“One minute left,” Sonya reminded. “So, how are we going to respond to that DK?”

  “I’m still thinking about it,” Cato said. “Holy, I’m not sure what to make of it.”

  Cato did his homework about Yuel’s drafting tendencies and already simuted various lines of py against Yuel’s most frequent picks. But, this Dark Knight was pletely ued.

  I mean, they did pick Dark Knight in the previous scrimmage too, but the situation there was totally different.

  Yuel pyed Dark Knight twi the previous scrimmage, so it might seem as if Dark Knight was a on pick for Stratus. But, that was clearly wrong.

  He only picked Dark Knight because his ne oppo in Top was trash. Cato reasoned. It’s clear that their stro lineup is when Yuel pys Bot with Gunz, so I’m sure he wouldn’t try something silly like pying Top against us, right? But if so, then who is even going to use DK? Bckhole? Really?

  That didn’t add up. InformationBckhole hasn’t exhibited any signs of being skilled at offense, so he didn’t seem to qualify as a good Dark Knight.

  Of course, maybe he totally is and Stratus has been keeping that under ers until now. But, I doubt it. I mean, I don’t see the point, really.

  If anything, it sounded far more likely that Yuel will sositions with Bckhole this game. After all, Bckhole could py det Support too, as proven by the previous scrim.

  The more I think about it, the more likely this theory sounds. Cato o himself. Of course, it’s still a very shaky theory, sidering that Yuel should want to py Bot, but...

  It was a feasible solution, at the very least. Yuel established himself as a surprisingly petent 1v1 batant, so maybe he decided to try stomping Sonya in Top.

  Normally, there was no reason to worry about Sonya’s defenses beirated. However, with Dark Knight, perhaps Yuel could make it happen.

  It’s soooo tempting to switch to formation A a Yuel deal with Ronald in Top. I’m sure he’ll enjoy that~

  But, that wasn’t going to happen. William was still adamant about pying Bot against Gunz, still preoccupied with proving himself as the “stronger pyer”, as childish as it sounded.

  As such, they had to stick with formation B for now. This meant Sonya will have to deal with that Dark Knight.

  It won’t be a big deal if Bckhole remains her oppo. But, what if Yuel actually goes Top this game? Would Sonya be able to ha? Then again, would Stratus even do something like that in the first pce? Hmmmmmmm...

  “I hope you remember that we have to pick two csses,” Sonya nagged again.

  “Yes, yes, I’m quite aware, thank you very much.” iled wryly. “Well, one of the picks is pretty much decided. I gotta snag Sorcerer for Matt before anybody take it. That’s alright with everybody, right?”

  “No objes here,” Sonya said.

  “Sounds good.” William nodded.

  “Alrighty, then I’ll select Sorcerer for now.” Cato chose Sorcerer but he hadn’t locked in the pick yet.

  “What’s with the hesitation?” Matthew asked.

  “I’m just w if we should instead pick two csses that ter DK. Say, both a Top Laner and a Juhat shut down DK easily.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary,” Sonya argued. “There’s no reason for us to adjust our pace to theirs. Give me something like Dragonborn and I’ll haheir DK just fihough, of course, you’ll likely have to gank the ne regurly early on.”

  “That goes without saying.” Cato nodded. “I was just w whether I should go for a Juhat’s good at tering DK, like Vampire for example.”

  “I don’t believe there’s ao rush the Jungler pick before we see the rest of their lineup,” Sonya said. “Pig the right Jungler for the job is one of the most important decisions of the drafting phase, I’m sure you agree.”

  “Yes, of course. Hmm. Alrighty, then you want to ter DK with Dragonborn?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Sonborn and Sorcerer it is.”

  Cato locked iwo csses. Now, the ball was ba Stratus’ court.

  “It’s just as you predicted, my liege!” Vi made noise. “Indeed, our oppos didn’t think twice befoing fonborn!”

  “Actually, they mulled over it for quite some time,” Yuel said. “But yes, it did go acc to pn for the most part. Monk was another option I was expeg, but I’m gd they didn’t go there.”

  “Indeed, as Dragonborn is quite easier to ter!” Vi partied. “So, shall we go with the pn you prepared ahead of time? Of course, I’m talking about the ter-pick you have already predicted before our foes even made their move!”

  “Yes, I say we should go with it as long as you’re on board. I know you usually shy away from aggressive picks, but your Berserker is solid.”

  “Indeed, I usually do not give in to the dark side of aggression. heless! At times, it bees necessary to unleash the dark magic sealed in my right hand-”

  “Okay, so Berserker it is.” Yuel picked the css. Now, one more css...

  This was going to be Stratus’ st pick before the sed banning phase. As such, it was the st ce to piy critical css for the team’s game pn before the enemy gets the ce to ban it.

  In our case, I’d say that’s Lars’s Elf. Yuel reasohe goof py aggressively with about any Carry, but I’m banking on his superior meical skill with Elf this game. But, I don’t think there’s a o rush this pick.

  With how aggressive Stratus’ lineup was looking right now, nobody would possibly expect them to pi Elf for Carry. After all, Elf was one of the few “defensive” Carries; it prioritized mobility and zoning ressive pushes.

  I maybe see them pig Elf themselves but definitely not banning it. Yuel reasoned. Besides, I have the feeling they’ll wait on their Carry pick. They’ll probably first want to see which Carry we bring along before they decide on theirs.

  Cato sounded like that kind of cautious picker, especially against hyper-aggressive lineups. He’ll probably be too scared to make any careless picks before seeing what Stratus had in mind.

  As such, it was unnecessary to pick Elf this early. Instead, it was better to pick either Mid or Support.

  Hmm. I rather wait a little longer before deg which css to piyself. Yuel thought. I’ll probably have to pick a css that ters their defense, so I first o see how they pn to defend. So, let’s go with Mid first.

  “Kai, I’d like to pick your ext.”

  “Fine by me. Though, my pns for Pyro are dead now.” Kai made a face. The moment the enemy picked Sorcerer, it made Pyromancer impossible. “Seriously, this guy only pys keep-out csses, huh.”

  “So it seems.” Yuel nodded. “Is Eleancer alright with you?”

  “Yeah, that works.” Kai shrugged. “Not a very aggressive pick, but it get the job do looks like I’ll be leaving the early-game aggression to you all.”

  “You t on me!” Luke gave a thumbs up. “My DK gonna run all over them!”

  “You’re the one I’m the most worried about, to be ho,” Kai said. “I have a feeling you gonna crash and burn REAL bad.”

  “Heh, you’re uimating my powers!”

  “I sure hope so.” Kai sighed. Gotta admit, it’ll hel yikes how we have to trust him with this important job.

  If Kai could py Pyromahen she would have been able to mount some early-game offense of her own. This way, not everything will be riding on Luke’s dubious Jungler Dark Knight.

  But, that damn Merlin had to go ahead and pick Sorcerer, huh. Kai shook her head. This guy is really getting on my nerves. Alright, then! This game, I’m busting right through his turtling!

  And so, Yuel locked iwo picks: Berserker aromancer. As expected, one of the picks invoked a stroion from the eeam...

  DarkestCymore