Hey, I’m ZL a TFT Player from Austria mainly playing on the EUW Server.
I’ve always been one of the first players to reach Challenger on a new set because I’m quick to learn and adapt to new metas.
Due to being a Software Engineering Student, I mostly play decay games after 2 weeks into a set and do TFT Coaching in my free time.
You can also catch me streaming at www.twitch.tv/re_zl.
Olaf Dragonsoul or Slayers Comp Guide
As of Patch 11.4, Olaf returned as a strong carry with the buff he received. I currently rank him S on the meta snapshot.
If you couple that with the prior changes to Dragonsoul/Slayer and the nerfs to all the other top comps, you can see why Olaf is dominating the meta now!
This is what the standard Level 8 comp usually looks like:
Because Olaf is your main carry, you need to utilize his traits to get the most out of him.
For this, you will need 2 more Slayer and 2 more Dragonsoul units (or Chosen).
Let’s take a look at the Slayer Units:
- Darius: with the recent buff to Darius, he is a solid unit for early/mid game
- Olaf: your main carry
- Pyke: provides solid cc for your team, and he is easy to find as he is a 2 cost unit
- Samira: as a 5 cost unit, Samira will be your secondary Carry in your comp if you manage to find her and have spare items for her
- Tryndamere: with the nerfs to all the other units, Tryndamere can pull off some nice dmg as a secondary carry if you don’t find Samira.Zed: backline access and steals AD
With this information, we can choose our 3 Slayer units for our comp (unless you want to run 6, which also works if you get a Chosen Slayer Olaf/Trynda/Samira):
Olaf as the main Carry + Pyke providing utility + Samira/Trynda as a second source of dmg. (Darius and Zed can be used to fill in until you find the better units)
In addition to the Slayer units, we also have to fill in at least 2 Dragonsoul units:
- Aurelion: a mighty dragon providing good AP dmg especially if you can fit in 3 mages
- Brand: provides a single target CC
- Braum: his ability allows him to survive a long time
- Olaf: a berserker cleaving through the battlefield
- Shyvana: good unit and item holder for Olaf in early/mid game
- Swain: even with no items, this unit can pull off a decent amount of dmg and provides the same anti-heal effect as Sunfire and Morello
- Tristana: can be used as an item holder for early/mid game and is a trait bot late game for Dsoul and Sharpshooter (in case you play Samira)
As you can already imagine with all the information provided so far, you can play many variations!
For the standard comp, you will run:
Olaf + Tristana as synergy bot due to Samira + Swain because he is the best standalone Dragonsoul unit
Leveling Pattern:
A typical game would look something like:
- Level 4: If you feel strong, you can pre-level at 1-4 or level at 2-1. If not, level up naturally at 2-3
- Level 5: 2-5 and make 10g, else be sure to keep a winstreak; 3-1 if you just want to losestreak
- Level 6: 3-2 and roll a bit depending on how strong the lobby is compared to you
- Level 7: 4-1 and roll, if needed
- Level 8: 4-5 if you can stay above 30g, else 5-1 and roll for your comp
- Level 9: If you are stabilized, you can save gold to push lvl 9 (2* core units)
Strengths
- High flexibility of late game composition depending on lobby and what units/chosens you hit with your gold.
- Flexible items but you will need some core components to save hp early/mid game.
Weaknesses
- Highly contested units
- Core Item components contested
- No real backline access aside from Runaan’s
Item Guide
Olaf with and without perfect items is the difference between day and night, which is also one of the biggest weaknesses of this comp.
Core Items
Note: Runaan’s Hurricane no longer interacts with Olaf’s cleave! But it is still one of the best items for him!
Runaan’s Hurricane: By far the most important item on Olaf because his cleave spell procs from the bolt, which allows Olaf to destroy whole enemy teams. You can also run 2 Runaan’s over a damage item, and you won’t be disappointed.
Guardian Angel: As a melee carry, you want to ensure he can survive as long as possible to take enemies down with him. This item will allow him to revive in case he gets bursted down and coupled with the Slayer trait, which will give Olaf a decent amount of lifesteal to heal himself back up, making him a monster on the battlefield.
Deathblade: a pure AD item in the game, which synergizes extremely well with Runaan’s and Olaf’s cleave allowing extremely fast stacks.
Substitute items for Olaf:
Last Whisper: With the recent rise of popularity of Neeko Vanguard comps, this item can help you melt through their tanks as it shreds armor of units hit. Best Item in the current meta (11.15)
Rapid Firecannon: This item will turn any melee champion into a ranged unit. You can use Rapid Firecannon as a substitute for Guardian’s Angel since he will no longer be exposed to the dangers on the frontline.
Hand of Justice: Best flexible damage item you can make! Due to having no use for gloves and tears in your comp, this is an item you can always make to save HP. If you don’t end up with 3 Olaf items then he can use this item too; if not, you can just put this on your secondary carry (e.g., Samira).
Giant Slayer: Giant Slayer is a situational item because it’s very good vs high HP units (i.e., Brawlers, 3 stars, legendary 2 costs, Warlord).
Infinite Edge: After Deathblade, the second best damage item to boost Olaf’s damage.
Dragon’s Claw: Situational defensive item if lobby is AP heavy!
Bramble Vest: Situational defensive item vs AD damage.
Slammable items to save hp:
Locket of the Iron Solari: One of the best early items to winstreak because it gives 5 units a shield of 300/375, thus also providing Olaf with more protection.
Sunfire Cape: Another great early game slam because it gives decent damage and provides anti heal.
Morellonomicon: Same as Sunfire but requires units with AOE spells to make it worth.
Ionic Spark: Reduces nearby enemies’ magic resistance, which is good for Dragonsoul because it’s an auto attack dealing magic damage. It also uses up your rod and extra cloaks after making Runaan’s.
Chalice of Power: Straight up AP boost to 3 units using up your tears and spare cloaks.
Those are just examples, and you can literally make any items to save hp as long as you get Olaf’s core items!
Carousel Priority
Early Game (Stage 1 and 2)
There are many boards you can play for early game.
Some examples would be:
Sharpshooter, Dragonsoul, Vanguard
Add warlords, Sharp/VG/Keeper as you level up (can use other sharpshooter besides Nida and their secondary traits)
Divine, Vanguard
Add more divine units and traits such as duelist/syphoner as you level up
Duelist, Enlightened
Add more duelist/divine/mystic as you level up. (Kalista is very strong)
Early Sivir with Keeper and Cultist
Kennen can be replaced by another keeper unit.
Early Shyvana with brawler and DSoul
Add more brawlers as you level up and play 6 brawlers over DSoul if you can’t fit both.
Mid Game (Stage 3 and 4)
Be sure to be level 6 at 3-2 with 30g+, and depending on how strong you are compared to lobby, you can decide to roll a bit here (even selling chosen if yours isn’t good enough).
If you were winstreaking up to after carousel in stage 3, you can also level to 7 at 3-5 and keep the tempo and winstreak.
Else, level to 7 at 4-1 and again reevaluate your board strength and decide if you have to roll a bit here.
As long as you don’t lose the fights super hard and take 10+ damage every round, you can go lvl 8 at 4-5 if you have 30 gold+ left or at 5-1 and roll down for your comp.
You never go 9 unless you stabilized having your Olaf 2* with some other units while not losing fights hard
Because this comp is expensive, try to slam whatever item (without sacrificing your core Olaf items) you can to save HP so you don’t have to roll too much gold mid game.
Some example lvl 7 boards would be:
Sivir carry with Cultist, Sharpshooter and Keeper
Shyvana Carry with Brawler and Dragonsoul
For the other comps take a look at the notes below them from the Early Game section.
Late Game (Stage 5 and beyond)
If you don’t have anything to upgrade to make you stronger by having most of your comp 2*, you can start saving gold to go lvl 9.
Because you can play the standard 3 Slayer/3 Dsoul Olaf comp with no chosen at lvl 8, you can just add any good unit at lvl 9 such as Zilean, Yone, Sett, Lee, etc.
Late Game Comp Variations
There are many variations you can play in late game.
6 DSoul, 3 Mage, 3 Slayer
add Morgan at 9 for Syphoner, backline Asol if no GA, Annie can be any mage
6 Slayer, 3 DSoul
With 6 Slayer, you don’t necessarily need DSoul for Olaf and you can also replace Swain//Morgana/Tristana for Aatrox+Sejuani+Sivir
6 Dsoul, 3 Slayer with DSoul Spat
If you get super lucky with 2 spats, you can also run this exodia comp:
Positioning Considerations
Aatrox: You want Aatrox right next to Olaf in the opposite corner of the enemy carry to pull him to your Olaf.
Olaf: As mentioned above, you have him next to your Aatrox. Positioning Olaf can be sometimes tricky because you want him to take damage as soon as possible to get his DSoul buff while not taking too much damage. For this reason, the left or right corner is most ideal.
If you happen to have an RFC, you can just treat him as a ranged unit and backline him.
But make sure you have a DSoul, unit like Tristana, at the front getting the buff to transfer it over to Olaf.
Morgana: Because you have no enlightened units, Morgana will cast pretty late; thus, it’s better to frontline her to tank and have a faster cast because her spell reduces enemies AD.
Pyke: You want Pyke on the same side as the enemy carry because he stuns every enemy hit with his dash from the spot he uses his spell to the farthest enemy.
Counters
Kayle Comps: Kayle is the archenemy of every comp lacking backline access. She will just burst your Olaf down if she is on the same side as Olaf.
Zed Comps: Zed jumps behind your Team/Olaf and steals his AD while killing him. You want to position your Olaf to where Zed jumps if you have a GA because you will burst him down with DSoul buff and, in the worst case, revive to kill him with GA.
Asol Comps: A stacked Asol will just burst your Olaf down if he hits. Use Aatrox to pull him, cc, and kill him if he is in the backline.
Neeko Vanguard Comps: 3* fabled Nautilus with Vanguards will tank your Olaf for a long time. LW is needed against this matchup!
Fun Facts/Tips
- If you play RFC Olaf, be sure to put Tristana or any other DSoul unit at the frontline to let her/him die ASAP and transfer the DSoul buff over to Olaf.
- If you play GA Olaf, make sure he gets hit first (e.g., position Swain 1 hex down).
- DSoul buff transfers to the nearest unit after death!
- When contested or not finding Olaf play any other AD Carry such as Tryndamere, Sivir or Talon!
Thanks so much for checking out the guide on Olaf! Check out other guides here!