When to use Blue Buff or Spear of Shojin for each Champion [TFT Item Guide]

Blue Buff vs. Spear of Shojin in TFT

This guide compares the two mana items champion by champion. The better choice depends on a champion’s mana cost, traits, ability, and how many times they need to cast.

How the items affect mana

• Champions gain 10 mana per basic attack and can also gain mana when they take damage.
• Blue Buff provides 30 starting mana and sets the wearer’s mana to 20 after they cast.
• Spear of Shojin provides 15 starting mana and makes each basic attack restore 5 extra mana, for a total of 15 mana per attack. It also grants attack damage.
• Attack speed does not change how many attacks are needed to cast; it only changes how quickly those attacks happen.

For Ahri, who needs 80 mana:

• With no item, her first cast takes eight attacks.
• With either item, her first cast takes five attacks.
• Subsequent casts take six attacks with either item, so the items are broadly comparable on her.

Champion examples and exceptions

• Akali: Blue Buff is generally stronger because her mana pool is very small.
• Aatrox: Shojin is generally better because he has a large mana cost.
• Ezreal and Irelia: Blue Buff helps with the first cast; Shojin favors later casts. For Irelia, Shojin is preferred with two or four Enlightened, while Blue Buff is preferred with six Enlightened.
• Janna: Either item works without Enlightened. Blue Buff is better with two Enlightened; either is fine with four or six.
• Jinx: Blue Buff is better without Sharpshooter. With Sharpshooter, Shojin is favored because ricochets trigger on-hit effects.
• Lillia and chosen Lux: Either can work. Blue Buff favors the first cast, while Shojin favors subsequent casts.
• Nami: Blue Buff is better without Enlightened; with Enlightened, either item works.
• Nidalee: Either item works without Sharpshooter; Shojin is preferred with Sharpshooter.
• Talon: Blue Buff may produce casts sooner, but Shojin is usually stronger because its attack damage boosts his spell.
• Teemo, including chosen Teemo: Either item works without Sharpshooter; Shojin is preferred with Sharpshooter.
• Yone: Shojin helps with the high-mana Sealed Fate cast, while Blue Buff suits the lower-mana Unforgotten cast.

The guide does not recommend mana items for every champion; it compares the two items where relevant. It also leaves out champions such as Kalista and Jhin, who generally do not use these mana items.

Other factors to consider

• A champion who takes frequent damage may reach a cast threshold sooner than attack-only calculations suggest. If a champion is being crowd-controlled and cannot attack, Blue Buff’s mana after casting can be useful.
• Sometimes one item leaves a champion closer to their next cast after a set number of attacks, making damage taken more valuable. The guide uses Ahri as an example: after four attacks, Shojin leaves her closer to her 80-mana threshold than Blue Buff.
• Shojin’s attack damage is an additional benefit when cast frequency is otherwise similar.
• Champions using Runaan’s Hurricane or other effects that trigger extra on-hit effects can favor Shojin because those effects can provide additional mana.

Featured source: BunnyMuffins, including the item comparison article at BunnyMuffins.lol.