data files, in a version not yet updated for 18.6, Set 18’s craftable emblems sit on traits that step like this. Riot’s 18.6 notes change none of these levels:

How the trait steps	Traits	When an emblem moves it up
By 1	Hunter, Invoker, Lunar, Rapidfire (2/3/4/5), Executioner (2/3/4)	Any count below the top
By 2	Blackthorn, Brawler, Ravager, Spellweaver, Vanguard (2/4/6), Fae, Primal (2/4), Sprykin (3/5/7), Blossom, Elderwood (3/5/7/9/11)	Only when you’re exactly one short
Mixed	Inferno (2/3/5/7)	From 1, 2, 4 or 6

A Spellweaver emblem on your fifth unit at Spellweaver (4) adds no new level. The holder still joins the trait, but your other Spellweavers get no higher level from it. So count the trait on the board you’ll have at your next level, since a level can change which side of a step you’re on.

Who should hold it?

Go through these in order:

Question	Why it matters
Does the unit lack the trait?	The point is one more count, and a unit that already has the trait adds none
Will it still be on your board next stage?	A count that leaves with the holder can drop you a level
Can it use what the trait gives?	Hunter’s AD does nothing for a unit that doesn’t scale with AD
Does it have a free slot?	By the game’s text, Thief’s Gloves consume 3 item slots, the full set a unit holds. An emblem on your carry takes one of the three

The third question counts for more than it looks. By the game data files, several Set 18 traits give your whole team a little and their own units more, including Brawler, Defender, Invoker, Juggernaut, Rapidfire and Spellweaver. The holder collects that bigger share. Riot’s 15.1 notes (July 2025) point the same way for class emblems, asking players to look for the unit that makes the most of one, not just a spare body.

As an example, of the 21 lines built from our own match crawl (patch 18.6 data), 2 list an emblem in the carry’s build:

Line	Core units with the trait	Emblem on	Count reached
Brawler 6 (Master Yi)	5 Brawlers	Master Yi	Brawler (6)
Executioner 4 (Soraka)	3 Spellweavers	Soraka	Spellweaver (4)

In both, the emblem is the count that reaches the level, and it sits on the carry. Two lines of 21 make this an example, not a rule, and it says nothing about how strong either line is. The comps page is a place to look at trait counts, and the champions and traits list shows who carries what.

Carry or stand-in? Put it on the carry when the item it displaces adds less than the level does. Use a stand-in when that third item matters more, as the Deathblade sum above shows it can on a one-carry board. A stand-in only works while it stays on your board, so pick one you’d field anyway.

Emblem or Tactician’s item?

This comes up when you hold two special pieces:

	Two emblems	One Tactician’s item
Also needs	2 basic components	Nothing
Item slots	2	1
Adds	1 count in each of 2 traits, plus 2 stat bonuses	1 more unit, with every trait it carries

That extra unit is what you’d otherwise pay a level for. Riot’s 18.2 notes put level 8 to 9 at 68 XP, though a level also moves your shop odds and this doesn’t. And one unit can add a count to each of its traits, so it can do the work of two emblems if you have a unit that fits. Riot’s 14.18 notes put most of a Tactician’s item’s value in that team size, and pitch it for a unit you wouldn’t trust with combat items.

So the sum is short. If both emblems cross a level, build both. If only one does, or none, and you’d spend a basic component you want elsewhere, take the extra unit.

Build it now, or hold the Spatula?

Each emblem has one basic partner by the game data files. So holding out for a named emblem is the one-exact-partner case from the slamming guide: 1 in 8 per random component, and 33% within three, if each kind is equally likely. No Riot page found prints those odds. The sum also tells you where the options come from:

• Loose components. A Spatula and three different basics in your bag is three possible emblems today. Check those before you wait for a fourth.
• A Reforger. Riot’s 14.18 notes swap a Spatula for a Pan, or a Pan for a Spatula. That’s a sure swap, not a roll, and it doubles your list. Its 14.23 notes (November 2024) put a Reforger in Prismatic orbs holding either piece. No later line changing that was found, so check your bag.
• The carousel. You pick there rather than roll, as the carousel guide covers, but a healthy board picks late.

If one emblem you can build today crosses a level, build it. If none does, hold while the fights aren’t costing you, since a Spatula in your bag doesn’t fight. The slamming guide prices that wait by stage.

What if you get an emblem you can’t use?

Augments can hand you a random one, such as a Slightly Magical Roll cashout in 18.1. You have four moves:

Move	What it costs	What you get
Build toward it	A pivot, if the units are in reach	The level, at the price in the pivoting guide
Use it for its stats	A slot on a second or third carry	What Riot’s 16.2 notes pitched emblems as, in Set 16. Read the card
Reforge it	1 Reforger	A random other emblem
Move it later	1 Remover	The same emblem on another unit

Riot’s 14.18 notes let a Reforger turn an emblem into any other, and its 18.3 notes added the uncraftable ones in Set 18. The game data files list 20 emblems for Set 18: 16 with recipes, plus Coven, Defender, Flora Fatalis and Juggernaut. No Riot page printing the odds was found, so as a hypothetical, say each other emblem is equally likely:

Emblems that would work for you	Chance on one Reforger
1	5%
3	16%
5	26%

So a Reforger on an emblem is a long shot for one name and a fair shot for a short list. Decide what counts as a hit before you use it. The consumables guide covers when a Reforger is better spent elsewhere.

What does Set 18 add?

These are lines from Riot’s notes and the game data at each patch, so read the cards in your game.

• Emblems carry their own bonuses. Among others, 18.2 set the Brawler Emblem’s Health at 150 and the Primal Emblem’s Attack Speed at 35%, and 18.4 set the Elderwood Emblem’s resists at 25.
• Some traits lean on one. Riot’s 18.4 notes call Fae very dependent on an emblem, tie Elderwood (7) to them, and say Sprykin (7) takes an emblem plus a 5-cost. Its 18.5 notes trim Rapidfire because one emblem is enough for it.
• Riot raised two traits so you’d keep the emblem. Its 18.6 notes buff Blossom and Sprykin, saying you shouldn’t feel you need a Reforger when one of those emblems lands.
• You can buy one. The Curio Cart Wisp’s emblems cost 17 gold since 18.6, up from 15. The Wisps guide lists the change, and the rolling guide prices any Wisp in rolls.
• Phantom Emblem. By the game data files, this Wisp lends you an emblem for whichever trait you have most active, for a while, and 18.2 put it at 2 gold. Run the same sum on that trait before you buy it, since you don’t choose which one.
• Coven’s carousel window. Riot’s 18.2 notes stop offering the Coven Emblem on carousels after Stage 5.

What changes when Set 19 lands?

Riot’s schedule lists 19.1 for December 1, 2026, and warns that dates can change. The sum and the questions carry over. Re-check these against the 19.1 notes and your own game: each trait’s levels, which traits have an emblem at all, whether the Spatula still makes origins and the Pan classes, what stats emblems carry, and whether the Reforger rules still stand. The step table and the line examples are Set 18’s, so rebuild them.

What should you do with your next Spatula or Pan?

Your spot	The call
One more count crosses a level on units you’re fielding	Build it
The count lands between levels	Hold it, or look for the piece that fixes the count
One carry deals nearly all the damage, and the emblem would take its slot	Use a stand-in, or build the item
Two special pieces, and both emblems cross a level	Build both
Two special pieces, and one or neither crosses	Take the Tactician’s item
A random emblem with no home, and several results would work	Use your Reforger
A random emblem, and you can name only one result that works	Keep the Reforger, and use the emblem for its stats

If you’d like a second opinion in the moment, TFTSense reads the items in your bag and tells you what to slam and who should hold it.

Sources

All read November 4, 2026. No Riot page on when an emblem is worth building was found, so each number links to the Riot page that sets it.

• Riot Games, patch 14.18 notes, published 2024-09-10, for the Frying Pan, Tactician’s items and reforging emblems.
• Riot Games, patch 14.23 notes, published 2024-11-19, for Reforgers in Prismatic orbs with a Spatula or Pan.
• Riot Games, patch 15.1 notes, published 2025-07-29, for class emblems.
• Riot Games, patch 16.2 notes, published 2026-01-07, and patch 16.3 notes, published 2026-01-21, for emblem power.
• Riot Games, patch notes for 18.1 (2026-08-25), 18.2 (2026-09-09, with the mid-patch update headed September 14), 18.3 (2026-09-22), 18.4 (2026-10-06), 18.5 (2026-10-20) and 18.6 (2026-11-03), for a random emblem from an augment, XP, emblem bonuses, Hunter, Rapidfire, Damage Amp, Curio Cart and Riot’s comments on emblem-led traits.
• Riot Games, Patch Schedule, Teamfight Tactics, for the 19.1 date.
• The game’s data files, read November 4, 2026, in a version not yet updated for 18.6, for recipes, the emblem list, trait levels, Hunter (4) at 45%, Rapidfire’s stacks, Deathblade’s AD and Damage Amp, Thief’s Gloves’ slots and Phantom Emblem.
• Our own match crawl: the 21 comp lines built from it (patch 18.6 data), for the emblem examples. The counts, and the chances in the Reforger table (the number that would work, over 19), are this guide’s own arithmetic.

Update log

• 2026-11-04: First version.