Chapter 305: Turning the Lightning! The Wolf is Coming? The Top-Tier Laning Master's

"TheShy is playing Crocodile?"

Ye Bo searched for the champion he wanted to play in the champion list, muttering: "I don't really want to use a long-range champion against a short-range one; it doesn't feel like a real test. Let's go with this one!"

"If it's about stats, you have to fight stats with stats. Mordekaiser is also about stats! Watch me take Ignite as well, eh?"

"I've been tricked!"

"Is the opponent playing Vayne top?"

There is still some delay in the live stream, and the Swift Scout of the chat couldn't return in time to report the news.

Just as Ye Bo had finished picking Mordekaiser in the third slot for the blue side, the opponent, despite having already picked Jinx in the first slot, actually went ahead and picked Vayne as their final choice!

And anyone who understands this matchup knows.

Mordekaiser vs. Vayne in the top lane.

It's a matchup that starts at almost "99 to 1"!

It's a matchup that is impossible to play if you have even the slightest bit of skill, let alone when it's TheShy's Vayne.

Fortunately, the mid-laner in the fifth slot for the blue side was clearly a fan from the country; he was excited to death to be queued with Ye Bo and was actively offering to swap positions in the chat box.

However, Ye Bo didn't swap in the end.

After some thought, he just asked him to help pick Varus, confirmed the champion swap—and ended up with Varus top!

The teammates were not surprised by this; it's normal to have a few players in top-tier games who specialize in unpopular champions.

But just as they entered the loading screen.

The opposing mid-laner was both surprised and "relieved."

"Oh my! Why is Varus top?" Doinb put on an expression of regret.

"What a pity, what a pity. The streamer thought I could lane against Master Ye again. Sigh, now I have to leave it to Brother Shy!"

【Brother Coin, stop acting. You were the one who actively swapped slots with Brother Shy earlier and deliberately hovered Crocodile first; it's obvious you wanted to flex on the opponent~~~】

【Big B saw the chat saying the opponent is Ye, so he only dared to pick a champion like mid Crocodile. Coward!】

【Horse-head is shameless! Only knows how to use long-range against short-range! Only knows how to use firearms against cold weapons! Only plays champion counters!】

【Ho ho, I can only say that evil needs evil to grind it. Master Ye's top Varus is a head-on confrontation.】

【Just wait! Horse-head is going to be punished by God this game. Daring not to write the application and playing Red Glasses is one thing, but he's also not using the Top Ten Players' true skin! He even dares to use LWX's skin! That's a triple crime!!! The guillotine is already ready for Horse-head!】

The mid-lane stream chat was full of trolls interacting.

As for the two top-laners' streams, they were both much quieter for a moment; clearly, everyone was looking forward to this rare "matchup" between the two players!

The rune choices for both sides were very particular.

Varus took {Hail of Blades} for the highest burst potential, while Vayne took {Fleet Footwork}.

Ye Bo's consideration was that Vayne is extremely agile, making it hard for Varus to have a chance to "stand and fight," and Hail of Blades maximizes the damage of every trade.

TheShy's consideration was that Vayne's raw damage isn't as high as Varus', so he had to maximize mobility and recovery, using movement speed and dashes to dodge the opponent's three non-targeted skills: Q, E, and R.

Ye Bo quickly entered a focused state.

Varus followed the minion wave to the lane.

But before reaching the center, Vayne, standing in the brush, used her passive movement speed to walk out and sneak a shot with a crossbow bolt!

Triggering the speed boost from Fleet Footwork, Vayne immediately stepped back, instantly entered the brush to drop minion aggro, and then walked out again immediately.

Ye Bo saw through the opponent's "intentions."

First, Vayne didn't use any skills, and there were no three-ring passive stacks on him.

This meant there was a high probability the opponent learned Q at level one.

If Varus rashly used E or Q to poke, he might be dodged by Vayne's Q {Tumble}.

Taking a step back, even if he successfully hit with QE, Vayne could use the speed boost and the cover of the brush to force a retreat—Varus' level one E has a cooldown of over ten seconds, while Vayne's level one Q is only 5 seconds.

In the following ten-plus seconds, Vayne could use the huge cooldown difference between the two to find the next opportunity for a trade!

This... was only the first layer.

If one understood this layer, then the best way for Varus to handle it next would be to walk straight into the brush and place a ward to prevent the opponent from kiting using the brush.

Using his minion wave advantage + the trade advantage of Hail of Blades, he could drive Vayne away while also regaining a lot of health.

But if he really did that.

That would be the real trap!

Ye Bo often practiced solo with Li Xuanjun, mainly to help him refine laning details, but he naturally gained some understanding of the top lane himself.

If he used his ward now to occupy the first brush, Vayne could directly Q backward.

And hide in the second brush!

As a double-marksman matchup, the first brush isn't something Vayne, who lacks range advantage, can hold firmly; it would mean the opponent could bait out his most precious "only ward" of the early game at the cost of very little health!

Next, Vayne could continue to use the second brush to kite, and Varus, without a ward, would have his anti-gank pressure maxed out instantly, thereby losing the initiative in trading!

Players who don't play top lane might find it hard to understand and might even think it's slightly exaggerated.

But in fact, in the top lane, the position that most highlights 1v1 laning.

Many times, it really is just a small difference in steps that contains several layers of mind games between the two!

Ye Bo's approach was to avoid the sharp edge for now, taking the health loss from one auto-attack, then pulling back directly to keep his distance from the upper brush.

"Not fighting, huh?" TheShy, kiting at the edge of the brush, saw this and was clearly slightly surprised.

He noticed a small detail—the opponent seemed to have "given in" and retreated, taking the poke for free without attacking back even once.

But in reality, he had held onto his {Hail of Blades}!

The real purpose of his poke was to bait out the opponent's Hail of Blades; as soon as the opponent attacked, he would immediately Q-Tumble backward to pull away.

Then, with Varus' Hail of Blades on cooldown, he could try to position himself at level one to poke with QA.

TheShy also knew very well that in a normal matchup, Vayne couldn't possibly contest Varus for the level one wave and could only rely on this method to force a contest!

The importance of level one lane priority in the top lane goes without saying.

But at this moment, the opponent was flawless, and TheShy couldn't contest it, so he had to let him push the wave.

By the time both reached level three, the minion wave reset.

Vayne had already been forced to miss quite a few minions to preserve her health.

And the second clash officially began.

Both heroes, who were very afraid of ganks, went to the back of their respective river areas to place wards before returning to lane with peace of mind.

At this point, neither side had wards—contesting the brush became the crucial point of contention!

The logic is simple.

Whoever holds the brush gains the initiative in trading!

With two marksmen shooting at each other, neither side would risk being hit for free to walk into the dark brush on foot.

But Ye Bo, who had gained lane priority in the first three levels, held a slight health advantage, and with level three Varus' combat power being significantly stronger, he successfully seized the most valuable "second middle brush."

The second brush is right in the middle of the minion wave; as long as Varus holds this brush, Vayne faces the risk of being poked for free whenever she comes up to last-hit!

At the same time, the positioning is quite safe, with no need to worry too much about being ganked!

Varus can fully utilize this brush to slowly control the wave, push it out, and gradually expand his pressure advantage!

However... an accident occurred.

Just as Varus and Vayne traded two shots, both pulled into their respective brushes to drop aggro, waiting for the right moment to walk out again.

Suddenly, a yellow searchlight vision appeared at Ye Bo's feet!

Ye Bo immediately felt something was wrong.

And in the very next moment, as a Silver Bolt was fired, Vayne had already tumbled out of the brush, firing her E skill {Condemn} at an angle, trying to pin him to the wall!

TheShy's plan had been achieved.

Although Vayne's surprise attack was unannounced, this AQE combo was actually fully reactable.

It's just that most people wouldn't make any unnecessary moves.

After all, level three Vayne's damage isn't enough to kill; this trade would at most take off some health and gain some laning advantage.

But that's exactly what TheShy wanted.

Because Varus' minion wave had been pushed slightly forward during the previous E-skill trade; once forced to retreat, and with his health low and no ward, Vayne could immediately counter-occupy the second brush!

Next, Vayne would use the second brush as a base, making it impossible for Varus to even pass through.

He would be pushed right out of the experience zone!

As long as he let his jungler come to counter-gank, he would definitely find a 2v2 opportunity for the top and jungle—because if they didn't come, Varus wouldn't be able to get experience!

But Varus' state was poor, and they would likely still lose the 2v2.

The only way to handle it then would be to TP back out, but by then Vayne would have already gained an experience lead, and Varus would have effectively been forced to use his TP just 3 minutes in; if he got caught once more, his lane would be completely blown open!

It seemed like an insignificant trade.

Little did one know, the half-step behind it could very well be a bottomless abyss!

But TheShy didn't expect... Ye Bo also didn't play by the rules at all!

Just as the silver arrow of Condemn was fired, Varus decisively {Flashed Forward}!

And the Flash position was very tricky, sticking as close to Vayne's face as possible toward her back, rather than toward his own defensive tower for escape.

The knockback of the silver arrow still took effect, and Varus was knocked back 400 yards just as he landed from his Flash.

But, he hadn't left the attack range!

Relying on Hail of Blades, he immediately started drawing his bow to counter-attack, ready to fire the burst damage as soon as he hit the mark stacks!

TheShy reacted with extreme speed, flashing away the moment the arrow left his hand to preserve his health.

And this Flash, while seemingly reckless, was actually a very clever move—a Hail of Blades Varus has strong dueling power; if he had taken that full combo, his health would have plummeted by at least half!

Vayne has neither E nor Q available, and she will inevitably be slowed by the E refreshed by Wei Lusi, then chased down and relentlessly auto-attacked; in the end, she will most likely have to burn Flash.

Using it immediately, on the contrary, preserves her health.

"Aigoo," TheShy retreated to the rear to pop a potion, scratching his bangs.

"This guy, he's a bit impressive."