Classmancers - A MOBA Esport Story - Part 3

Vol.16 Ch.17: Hints of the Alternative Lineup

The drafting phase for the third game began. The Leopards started it off with a Berserker pick, an odd choice for such a defensive team.

"Could it be that our foes are planning to shift gears in this game!?" Vincent exclaimed. "This entire time, we thought they only possessed the Ultimate Defense personal skill. But, could it be that they also have access to the Ultimate Offense noble phantasm!?"

"It's too early to conclude that they're planning to play offense," Yuel said. "We've seen them pick one or two aggressive classes before."

"Indeed, that we did. Those picks always went to the Absolute Duo, did they not?"

"Yes, and it usually happened in their alternative formation, the one where they weren't in Bot."

Even so, this particular pick was a little peculiar. For one, it gave away too much information. It strongly suggested that the Leopards were going to use their second formation for this game.

And they didn't even ban Knight. Yuel frowned. Knight has a favorable matchup against Berserker, so it should have been a priority ban.

Knight was one of the most popular top laners due to its all-rounder kit. It didn't have any notable weaknesses except for its lack of self-sustain, which wasn't a big factor in the current meta.

No class really countered Knight and it had generally favorable matchups against most top laners. As such, the rule of thumb was to either pick the class or ban it.

Then again, the number of bans is limited and Pirate is also a high-priority ban. Yuel thought. The fact they chose to ban Pirate over Knight suggests they're more concerned about how things will play out in Bot.

This only further reinforced the theory that the enemy was planning to switch formations for this game.

Back when AbsoluteWinner and AbsoluteChallenger were in Bot, the enemy didn't show any signs of being worried about the matchup against Yuel and Lars. The "Absolute Duo" was mechanically strong, so it had no trouble dealing with Lars's destructive offense.

On the other hand, the Bot duo of the alternative formation wasn't anything like that. Cato and Merlin were both theory players with slightly above-average mechanical skill. They'll surely struggle against Lars's offense, so they'll aim to avoid frontal confrontations at all costs.

So, they banned Pirate to keep it out of Lars's hands. Fair enough. Yuel nodded. Little do they know that Elf is Lars's next best class. It's an unexpected third class for him, which is part of the reason I wanted him to master it.

There were numerous classes Lars could pick for his third marksman. The goof liked Elf due to its sniping ability, but he also liked a bunch of other classes as well, especially the ones that allowed him to go on a rampage.

Out of all these options, Yuel strongly advocated for Elf. Why? Because it brings something different to the table.

Trickshooter and Gunslinger were both offense-oriented marksmen, whereas Elf was a more defensive one that focused on out-ranging his opponents.

Learning how to utilize a class like this was bound to expand Lars's array of skills. In fact, much of the growth Lars experienced in terms of defensive skills was likely a result of him practicing Elf.

But, there's a little bit of competition for Elf today. Yuel thought. If the Leopards are really planning to use their other formation, then Merlin will probably try to pick Elf.

In all the scrimmages in which Merlin played Carry, the guy always picked Elf. EVERY. SINGLE. GAME.

It was the exact same story as his Warlock in Mid. As long as the class was available, Merlin always insta-locked it.