Chapter 367: Snatching Mang Seng Again

Why does Nofe want to do this BP?

Liang Yan thought it was probably because Nofe was not optimistic about EDG's win rate, so he actively placed himself in a disadvantaged position, not daring to take any risky action.

Because if EDG bans even one less, then VG only needs to not ban any, and they will definitely end up releasing at least one T0 hero; Nofe doesn't dare to swap with VG, so he would rather choose this BP template that is the worst for the red side in the current patch.

Zhu Xiaolong was happy to take it easy; two of the three ban slots were given for targeted bans.

Then they picked champions.

"Should we take Snake Woman first?" Zhu Xiaolong asked.

The Marquis thought for a moment:

"Syndra is still available, so it's not good to take Snake Woman first."

As mentioned before, the Marquis's champion pool is almost entirely made up of clearers, or utility champions like Ice Woman and Fan Mom; a aggressive lane bully like Syndra is not in his pool.

From S5 to now, Easyhoon has only played Syndra once, which was VG's last match in last summer's season, a forced pick, and the result……

Liang Yan had watched that replay; the impression was so bad it could only be described as horrendous, and he thought he might even play better than the Marquis.

This year Liang Yan joined the team and gave everyone a hero recommendation list; on it, Syndra was ranked second among mid lane must-practice champions, with Ryze first.

So the Marquis made up his mind completely, no matter how hard, he would practice Syndra to proficiency.

He's been practicing for a while, and his proficiency is actually fine.

But Liang Yan soloed a few games with the Marquis, compared his Syndra to those of Perkz, Faker, etc., felt it lacked the authentic feel, and suggested he should keep practicing.

What gave Liang Yan slight relief was that the Marquis had little trouble practicing Ahri, which surprised him, as he originally thought Ahri was the Marquis's worst champion.

Maybe because the current Ahri can also be considered a clearer champion?

In this version, Ahri's Q skill can deal splash AOE damage, making it great for clearing; her original passive was moved to her ultimate, and now her ultimate can freely copy any skill, not just a nearby basic skill used before, and can even copy the ultimate itself, creating a dummy that automatically acts and casts skills after a brief invisibility, which is utterly absurd.

In terms of mechanics, this version of Ahri could be called the best ever, yet the Marquis surprisingly encountered little difficulty practicing it, which is quite amazing.

However, this Ahri has already been banned by EDG.

Since Syndra was still available, VG couldn't safely pick Snake Woman first; after discussion, Liang Yan gave the bottom lane a Varus first, leaving the mid lane pick to be made after the enemy chose their mid champion.

Then the red side EDG double-picked, first taking Mang Seng, then Snake Woman.

The audience gasped.

In the EDG fan group, someone started cursing.

The chat was full of 666, stubbornness, and phrases like 'won't cry until seeing the coffin'.

"Uh..."

Unable to hold back, he said:

"Is EDG being a bit stubborn? Why are they snatching Mang Seng again?"

"Yeah, Mantis is still there; why must they take Mang Seng?"

"Could it be that they think leaving Mang Seng to the enemy poses a greater threat, so they have to take it?"

Long Hair ventured to say,

"After all, Coach Nofe has experienced it firsthand; regarding Fire's Mang Seng, he should have more say."

"That's also possible, but does that mean we have to snatch Mang Seng every time we play VG? That would be too passive, with a huge disadvantage."

"Uh, if Lion Dog could be available, I believe we would still take it."

"Alright, VG isn't taking Kha'Zix this time; they locked in Rek'Sai!"

"Jiao Shen's excavator, I'm kinda looking forward to it."

"Lock another Ryze… um, why not take Syndra? Ryze is countered by Snake Woman, and getting countered afterward is…"

"The Marquis can't play Syndra."

"Ah?"

"Really, he's only played Syndra once since his debut, and his performance was pretty bad."

"... To be honest, this is a big weakness for VG, since everyone knows Syndra will likely always be a mid lane staple if nothing unexpected happens."

"Yeah, and his signature champion Shah has been nerfed to unplayability, so after thinking it over, aside from Snake Woman, only Ryze remains."

No, actually there's also Clockwork, Airplane, Karma, and even Bomb Man……

Of these champions, Clockwork and Bomb Man are ones the Marquis can pull out directly; the others still need practice.

Just that Ryze fits better into the system VG is trying to build for this game.

As for being countered by Snake Woman, it's just a bit unpleasant in lane, but for the Marquis, who is used to withstanding pressure, it's actually no problem.

EDG's third pick locked down Frost Archer.

Both sides entered the second round of bans and picks.

EDG instantly banned Thresh.

VG banned Karma.

EDG hesitated a moment, then banned Miss Fortune, revealing their intention to take Janna.

But VG wasn't stubborn; they directly blocked Janna.

Then EDG first locked in Bo Bi, leaving the support slot for last.

VG double-picked to lock in their composition.

"Tam…"

"Sword Maiden!"

"Wow!"

"Sheng Qiang Ge!"

"That's his style; he himself is a player who favors the sword."

"Kind of interesting."

However, having said that, Sword Maiden top lane in this version isn't exactly a niche pick, you know! Teacher Xiao Yan, you still remember, right? Yesterday we also did a commentary on two LCK matches, and there were two Sword Maidens among them; Smeb's one was pretty effective, right?

Indeed, Sword Maiden is currently... very hot in ranked play, and on the professional stage it can't really be called a niche pick either, especially in the LCK, where it's quite hot, with a pick rate higher than that of Alchemist.

Then do you know why that is?

Because it's relatively easy to play against Blue Steel Shadow, you know.

Yes, but there's also another one—it's easy to play against Kled!

Yeah, that's right—Kled has also started appearing now.

In the last game, Fu Lan Duo's big tree got no screen time at all, it was like playing a solo game, with no sense of involvement, so this round the team decided to compensate him a bit, letting him play Sword Maiden.

On EDG's side, Nofe wasn't actually surprised by VG's move here, because he had studied Flandre—this guy is exactly that type of player.

Only when there were just a few seconds left in the pick phase did EDG finally lock in their last pick.

All right, Bard! EDG's lineup is now completely locked in!

Bard... any thoughts?

I'm not sure, but if I had to say, EDG's lineup actually looks pretty good—very complete, with a front line and a back line, cores and utility, damage when needed and tankiness when needed, teamfighting, peeling, and protection are all fine; it's well-rounded.

Coach Nofe's level is beyond doubt.