Cypher, the Moroccan information breaker, is one of the oldest Sentinels introduced in the Valorant Agent roster. Despite being one of the less-often-picked Agents in the game, he can be quite useful and even fatal. He has the ability to anchor the site by himself and also can keep an eye on enemies who could flank.
Following a string of nerfs and buffs to his abilities, Cypher is in his most balanced state at the moment. Although learning him takes sheer dedication, those with the skill to do so can demonstrate how powerful he is as a Sentinel.
As the players using Cypher typically don't have the most kills, they don’t get as much attention as those in different roles in Valorant, like Duelists, Controllers, and Initiators. However, his role is unquestionably the most crucial in the game. The following section discusses different team compositions for Cypher that can provide a strong sense of impact in different maps.
Disclaimer: The following team compositions are subjective and solely reflect the author’s personal opinion.
5 Agent compositions that are most effective for Cypher in Valorant
1) Composition for Haven: Cypher, Sova, Jett, Breach, Omen
Valorant’s map Haven has three sites that you can play on. In this situation, Cypher can hold the flank by the enemy team and can act as a lurker waiting for the right moment to sneak up on the adversaries as they are rotating. His Trap Wires are a real threat to the attackers.
When it comes to holding sites or retaking any site, Cypher's Spycam, mounted on the appropriate surface of any site, can gather info for your team without being noticed by the rival team. Based on that, Breach or Omen can block off the site entrance with their Fault line and Dark Cover, respectively.
Cypher’s Cyber Cage can be used to block off A lobby entrance so that Jett can take an early position to take control of the A long or A short. His one-way Cages and Trap Wires in A and C sites can be very useful when he is holding the site on his own. With the combination of his Spycam and the Recon Dart of Sova, Breach can stun the enemies, and Jett can rapidly dash into the site and can take frags.
2) Composition for Bind: Cypher, Raze, Fade, Sage, Brimstone
Bind, one of the favorite maps of Cypher mains, is back again in the Valorant map pool after getting some minor changes. Being a small map, Cypher can set up his Trap Wires around the sites, place his Spycams in cheeky spots, and block off enemy sights with the help of Cyber Cage. In the attack phase, as an information gatherer, he is great at keeping an eye out for adversaries while the team gathers information with the help of Fade’s Prowler and Haunt.
Raze is one of the most popular Duelists in the Valorant roster and a good pick for Bind. You can bounce Paint Shells on the surfaces of this map and clear the tight corners with the help of Boom Bot.
Sage is also pretty strong in Bind. As Icebox is out of the Valorant map pool, she can be played as the 2nd Sentinel alongside Cypher. Some players might contradict this duel Sentinel strategy, but without any doubt, this composition is one of the best for this map.
3) Composition for Ascent: Cypher, Omen, Sova, Jett, KAY/O
Ascent is one of the game's Defense sided maps in the Valorant map pool. An important thing to remember about this composition is that even though Killjoy is the most picked Agent on Ascnet, a player of Liquid, Ayaz “nAts” Akhmetshin has shown that Cypher can also be as lethal as her. At some secret spots in Ascent's B site, Cypher’s Spycam can go unnoticed even by some of the most vigilant enemies. In the defense as well as in the attack, after enemies got slowed after getting caught in his Trap wire, KAY/O’s FRAG/MENT can be combined to give additional damage to the enemy team.
Another way that Cypher can be useful is by positioning the Spycam in Mid and learning more about his rival’s rotation. This will aid Sova to give damage to anyone peeking from A-short or Mid Market, which is typical of an enemy using an Operator.
Gathering information about his adversaries is the main task for Cypher. So, after acquiring the information from him, you can easily capture sites and engage in post-plant scenarios by combining Omen’s Paranoia and Jett’s Tailwind.
4) Composition for Fracture: Cypher, Brimstone, Breach, Fade, Raze
Fracture is one of the largest maps in Valorant's existing map pool. When defenders continuously keep an eye out for two entrances in a map like Fracture, information is the key to success, and who else do you think can gather it except Cypher? Thanks to his Trap Wires, he can lurk freely without his team needing to worry about the possible flanks by the enemy team. Additionally, it can capture the dashing Jett gamers as well as the bothersome Boom Bot to put an end to their efforts.
Fracture is the map where Brimstone must pick Controller from the Valorant Roster. His Sky Smokes can be used to obscure enemy sight. Breach and Fade are the usual combinations played in this map, as this Initiator duo can create chaos in the enemy’s defense line alongside the Brazilian duelist. Raze is ideally suited for this combination because of her explosive abilities to hard clear corners.
5) Composition for Split and Lotus: Cypher, Astra, Raze/Jett, Skye, Viper
Starting with Episode 6 Act 1, Split, and the newest addition Lotus were added to the Valorant map pool. Cypher thrives on both of these maps as a lurker and catches enemies off-guard to help the team get a number advantage. With a strong Cypher setup, it’s really hard for the enemy team to get an entry into any of the sites. His ultimate Neural Theft is very deadly when it comes to gathering information about enemy movements.
Cypher is a reliable Agent from the Valorant roster in these two maps, as there are some cheeky spots on the wall where he can put his Trap Wires to restrict enemy movement. On the defense side, there are many locations where you can put Cyber Cages in such a way that they act as one-way smokes. This can be deadly for the enemy side as Cypher ends up gaining the peeker’s advantage.
On the other hand, Astra can fulfill the role of a primary smoker alongside Viper. Both can block off enemy sites to acquire the site smoothly. After gathering info via Cypher’s Spycam or his ultimate, Raze or Jett can jump into the chaos and create space for the team. Skye can observe her adversaries alongside Cypher as a lone initiator with the help of her Trailblazer. She can also debuff enemies with her flash and stun.