Source: https://www.smitefire.com/smite/guide/joust-composition-strategies-21017/comments?c=135380
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 19:02:09+00:00

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SO, I have played a lot of joust, and I still fall on people who do not know what they are doing. So, I want to try and paint a clear picture to newcomers of how to play joust properly. To do so, I need to talk about compositions and which ones are the most effective. Now note I am not extremely knowledgeable about this game mode, but I do try my best. I invite any other people to add onto the various composition choices we discuss.
This is a classic composition which is hard to beat once it has a lead. In this comp, you sacrifice the dps you could have from a hunter for more control over team fights and consistent poke. In addition, with two tanks to go through, it makes the mage be comfortably set in the back line, where he/she can cast his abilities using the setup from the two tanks.
*Note* There are more mages that could obviously be included in this list, but I just chose what is really hot at the moment in Patch 5.21.
I'm assuming you're going to have more chapters covering other potential compositions?
Your Support Tank, Bruiser Tank, and Mage combo is one with decent potential. However, based on your listing of gods, I have differing opinions on how things are defined, and feel that there is a comp that is superior to this one.
I will say that I think the best balance is 2 magical, 1 physical, with the physical being a god with good damage potential. Having only 1 phys makes it tougher to counter-build, as 2 magical can often force people to build more magical defense. With the minions, tower, phoenix, Bull Demon King, and Titan all dealing physical damage, this can be indirectly beneficial to your team.
To me, the term "Support tank" is a god with strong D first in their mind. These would be gods like Khepri, Geb, Sylvanus, Athena, and maybe Ganesha at the border there.
Bruiser tank, or maybe aggressive tank, would be those with higher base damage potential, and who do well when played more aggressively. Prime examples would be Bacchus, Sobek, Ares, etc. Of course, Athena and some of the other Guardians can also be considered in this category, especially if they do well when initiating.
With your comp having 2 gods that are at least partially tanky, I honestly don't like your mention of Aphrodite. Sure, she brings a huge element of sustain, but her damage output just doesn't feel bursty enough to offset the relative lack of damage from her teammates. Keep in mind, she's only got 2 damaging abilities.
You talk about your first example having good continuous poke from range. I don't really agree here. You've got 2 melee gods and one mage (again, don't like Aphro in this comp), and that mage has almost no good poke (her longest ranged damage, Love Birds, is slooooow.
So...my preferred top comp...it's a Guardian of any type, Mage, and either Hunter or Assassin. The comp will depend on what each person picks...they all need to balance each other well. My preference would be to start with tank choice, then choose an appropriate mage, finished with an appropriate physical god.
Guardian (Support or Bruiser): Things can work with 3 damaging gods, but having a tank that can soak damage is essential. Within this, I like the tank to be a Guardian, so we get that 2 magical, 1 phys balance.
If you choose a Supporty tank, then I want my mage to have higher damage potential. If you choose an aggressive tank like Bacchus, then the mage can have less burst and more CC or bruiser qualities...gods like Nox (the CC obviously), Baron Samedi, Zhong Kui, etc.
Mage (Burst, Bruiser, or DPS): As stated above...with a Support tank, I want my mage to have high damage potential. This can be either burst or DPS. Otherwise, with a more aggressive tank, they can be bruiser.
Physical damage dealer (Burst or DPS): I want my physical damage dealer to balance out the offense from the mage. If the mage chooses burst damage or a bruiser, objective damage (e.g. towers) will be a priority for the physical god, and I'll probably prefer a hunter or DPS assassin.
If the mage chooses DPS, like Chronos or Sol, who can take down objectives very well, then I'd probably like the physical god player to choose a more bursty, ability-based Assassin.
Does this make sense? Anyway, that's my preferred team comp. Thoughts?
134059 Branmuffin17 Hi Saint, I'm assuming you're going to have more chapters covering other potential compositions? Your Support Tank, Bruiser Tank, and Mage combo is one with decent potential. However, based on your listing of gods, I have differing opinions on how things are defined, and feel that there is a comp that is superior to this one. I will say that I think the best balance is 2 magical, 1 physical, with the physical being a god with good damage potential. Having only 1 phys makes it tougher to counter-build, as 2 magical can often force people to build more magical defense. With the minions, tower, phoenix, Bull Demon King, and Titan all dealing physical damage, this can be indirectly beneficial to your team. Anyway, to your presented ideas: [list][*]To me, the term "Support tank" is a god with strong D first in their mind. These would be gods like [[Khepri]], [[Geb]], [[Sylvanus]], [[Athena]], and maybe [[Ganesha]] at the border there. [*]Bruiser tank, or maybe aggressive tank, would be those with higher base damage potential, and who do well when played more aggressively. Prime examples would be [[Bacchus]], [[Sobek]], [[Ares]], etc. Of course, [[Athena]] and some of the other Guardians can also be considered in this category, especially if they do well when initiating. [*]With your comp having 2 gods that are at least partially tanky, I honestly don't like your mention of [[Aphrodite]]. Sure, she brings a huge element of sustain, but her damage output just doesn't feel bursty enough to offset the relative lack of damage from her teammates. Keep in mind, she's only got 2 damaging abilities. [*]You talk about your first example having good continuous poke from range. I don't really agree here. You've got 2 melee gods and one mage (again, don't like Aphro in this comp), and that mage has almost no good poke (her longest ranged damage, [[Love Birds]], is slooooow.[/list] So...my preferred top comp...it's a Guardian of any type, Mage, and either Hunter or Assassin. The comp will depend on what each person picks...they all need to balance each other well. My preference would be to start with tank choice, then choose an appropriate mage, finished with an appropriate physical god. Key requirements for optimal comp: [list][*]Guardian (Support or Bruiser): Things can work with 3 damaging gods, but having a tank that can soak damage is essential. Within this, I like the tank to be a Guardian, so we get that 2 magical, 1 phys balance. If you choose a Supporty tank, then I want my mage to have higher damage potential. If you choose an aggressive tank like [[Bacchus]], then the mage can have less burst and more CC or bruiser qualities...gods like [[Nox]] (the CC obviously), [[Baron Samedi]], [[Zhong Kui]], etc. [*]Mage (Burst, Bruiser, or DPS): As stated above...with a Support tank, I want my mage to have high damage potential. This can be either burst or DPS. Otherwise, with a more aggressive tank, they can be bruiser. [*]Physical damage dealer (Burst or DPS): I want my physical damage dealer to balance out the offense from the mage. If the mage chooses burst damage or a bruiser, objective damage (e.g. towers) will be a priority for the physical god, and I'll probably prefer a hunter or DPS assassin. If the mage chooses DPS, like [[Chronos]] or [[Sol]], who can take down objectives very well, then I'd probably like the physical god player to choose a more bursty, ability-based Assassin.[/list] Does this make sense? Anyway, that's my preferred team comp. Thoughts?
Bran, how would you feel about a Khepri Sol Camazotz comp?
135380 DiabeticRage Bran, how would you feel about a [[Khepri]] [[Sol]] [[Camazotz]] comp?
Agreed in general. In most situations, I think I prefer a more aggressive tank. Two of my recent joust matches where I was tank, I used Sobek (and I'm not a Sobek player) and did very well.
Khep can work, especially if he gets those ults off...if the timing is great and the enemy blows all of their abilities (especially ults) it can be a huge shift in fight advantage. He also has good control and can force beads, and if your team has good burst and holds their abilities until he connects, his pull can guarantee a kill. His location in a fight also allows for nice item aura effects.
Sol is great for structure takedown. Her ult is fine for the Bull Demon but I don't like it as much for teamfight function. She's probably a fine general choice though.
In any case, I prefer a physical ADC, due to power increases having a 1:1 effect on basic attack damage, while with magical gods, it's 1:5 (20% of power is converted to basic attack damage). Sol is a bit of an exception at full heat because she'll gain 20% damage, which sort of balances things out.
This then allows you to get a mage with more burst potential. Just my pref.
135389 Branmuffin17 Agreed in general. In most situations, I think I prefer a more aggressive tank. Two of my recent joust matches where I was tank, I used [[Sobek]] (and I'm not a Sobek player) and did very well. Khep [i]can[/i] work, especially if he gets those ults off...if the timing is great and the enemy blows all of their abilities (especially ults) it can be a huge shift in fight advantage. He also has good control and can force beads, and if your team has good burst and holds their abilities until he connects, his pull can guarantee a kill. His location in a fight also allows for nice item aura effects. [[Sol]] is great for structure takedown. Her ult is fine for the Bull Demon but I don't like it as much for teamfight function. She's probably a fine general choice though. But yeah...[[Camazotz]] is more of a sustain guy. His damage output is okay, but it's a bit more over time rather than burst, and his potential shifts from a more offensive assassin due to his survivability/sustain aspects. And with Sol also being more DoT rather than burst, I'd say you don't have quite enough oomph in that full comp. (again, not saying you couldn't win...still depends a lot on matchups, your team's skill level and execution, and the enemy team's skill level) In any case, I prefer a physical ADC, due to power increases having a 1:1 effect on basic attack damage, while with magical gods, it's 1:5 (20% of power is converted to basic attack damage). Sol is a bit of an exception at full heat because she'll gain 20% damage, which sort of balances things out. This then allows you to get a mage with more burst potential. Just my pref.
Sol’s ult is good for team fights just use the 2 to set it up.
135399 Kriega1 Sol’s ult is good for team fights just use the 2 to set it up.
Khepri's fine, but I wouldn't use Camazotz; I would use either a bruiser assassin like Thor or one with good CC like Pele.
135387 Gulfwulf Khepri's fine, but I wouldn't use Camazotz; I would use either a bruiser assassin like [[Thor]] or one with good CC like [[Pele]].
Khepri doesen’t really bring lane pressure, and he can be counter picked, most notably by Achilles.
135401 Kriega1 Khepri doesen’t really bring lane pressure, and he can be counter picked, most notably by Achilles.
In ranked, yeah, but not necessarily in casual. I don't know the rank tier lists because I don't play ranked, but he can do decent in casual as long as you know what you're doing.
135406 Gulfwulf In ranked, yeah, but not necessarily in casual. I don't know the rank tier lists because I don't play ranked, but he can do decent in casual as long as you know what you're doing.
In casual Joust you can make triple warrior work. Or triple guardian. Or my favourite trio - “The 3 Egyptians” : Ra, Thoth, Anubis.
135410 Kriega1 In casual Joust you can make triple warrior work. Or triple guardian. Or my favourite trio - “The 3 Egyptians” : Ra, Thoth, Anubis.
Against any competent team, that won't work. Im sure i don't need to say this, bit thr enemy just has to build one type of defense to counter you (phys or-magical). Casual can have good competition sometimes.
135430 boogiebass Against any competent team, that won't work. Im sure i don't need to say this, bit thr enemy just has to build one type of defense to counter you (phys or-magical). Casual can have good competition sometimes.
In most comps you will rather want a hunter or warrior over assassin. Sobek and Sol are fine though.
135400 Kriega1 In most comps you will rather want a hunter or warrior over assassin. Sobek and Sol are fine though.
Now, I can see a variation of your comp working. 2 tanks, if both were sort of bruisery, along with a mage with good range damage, or even a bruiser mage, might be fun.
Meaning...aggressive warrior, aggressive guardian, bruiser mage. All at least partially tanky, all with some damage potential.
134060 Branmuffin17 Now, I can see a variation of your comp working. 2 tanks, if both were sort of bruisery, along with a mage with good range damage, or even a bruiser mage, might be fun. Meaning...aggressive warrior, aggressive guardian, bruiser mage. All at least partially tanky, all with some damage potential.

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