Dark Knight.

  Yes, Dark Knight. Once again, the enemy picked Dark Knight.

  "Say whaaaaaat?" Ronald excimed.

  "Wow, these guys really like memeing," Matthew ented.

  “This… I just ’t.” Sonya took off her gsses and rubbed her eyes. “This is beyond the level of ‘memeing’. This is ht stupid.”

  “Yeah, I have to agree they’re really pushing it,” William said.

  “Now, now,” Cato said. “I know this pick looks like a bad joke, but don’t fet we thought the same thing st game.”

  “This is far worse than what they did st time,” Sonya pointed out. “Their previous lineup at least had some synergy, it was built around Dark Knight’s offense. But, this lineup? It makes no se’s leaning toward defense, yet it has a Dark knight.”

  “Maybe bruh gonna build a defensive DK!” Ronald chuckled.

  “Yeah, no. Defensive DK does, not even in memes,” Sonya said matter-of-factly. “Don’t you even try to suggest it’s a thing.”

  “I mean, why not? DK has self-sustain and all.”

  “Yes, self-sustain via killing enemies.”

  “Hey, still got it, tho! Just gotta defensively kill people. Ezpz.”

  “Yes, you’re making perfect sense right now...”

  Of course, nobody even sidered taking this theory seriously, not even for a moment. Heck, Ronald himself didn’t believe a word of what he just said. He just threw random ideas around to see if any of it made seo anybody else. But as expected, nonsense was nothing more than nonsense in the end.

  Simply put, Stratus’s current lineup made no sense, period. There were no ifs or buts about it. It was just pin bad.

  If their previous lineup was “meme level”, then this one was “dumb level”. Even for a meme, this team oorly structed. It couldn’t properly utilize the main strengths of the meme they had oeam.

  "Actually," Cato said. "Our perception of their csses might be a little ed.”

  “How do you mean?” Sonya asked.

  “For example, Sorcerer is mainly a zoner, right? But, it has ways to deal some serious burst damage. Likewise, Elf is a defensive Carry, but we’ve already seen Gunz utilize it to harass defenders. And, Knight is veritable so it theoretically be built offensively."

  "Hmm. I suppose you have a point," Sonya ceded. "Their lineup looks very defe the csses have some offeential as well, depending on the build and pystyle. I suppose we've been had."

  "Yep, most likely." Cato shook his head. "They picked csses that together created the image of a 'defensive' p, but it was one big ruse."

  "That doesn't sound very effit," William pointed out. "Even if their csses be used for offe's undeniable that they're meared toward defense. So, their offense ’t be as oppressive as st game.”

  "I agree," Cato said. "Holy, I 't tell whether that whole trick was worth it. Feels like they prioritized the surprise element above anything else.”

  “And we sure got surprised, word!” Ronald nodded. “But, was it worth it? Like, did they actually gain anything from it?”

  “A little bit,” Cato answered. “It made me not pick certain csses I had in mind for dealing with DK, like Druid for example. But in the end, I think they lost more than they gained by itting to this trick."

  "That's my thoughts, too" William agreed.

  "Yeah, me three!" Ronald joined in for some reason.

  "Wait." Cato paused. "If you, kid, also agree with us, then now I'm suddenly worried about whether we’re right.”

  "Oh , bruh!" Ronald pouted while the others cracked a ugh.

  "Either way," Cato tinued. "We'll have to see how this one pans out. It's too early to say whether their lineup is going to work or not. Just remember that, no matter what, do NOT uimate them. We did that enough st game."

  "Don't worry, man!" Ronald grinned. "This game gonally different! You know why?"

  "Humor me."

  "Because I got Berserker! They won't be able to start an attack even if they wao. Why? Because I gonna hit 'em first!"

  "Oh really." ade a face. "Who wants to bet that Ronald will give the enemy First Blood?"

  "Nah, bruh. I'm gonhe one who scores First Blood!"

  "Sure, sure."

  "Just you watch!" Ronald ched a fident fist. "I'mma wreck their offeh my own!"

  "And I'll help with that," William said.

  "Brooo! I knew you'll uand!"

  "We’ve both picked aggressive csses, so it's something we're obligated to do," William said matter-of-factly. "We have to interrupt their offense by striking first."

  "My, it sounds like you want to fight fire with fire," Cato said. "I'm not a fan of this approach, but we'll have to see how the game develops. With that said, if you DO mao tackle them successfully, that’ll surely ruin their entire game pn. I already imagihe delicious frustration on their faces~"

  And so, the drafting phase came to an end.

  ===Stratus===

  Yuel (Chessmaster): Lumimancer

  Lars (Gunz): Elf

  Vi (InformationBckhole): Knight

  Kai (Beat): Sorcerer

  Luke (LegendaryMemer): Dark Knight

  ===Leopards===

  Cato (Rook): ancer

  Matthew (Merlin): Seraph

  Ronald (AbsoluteChallenger): Berserker

  Sonya (TheTheorist): Sage

  William (AbosluteWinner): Viking

  At a ghe teams' lineups looked almost the opposite of what their real game pns were going to be. Stratus was supposed to go hard on the offense, yet the majority of their lineup had semi-defensive csses. Likewise, the Leopards this year were best known for their airtight defense, yet their Top and Jungler were very aggressive picks.

  With both teams walking the thin liween offense and defense, whie of them was going to execute its game per and emerge victorious!?

  DarkestCymore