TFT Set 18 Elderwood Draven Guide: Best Items and Bounties
Elderwood Draven is a fast 10 comp. You play a cheap Elderwood board early, spend stage 4 on levels, then roll at level 9 for a board of 5-costs built around @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@.
Our Elderwood Draven comp page has the final board, the items and the leveling for patch 18.4. This guide covers the calls the page can't make for you: when to commit, which of Draven's bounties to take and where your gold goes in each stage.
How Elderwood Draven wins
The comp runs through @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@. Our win conditions put 2-star Draven first and 2-star @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Maokai@ right behind him, and boards that never find a 2-star Draven fall off hard.
Draven's attacks hit random enemies in range and stack bleeds on them. His Ability throws two axes at the enemy with the most bleeds and cashes in all of that bleed at once. So every attack makes his next cast hit harder, and his items are all about attacking more:
@tft=set18:item:DA_GuinsoosRageblade@ stacks Attack Speed every second. Nearly every Draven board builds it.
@tft=set18:item:DA_KrakensFury@ stacks Attack Damage over his first 15 attacks, then adds Attack Speed.
@tft=set18:item:DA_Deathblade@ adds raw damage.
Maokai holds the tank items. Every 650 damage he blocks sends a sapling at an enemy, so he wants to soak as much damage as he can, with @tft=set18:item:DA_GargoyleStoneplate@, @tft=set18:item:DA_SpiritVisage@ and @tft=set18:item:DA_WarmogsArmor@. His @tft=set18:trait:DA_18_Maokai_UniqueTrait@ trait also gives him permanent max Health each time an enemy dies near him, so he gets tankier over the game.
The rest of the board backs those two up. @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Kennen@ and @tft=set18:unit:DA_Amumu18@ give 2 @tft=set18:trait:DA_18_Inferno@, and they feed each other. Amumu's stun lasts longer on Burning enemies, and Kennen gains Ability Power for every Burning enemy when he casts. @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ezreal@ is the second damage dealer, and @tft=set18:unit:DA_Taric18@ is the second tank. @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Alistar@, Ezreal and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_GnarSmall@ make 3 @tft=set18:trait:DA_18_Elderwood@, which gives you a Stonebark Tree and a Lifebloom for free.
Draven's bounties pay for level 10
@tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@ brings his own trait, @tft=set18:trait:DA_DravenUniqueTrait18@. You pick a bounty, your strongest Draven works on it, and when he finishes it you pick the next one. The rewards are gold, XP, units, rerolls and items, so a good Draven pays for the levels and rolls this comp needs.
Pick the reward that fixes your current problem:
Reward | Bounties | Take it when |
|---|---|---|
Gold and XP | Deal 10,000 damage for 7 gold, deal 10,000 in one player combat for 15 gold, get 8 kills for 12 gold, get 14 takedowns for 10 XP | You're still leveling toward 9 or 10 |
Units and rerolls | Attack 60 times for a random 5-cost, cast 6 times for two random 4-costs, cast 8 times for 6 rerolls, deal the most damage on your team for 2 rerolls | You're at level 9 and rolling for 2-star @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@ |
Items | Deal 35,000 damage for a @tft=set18:item:DA_Component_BFSword@, get 15 kills for a random completed item, survive 3 player combats for 2 random components | Your board is set and you're missing items |
Draven makes progress by fighting, so a Draven on your bench earns nothing. Put him on the board as soon as you have him, even before he's 2-star.
When to play Elderwood Draven
Commit when your items and opener line up. The comp needs only a handful of things to start:
Items. Our carousel priority is @tft=set18:item:DA_Component_BFSword@, @tft=set18:item:DA_Component_RecurveBow@ and @tft=set18:item:DA_Component_GiantsBelt@. @tft=set18:item:DA_Deathblade@ takes two B.F. Swords, and both @tft=set18:item:DA_GuinsoosRageblade@ and @tft=set18:item:DA_KrakensFury@ start from a Recurve Bow. An early Guinsoo's is the clearest sign to go @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@.
Opener. @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Xayah@, @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Varus@ and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ornn@ are the most common start. If they show up early with a Recurve Bow, you're on the right track.
Augments. @tft=set18:augment:DA_LateGameScaling@ gives 2 XP every player combat round and buffs 5-costs, and the level 9 board runs six of them. @tft=set18:augment:DA_LevelUp@ adds 2 XP every time you buy XP. @tft=set18:augment:DA_18_DuoQueue@ hands you two 5-costs straight away.
Any XP augment pushes you toward this comp, because the whole plan is reaching high levels fast.
Early game
Play the cheap units that will later hand their items to your carries. The usual early board is @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Xayah@, @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Varus@, @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ornn@ and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Alistar@, with @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Shen@ or @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Akali_AD@ next to them. Xayah, Ornn and Alistar already make 3 @tft=set18:trait:DA_18_Elderwood@, so you get your plants from the first stages.
Each early unit holds items for a later one:
Early holder | Holds items for | Items |
|---|---|---|
@tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Xayah@ | @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@ | @tft=set18:item:DA_GuinsoosRageblade@, @tft=set18:item:DA_KrakensFury@, @tft=set18:item:DA_Deathblade@ |
@tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Varus@ | @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ezreal@ | @tft=set18:item:DA_Deathblade@, @tft=set18:item:DA_LastWhisper@, @tft=set18:item:DA_SpearOfShojin@ |
@tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ornn@ | @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Maokai@ | @tft=set18:item:DA_GargoyleStoneplate@, @tft=set18:item:DA_SpiritVisage@, @tft=set18:item:DA_WarmogsArmor@ |
Xayah is the best Draven stand-in, because she's also a ranged carry that wins with attacks, so Guinsoo's and Kraken's work on her right away. If Xayah doesn't show up, @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Caitlyn@ can hold Draven's items, and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Elise@ can hold Maokai's. @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_LeBlanc@ is another good holder for Ezreal's items.
Put the Stonebark Tree in your front row and the Lifebloom in your back row. In stage 3, @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Hecarim@ and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_LeBlanc@ can take you to 5 Elderwood for a second Stonebark Tree.
Mid game
Stage 4 gold goes into XP, not rolls. Follow the leveling on the comp page. Our data shows players spending most of their gold on levels in stage 4 and barely rolling until level 9.
Swap in the 5-costs as you find them. @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@ replaces @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Xayah@ and takes her items, @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Maokai@ takes @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ornn@'s items, and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ezreal@ takes @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Varus@'s. Watch your @tft=set18:trait:DA_18_Elderwood@ count while you swap. The final board gets its 3 Elderwood from @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Alistar@, Ezreal and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_GnarSmall@, so keep Xayah or Ornn on the board until you have all three.
Late game
Reach level 9 early in stage 5 and roll there. 2-star @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@ comes first, then 2-star @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Maokai@. 2-star @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ezreal@ and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Kennen@ are next on the comp page's win conditions.
At level 9, add @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ivern@ to the eight core units. At level 10, add @tft=set18:unit:DA_Lux18_Base@. @tft=set18:unit:DA_Sentinel18@ and @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Soraka@ also show up as flex options in the comp data.
Two extra items are worth knowing. @tft=set18:item:DA_ThiefsGloves@ works on Kennen or @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_GnarSmall@. An @tft=set18:item:DA_18_EmblemExecutioner@ goes on Draven. It makes 3 @tft=set18:trait:DA_18_Executioner@ with Ezreal and Kennen, which gives Draven Precision, so his Ability can critically strike.
Tips and common mistakes
Building Draven without Guinsoo's. @tft=set18:unit:DA_Draven18@'s damage scales with how often he attacks, and @tft=set18:item:DA_GuinsoosRageblade@ is the item nearly every Draven board builds.
Rolling at level 8. The players who win with this comp hold their gold until 9. Roll at 8 only if you're about to die.
Benching a 1-star Draven. Draven only works on bounties while he fights, so play him as soon as you have him.
Taking bounties at random. Take gold and XP while you're leveling, and rerolls or units once you're rolling at 9.
Losing your plants mid-swap. Selling @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Xayah@ or @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_Ornn@ before @tft=set18:unit:DA_18_GnarSmall@ arrives can drop you below 3 @tft=set18:trait:DA_18_Elderwood@ and takes your Stonebark Tree and Lifebloom with it.
Selling Xayah too early. She holds Draven's items until he shows up. Sell her when he can take them, not before.