While Shimmerscale fell under the radar in Teamfight Tactics (TFT) Set 7, Set 7.5 has brought new power to this rich trait. Whether you want a full Shimmerscale team or simply an Idas for your front line, understanding how this trait and its items work will only make your team stronger. This guide can help you know what to do to make Shimmerscale work for you.
How does Shimmerscale work?
When you place three Shimmerscale units on your board, you get a random, free Shimmerscale item. With five units you get two items, with seven units you get three items, and the rare nine Shimmerscale gets you five items (including, specifically, the hyper-powered Crown of Champions).
These Shimmerscale items can pack quite a punch, but they do have a catch. As a trait, Shimmerscale uniquely relies on your gold count. The more money you have, the stronger your Shimmerscale items will be. For example, with Draven’s Axe, you get one bonus Attack Damage for each gold in your bank (up to 80 gold). Players low on cash won’t exactly reap those same benefits.
Related: When to spend money and level up in Teamfight Tactics (TFT)
What are all the Shimmerscale items?
If you haven’t played Shimmerscale much before, you’ll be surprised there are actually eight different items that the game can give you. Let’s break those down:
- Crown of Champions: Every six seconds, the next attack deals 9,001x the amount of gold in your bank in true damage
- Determined Investor: After dying during combat eight times, this item is destroyed. Afterward, you get Diamond Hands, one Champion Duplicator, and 10 gold
- Diamond Hands: At 66% Health and 33% Health, become invulnerable for two seconds and grant one gold. Only happens once per combat, so if you heal yourself back above 33% or 66%, that doesn’t mean you can trigger the effect again
- Draven’s Axe: Gain one Attack Damage per gold in your bank (up to 80 gold). Meanwhile, each attack grants one stack, which you count up to 100. At full stacks, it grants five gold and one item component
- Gambler’s Blade: Gain 1% bonus Attack Speed per gold in your bank (up to 80). Each attack has a 7% chance to drop one gold
- Goldmancer’s Staff: Similar to Draven’s Axe, earn one bonus Ability Power per gold in your bank (up to 80 gold) and a chance to drop two gold whenever this unit kills an enemy
- Mogul’s Mail: Grant one Armor, one Magic Resist, and eight Health when taking damage, stacking up to 40 times. At full stacks, it grants two gold
- Needlessly Big Gem: This is the opposite of Determined Investor, focusing on surviving instead of death counts. If the holder stays alive after 15 seconds of combat, grant one gold per three living allies. Then, each living ally deals 1% more damage per gold in your bank (up to 80 gold)
Which units are Shimmerscale?
Unlike some other traits, there aren’t too many Shimmerscale units. There is a grand total of five, one from each cost category. Shimmerscale units include Nasus (1-cost), Jax (2-cost), Volibear (3-cost), Idas (7-cost), and Zoe (5-cost).
