Chapter 368: Mouse Gives You

The lineups for both sides in this game are as follows.

VG, blue side.

ban: Grasshopper, Mao Kai, Jessa; Karma, Jella.

top lane: Flandre, Sword Maiden.

jungle: Firrrrrre, Rek'Sai.

mid lane: Easyhoon, Ryze.

bot lane: Smlz, Varus.

support: Caveman, Tham.

coach: Loong.

EDG, red side.

ban: Enchantress, Lion Dog, Qing Steel Shadow; Hammer Stone, Girl Gun.

top lane: Mouse, Bo Bi.

jungle: Fireloli, Mang Seng.

mid lane: Scout, Snake Woman.

bot lane: Zet, Ice Archer.

support: Meiko, Bard.

coach: Nofe.

「After suffering the loss from being randomly shot by Ice Archer last game and having no vision in the jungle completely, EDG's coach Nofe considered everything very thoroughly in this BP, picking a lineup that covered all aspects; it can be said to be a very good lineup.

「On the other hand, VG picked a relatively adventurous lineup.

「So we can see it this way: if EDG can win this game, it proves there is actually no strength difference between them and VG.

「But, if... I mean, if EDG loses, then...

Remembering what they wanted to say but didn't dare to, they hemmed and hawed.

Su Xiao Yan continued:

「If they haven't even faced VG with this lineup, it actually already shows that EDG's strength is indeed inferior to VG.

「Um, of course we mean only for this version; as for how the next version will be, nobody knows, after all the changes from version 7.2 plus 7.3 are quite large.

「That's right, the two coaches are very professional, having made a prediction about the match's direction; both sides have already entered Summoner's Rift, and apparently neither has the intention to fight a level-one teamfight, both adopting a five-star-in-a-row defensive formation.

If a fight really breaks out, EDG would definitely have the advantage, but...

In the bullet comments, someone just said:

【Hehe, when have you ever seen EDG initiate a level-one teamfight】

【EDG fears being wiped out in a level-one teamfight, so they never initiate one】

This is probably also EDG's tradition.

Monsters respawned, and both junglers started from the upper half with the help of the top lane.

In this version, Rek'Sai couldn't get the first blue, so Liang Yan started directly at the blue buff, skipped the Magic Swamp Frog and went straight to the three wolves, then went to the lower half to take the red buff.

The reason for choosing this jungle start is mainly because in this version monster respawn times are long, so there's no need to overly pursue jungle efficiency.

Furthermore, because Varus has an advantage against Ice Archer in bot lane and is in a pushing state, Liang Yan needs to get to the lower half as soon as possible to provide cover for the duo.

Moreover, the enemy Ice Archer likely learns E at level two to grant vision; Liang Yan deliberately left a monster camp in the upper half and, when starting with red in the lower half, left a variation possible, so even if EDG uses Ice Archer's skill to grant vision, they cannot determine Liang Yan's next move.

This time, Ma Ge became smarter and asked Liang Yan a question before pushing the lane:

「Can I push the lane now? 」

Liang Yan switched over to take a look:

「If you're confident you can push the wave into the tower within two waves, then go ahead; otherwise, better not.

Sima Laozei pondered for a moment and said:

「Then I won't push. Do you want to come gank?

「You mean you want to let the lane push?

「Yeah.

「That's too obvious; even if they fall for it, by the time the wave reaches them they'll already be level three, Bard has a slide making him hard to catch, and moreover Ai Luoli is also here.

Liang Yan marked the enemy Magic Swamp Frog.

Sima Laozei remained silent for a few seconds.

At this moment, Xiao Duan entered the river and placed a ward in the grass at the river entrance.

「How should I handle the minion wave now? 」 Ma Ge asked again.

「Never mind all that, just go for it!

On the top lane, someone was frantically looking for a chance to fight Bo Bi, and Fu Lan Duo laughed.

「Go fuck your head.

Liang Yan cursed, then explained to Sima Laozei:

「Just pull back a little; when they push over, you need to hold the minion line here and keep your positioning near this line, then it'll be very safe.

Liang Yan said while marking the intersection to the left front of our bottom turret,

「This is the most comfortable spot in bot lane; you can advance to attack or retreat to defend, and if the enemy clears the wave and goes home, you can quickly counter‑push.

「Understood.

「Ma Ge, just give the mouse to him and let him operate it himself.

Fu Lan Duo kept being cheeky.

Ma Ge said, "Get lost."

Liang Yan said, "Nice scolding."

Ma Ge just laughed a little.

Xiao Duan didn't speak from start to finish, but he listened attentively, silently absorbing knowledge.

About three and a half minutes later, Marquis summoned Liang Yan:

"Can you come over for a moment? I want to push the lane and go home."

"Right away."

Liang Yan cleared the Stone Armor Beetles and ran to the middle lane, never entering the river; the river crabs just gave way.

"Is the pressure in the middle lane a bit high?" Liang Yan asked while rushing.

"His Cassiopeia is pretty strong, indeed hard to deal with." Marquis said honestly.

Liang Yan smiled and said:

"That's because he didn't play Syndra; otherwise your pressure would be even greater."

Scout's laning ability, in the LPL, is absolutely top-tier; in this era, the only mid laners who can go toe-to-toe with Scout without falling behind are Rookie and Xi Ye.

Moreover, Scout's mastery of Syndra is beyond doubt—this is the Syndra that won worlds against ROX. Therefore, as the former ROX coach Nofe, he should know Scout can play Syndra; this game he should let Scout take Syndra.

But the result was that they snatched a Cassiopeia.

Marquis also found it strange:

"So why didn't they take Syndra?"

"I'm not sure; maybe the coach didn't allow it. After all, we have Tahm Kench, so Syndra's burst isn't easy to pull off, and maybe they just didn't want you to take Cassiopeia."

"I think it's because we have Tahm Kench."

Marquis was very humble.

Liang Yan helped clear the middle lane minions, went home to craft a second-tier jungle knife, then left and headed up.

Fu Lan Duo was pressing too hard, Liang Yan felt Ai Luoli would go to gank him.

He glanced into the upper river; the river crabs were still playing in the shallows, clearly Ai Luoli was farming Stone Armor Beetles, so Liang Yan placed a ward in the grass at the upper river entrance, stopped worrying about Fu Lan Duo, returned and ate the river crab, seeing that middle lane Scout was pressuring but had excellent minion control, and was a full-health Cassiopeia just came out—without a good position he couldn't kill her, instead he revealed his own position, endangering his teammates.

So Liang Yan returned to his own jungle and started clearing from the Magic Swamp Frog downward.

Fu Lan Duo saw this and shouted:

"Damn, he's low on health—come gank him!"

"Shall we dive tower to give Mang Seng a double kill?"

"Come on, you're so skilled, what are you afraid of?"

"Here's the mouse, you take it."

"Your grandpa's!"

"Your grandpa's."