Everybody's Alternatives

"You did it, huh." Howard nodded in satisfaction after hearing Yuel's report. "You got Trever to step down and led your team to victory. You even became the new captain, congratulations."

"Thanks." Somehow, being praised so openly by Howard felt weird. Still, it's all true. Yuel truly achieved great results, despite all the drama that happened in the team.

Just half an hour ago, Yuel was shaking in his boots from the mere idea of confronting Trever. In the end, he not only overcame that hurdle but also achieved victory. With Lars's help, of course.

This definitely warranted a celebration. Yuel took a sip from his Coca-Cola can, no longer feeling guilty about not paying for it.

"I see everybody is celebrating with Coke," Howard chuckled at the sight. Every member of the second string was holding a can in their hand. "Should we name your team CokeBlitz?"

"That just sounds wrong. On many levels."

"I know, right? Haha. Was it your idea to buy Coke for everybody?"

"No, that's... Um, a fairy delivered them." Yuel smiled wryly. When they finished the match and returned to the waiting room, five cans were waiting for them. Trever promised to treat them if they win, so he must have watched the match from somewhere.

This was probably Trever's way of making up for the troubles caused. He really didn't have to, but it brought smiles on everybody's faces. They all sat around the room, chatting away while drinking. It did wonders to the team's spirits.

Even though Trever wasn't here, he was still supporting the team from behind. In the end, Yuel was just a stand-in. Trever was much better suited to be the captain.

"Anyway, you really did well." Howard sang even more praises. It's amazing. Howard had never praised Yuel like this before. He always either scolded or belittled Yuel and rarely ever appreciated. This was huge progress!

"I'm really impressed." Howard didn't stop. Okay, at this point the amount of praising started sounding downright uncanny. "So, I'm trusting you to win the last game as well." Howard's eyes turned sharp, like a knife pressed against Yuel's throat.

"O-Of course!" Yuel responded by instinct. After receiving so much praise, he had to live up to the expectations placed on him... Wait, was that maybe Howard's goal all along? Did Yuel just beautifully walk into Howard's trap? Gah! N-No! Yuel didn't care about any of that praise! Not even one bit! Really! Goddammit...

"How did your game go?" Yuel asked, trying to deflect attention from himself.

"We won, but it was a close one. They adapted to us really well, which is why," Howard placed a hand on Yuel's shoulder and squeezed it. "You must win the next game, no matter what."

"G-Got it." Yuel stepped back to escape the grab. Ugh, it hurt a little.

"I have high hopes for you" These were Howard's last words before leaving.

[He'd say anything to motivate his chess pieces.] Yuel grumped. [Just you wait. I'll make you praise my skill for real next time.]

Howard's lip service wasn't appreciated, but it's understandable. The first string was in a tight spot, hanging at a 2-2. One more defeat and StormBlitz will lose the entire scrimmage unless Yuel's team prevails once again and finishes with a 4-1. That'll guarantee StormBlitz's victory today, regardless of how the first string match plays out.

After getting buttered up so much by Howard, Yuel secretly hoped the first string will blow their next match. That'll turn the second string's 4-1 into today's savior. That'll show Howard!

[But first, we have to actually win.] Yuel switched gears. It was too early to indulge himself in rebellious banter. He still had an important game ahead of him. A game he had to win at any cost.

His team took the last game quite convincingly, but that's because the enemy didn't expect Lars to be this strong. They allowed Lars to pick Trickshooter and to gain early momentum, that was their undoing. Lars was unstoppable once he started rolling.

But, the Leopards surely learned from their mistakes. They'll find a way to adapt. The next game won't be nearly as easy.

First, they'll most certainly ban Trickshooter. After that overwhelming performance, anybody could tell it's Lars's strongest class. It's the only class with which he had a positive win ratio against Trever in 1v1.

However, that didn't mean Lars couldn't play other classes. He liked insta-locking Trickshooter, but Yuel made sure to stop him every once in a while so he picks something else. Yuel also closely monitored the classes Lars picked during practice, to make sure the distribution wasn't 99% Trickshooter and 1% everything else.

Thanks to that, Lars didn't become a one-trick pony. Trickshooter was still his main and strongest class, but he could play many other Carry classes too. So, unlike Freezer, Lars won't fall apart just because his main class is banned. Probably.

[It'll be fine. That goof will do fine.] Yuel repeated like a mantra while walking upstage. The fifth and final game was about to commence.

"Leopards switch a player." The umpire announced. "Freezer is replaced by Onions."

[Not surprised.] This only further supported Yuel's theory. Freezer could probably only play Warlock on a competitive level. And, even then he had some glaring issues.

On paper, Freezer seemed like an experienced player with superb decision-making skills. But, something was amiss. Most likely, Freezer was rusty with other classes due to lack of practice.

"That's what happens when you only main one class all day," Yuel addressed Lars. "You'll be kicked out as soon as your main is banned."

"Yeah, I get it, I get it" Lars nodded. "You only told me that like a billion times. Don't worry, I practiced all the good classes. Pick any Carry you want and I'mma show you da stuff, yo! "

"Elf."

"Geeeeh! I mean, not like I can't, but... Really, dude?"

"Yes. They're going to be on guard against you and Elf is great for these scenarios. But, I haven't decided for sure yet. It depends on whether they ban Trickshooter during the first-"

『The enemy team banned Trickshooter.』

"Welp," Lars sighed. "Guess Elf it is. You're a freakin' prophet dude, I swear."

"I just got something called 'basic drafting knowledge."

"What's that skill? Never spent any SP on it, haha." Lars tried to laugh his disappointment away. "Meh, just pick whatever you think is best. I'mma blow these guys out of the water no matter what I play."

[Mr. Confidence, as always.] Yuel sighed. As much as he wanted to take a jab at Lars's attitude, he couldn't. Lars delivered results, regardless of matchup and circumstances. That always gave him the excuse to not participate in the drafting process. No matter what class he ended up with, nine times out of ten he prevailed through brute strength.

Everybody else could draft. Gilbert was good enough to be the team's drafter, Dan was decent and Roi could at least draft a good matchup for his own lane. But Lars? Put him in charge of drafting and he'll mash random buttons.

Was it mandatory for Lars to know drafting? Well, not necessarily. This was a team game, so as long as others could handle the drafting - Lars didn't need to lift a finger. At least, that's how Yuel justified being lax with Lars on the matter.

Honestly, it's such a pain to teach that goof anything outside matches. Things which Lars couldn't directly experience on his flesh through gameplay simply refused to register in his bird-brain. Sigh.

"How do you feel about fighting their Pyro?" Yuel asked.

"She's sick, yo! That insta-kill combo is da stuff!"

"That's not what I'm asking." Yuel shook his head. "Think you can handle her? Remember. you won't be playing Shooter this time. If you think she's too much, we can ban her."

"No problem!" Lars flashed his teeth. "Elf, Pirate or even Archer - doesn't matter! I'mma beat her for sure!"

"Some confidence for somebody who can't beat Trever." Yuel rubbed his temples. If he got one cent every time Lars spouted such overconfident nonsense, he'd be a millionaire by now.

It was no use. Mr. Confidence thought he could take on the whole world, so Yuel had to make the call himself.

The first two bans were pretty much decided. The first was Shadow Walker because it's Shadow Walker. The second was Cryomancer because SkyNight played it extremely well. That left only one more ban for this banning phase.

There's no point banning Warlock anymore, since Freezer was switched out. And, there weren't any other bans which seemed mandatory.

So, maybe it's a good idea to ban Pyromancer here? After all, they had to win this round, no matter what. They were going to win here and make sure StormBlitz wins the scrimmage, no matter how first string fares. That's what Yuel promised.

Until now, Yuel had always kept Pyromancer in play. However, that's only because there were reasons to believe they'd successfully deal with Breaker's combos. Right now, he wasn't so sure.

Because of Freezer's sub, Pyromancer became a wildcard. There's no telling whether the new player was going to play Mid or something else. Therefore, there's no telling whether Breaker will play Mid or Carry. She exhibited mastery in both roles, so either was a legit option.

If she plays Mid, she'll face Gilbert again. That's an unfavorable matchup, as proven by the devastating results of the third game. Yet again, they'll have to devise some elaborate plan against this arrangement, such as picking Aeromancer + Beastmaster.

Last time, that almost backfired. They were only saved because Freezer was a rusty Electromancer and because the enemy didn't properly shut down Dan's Beastmaster. It's no good to rely on such luck again.

On the other hand, if Breaker plays Carry, Lars will have to handle her. Unlike Trever, Lars had many holes in his defense. Against the absurd burst of combo, even a tiny misplay in defense was going to be fatal.

Without Trickshooter, could Lars fight Breaker without getting eliminated in an instant? Ugh, it's such a sticky situation. No matter where Breaker plays, she'll be a tough opponent to deal with.

"You're running out of time." Gilbert pointed out.

"Oh, right." Yuel returned to earth. The clock showed 5 seconds. He had to make the second ban, so he banned Cryomancer.

"What's wrong, dude?" Lars craned his head toward Yuel. "You look beat. Fried your brain? Haha."

"Maybe I'm a bit tired." Yuel exhaled and dropped backward on his chair. Thinking of it, he had been making shot calls for four games in a row now and this was the fifth. Every game was also stressful too. The Leopards never gave him a breather.

And, then there were other responsibilities weighing on his shoulders: being the captain and being repeatedly told to win 4-1. Oh, and in case people forgot, he was also the Support. No, no pressure at all. Easy.

"You look troubled," Gilbert said

"I just can't make up my mind about the last ban."

"You don't have to make that decision alone, you know." Gilbert crossed his arms. "I'm still technically the vice-captain, in case you forgot."

"Yeah," Roi added. "Speak to us if you got problems, man."

[Oh, right. I suppose I can borrow their help.] Yuel contemplated for a moment. It's true he was responsible for drafting, but they were a team. Just the way Lars was exempt from drafting because somebody else could handle the job, Yuel could also share some of the burden with others. Especially with Gilbert, who was as good as Yuel in drafting.

"I consider banning Pyro," Yuel explained. "But, I'm not too sure."

"That's new," Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "You've been arguing for keeping Pyro open this whole day. What changed?"

"I'm not sure we can handle her this time. Because of the sub, we don't know if she is going to be Carry or Mid, so it's hard to prepare. And, you know how Lars plays. He'd be combo'd to death in a second."

"Whoa!" Lars exclaimed. "You don't trust me, dude?"

"Not particularly. Not after you chased Breaker under tower and got killed."

"Welp, that was kinda dumb," Lars rolled his eyes. "But, c'mon! I dominated most of the game, didn't I?"

"Yes, with Trickshooter. Which is now banned."

"I can do that with any class! 200%!"

"If only I could take your word for it..." Yuel sighed for the hundredth time. "Besides, that's only half the equation. There's the chance she'll play Mid, which means we'll have to go out of our ways to counter her again."

"I can spare you that headache," Gilbert pointed at the enemy's bans. "These aren't bans for playing a Mid Pyro."

After Trickshooter, the Leopards' second ban was Paladin. Not surprising, considering Justice Strike had been giving Breaker trouble. These bans directly targeted Yuel and Lars, so the straightforward counters for Mid Pyromancer were left open.

"If we suspect she goes for Mid," Gilbert said. "I can go for either Sage or Sorcerer. Not claiming it'll to be an easy ride, but I should be able to handle her."

"I see. You're right." Yuel rubbed his eyes. He started overthinking the whole topic way too early. He should have known they could narrow down Breaker's options based on the bans, but... He freaked out. Maybe his brain was really fried at this point.

It was weird. Yuel led the team to victory last game, so he should have been more confident about the next game. But instead, he felt even more stressed than before. All the adrenaline and sharpness from last game vanished without a trace, leaving him only with fatigue and worry.

The more he thought back on the "victory" StormBlitz achieved last game, the more concerned he became. It's clear there were many fortunate factors in play back then, like Lars snowballing early and Freezer playing poorly. None of that will happen next game. Trickshooter? Banned. Freezer? Subbed.

Worst of all, the Leopards' coach discussed something with the team. Yuel briefly saw the man step on stage during the break. As far as he knew, that happened only once before today, right before [that] match. The one match in which StormBlitz was rent asunder and nearly fell apart.

Something was coming. Yuel had no idea what, but something was going to happen this match and he wasn't going to like it.

Could he hold the team together if push comes to shove? There's no guarantee. Compared to Trever, Yuel's charisma stat was rock bottom. If the team falls apart because of him...

"Relax, dude," Lars smacked Yuel on the back, a technique he inherited from a certain senior. "Look at these guys, they're on guard against us." He pointed at the banned Trickshooter and Paladin. "You said they're all seniors, right? Well, guess who's scaring them shitless right now? That's right, this sick freshmen duo right here!"

"Oh." Yuel blinked. It's true, the two bans were specifically aimed at Yuel and Lars. The Leopards didn't want to deal with this duo after witnessing its power, which meant they couldn't find any counters.

So, while Yuel felt pressured by Breaker's presence, the enemy team felt pressured by Lars's strength. And, maybe they were even a little pressured by Yuel's tactics too. Neither side felt like they had the upper hand.

"You see? We got this!" Lars grinned. "Besides, didn't ya say Elf is kinda good against Pyro? Because of range or something?"

"That's... true, actually." Yuel forgot how to blink for a moment. Did Lars just bring up a favorable matchup? Unbelievable. Absurd. Who was this smart guy and what did he do to the usual brainless goof? Perhaps Lars absorbed more game knowledge than Yuel gave him credit for.

As a Carry with an extremely long reach, Elf was indeed favored against Pyromancer's medium reach. Elf didn't quite have the tools for outright defeating Pyromancer, but it could be played defensively by maintaining distance, without surrendering the lane. That's especially effective for staying out the range of Breaker's combos.

Yuel actually considered all of that over the break, back when he was coming up with a Trickshooter replacement for Lars. But somehow, it slipped his mind while he was fussing over Breaker's options. His brain must had been on the brink of shutting down completely if a goof like Lars had to remind him of the strategic value of Elf.

"Alright," Yuel said. "Let's keep Pyro in the game and deal with her, like before. Any bans you'd like?" He turned to the others.

"No Viking would be really nice," Roi said. "I've been facing that dude all day and I tell ya, he plays a good Viking. Make him pick something else."

"That works." Yuel nodded and selected Viking as the third ban. Aside from Shadow Walker, the other bans StormBlitz made specifically targeted classes which players from Leopards liked to pick. It felt less like a tactic and more like a personal attack.

The Leopards retaliated in kind. Their third ban was Druid, targeting Yuel again. Two bans against Yuel and one against Lars. They must have left quite the impression on the other team.

What kind of face would Breaker, the "pride senior", make if she knew she was on guard against two freshmen? Yuel was tempted to send her a private message asking how it felt, but those were disabled in official matches.

Paladin and Druid were the two classes Yuel felt most confident about, but he wouldn't dare to call himself a competitive player if he only could play these two. He held game knowledge in high regard, so naturally, he mastered many different options in the Support role. He was probably only second to Dan in term versatility, and that's because Dan also learned how to play off-meta and meme classes.

So, there were plenty of options. Question was, what should Yuel pick to keep Breaker in check? He had some ideas, but he had to admit - he was exhausted.

Therefore, it's best to pick a class which didn't demand a high level of execution and decision-making. Even if it isn't high tier, as long as it doesn't require many fast and accurate decisions, it'll be great.

Which class fit that requirement best? The answer actually stared him in the face the whole day: Warlock.

With a CC ultimate which shrouds the entire area in darkness, it's easy to influence a team fight with a single click. There's no need to aim or to make complicated decisions, just press a button and all nearby enemies are affected. Simple and effective. Perhaps that's why Freezer mained this class, the guy looked like he was born tired.

With that decided, Yuel picked Warlock. Next, he turned to discuss the rest of picks with his teammates. There wasn't enough time to strategize during the break, because he was busy reporting to Howard while the rest were busy celebrating with free Coca-Cola. Thus, Yuel had to organize everything on the fly.

First, Dan. His Beastmaster was very effective last game, which showed what type of team the Leopards were. They must have primarily trained how to deal with meta classes, but not so much how to play against the gimmicky off-meta ones. Thanks to that, Dan got away with playing Beastmaster last game and even showed great results.

Unfortunately, it's unlikely Beastmaster was going to work again, especially not after the Leopards had a meeting with their coach. Then, how about another obscure class?

"Say," Yuel addressed Dan. "Is there another off-meta class you can play that's viable?"

"Sure." Dan smiled, no doubt entertaining some wacky ideas. "How about Jungle Lumi or Jungle Cryo?"

"Okay, not THAT off-meta. These are all memes."

"Hey, don't underestimate Jungle Lumi. If Lumi builds damage, it can be pretty scary." Dan claimed while wearing a smirk that betrayed his words. He clearly just thought it'd be cool to meme on stage.

"I meant something viable. Something you'd see in a pro match at least once in a while."

"You meta slave. No soul, eh?"

"There's a difference between off-meta and meme, in case you didn't know."

"Heh, okay, fine. How about Chrono? Meta enough for you?"

"You can play Chrono too?" Yuel blinked. Chronomancer was a mage played primarily as a Jungler due to its heavy burst potential, slowdown CC, decent mobility and time-rewinding ult. It's complex utility class which demanded high-level execution to be effective.

Not many could boast they can play Chronomancer competitively. However, judging by how well Dan played Beastmaster, he probably didn't joke about it.

"Impressive."

"Heh, no big deal," Dan puffed his chest. "Told ya, I can play any Jungler."

"No kidding," Roi chuckled. "This guy right here is a jack-of-all-freaking-trades in the flesh. Back when we played baseball, dude legit tried to learn everything at once. Hitting, defending, pitching and even catching, you name it. And I'm like: 'My dude, how you gonna pitch when you're also the catcher?' Lol."

"Um, that was..." Dan shifted his eyes. "Anyways, I'm a changed man now. See? I only learned everything about one role this game. That still allows me to play cool stuff, like Jungle Lumi and Jungle Cryo. But, I won't lie. Being able to play all roles sounds cool too."

"And theeeere we go. Classic Dan-of-all-Trades. You ain't learned nothing, lol."

"Oh shut up." Dan chuckled.

[Interesting.] Yuel nodded to himself. He didn't know these two personally, so this conversation was insightful.

Apparently, it had always been Dan's thing to be a versatile generalist. That convinced Yuel even more that Dan could play Chronomancer on a competitive level, despite being only one of countless classes Dan learned. Dan-of-all-Trades was a fitting name for sure.

And so, Yuel put his trust in Dan and went along with the Chronomancer idea. However, he didn't pick it right away, just to play it safe. If the enemy sees Chronomancer early, they might respond by picking a more CC-heavy comp to counter Chronomancer's time-rewinding ult. That'd be a problem.

So instead, Yuel picked Elf for Lars. It was already decided in his mind that the defensive capabilities of Elf were the best pick for Lars this game. Yuel would have preferred to push the Carry pick for a little later, but there's the chance Elf will be banned in the second banning phase. It was a slim chance, but Yuel didn't want to take any risks. He didn't have any good backup plans in the case Elf was banned, so Elf had to be picked now.

What most unsettled Yuel about the development of this drafting phase was the absence of Pyromancer. Breaker usually picked her favorite class early into the draft, but they were already halfway through and still nothing.

Was the enemy cooking something up again? After all, they discussed something with their coach. There's a good chance he provided them with some sort of game plan.

Then again, picking Pyromancer early wasn't exactly a smart move in the first place. Maybe the coach just called Breaker out on that?

"Oh man," Roi made a face. "They went after my Knight. Guess they're all sick of getting parried, lol."

The second banning phase opened with another personal attack, this time on Roi. He played Knight all day, just like the enemy Top Laner played Viking all day. So, it's an eye for an eye. StormBlitz banned Viking, therefore the Leopards banned Knight.

Now, both Top Laners had to adapt by picking something new. The Leopards had no intention making the last game easy for Yuel. Even after losing three matches, they didn't lose their spirit and were still going strong, right from the drafting phase.

On one hand, Yuel kind of wished the Leopards' spirit would crumble so they hand him an easy win. On the other hand, he was glad they stayed strong. The Leopards were worthy opponents. He wanted to defeat them while they were playing their best, that's the only way it'd be truly satisfying.

"Lel, can I go for Warrior?" Roi asked with an impish smile.

"I don't mind," Yuel cocked his head. "But, you sure? There are better options."

"I want a guy with a good bat and Warrior is as good as it gets."

"I see. You want to keep parrying." Yuel had no idea how he even understood Roi's intention.

As far as parrying was concerned, Warrior was among the best classes in the game. Yuel experienced that first-hand when he practiced parrying against Julia. Compared to classes with one-handed swords like Paladin and Knight, Warrior carried a large two-handed sword and swung it swiftly with both arms. Yuel's parrying success ratio increased by about 20% when he played Warrior.

With that said, no sane person would ever pick Warrior just to slightly increase their parrying ratio. Except, Roi was no sane person. He was a walking parrying machine.

"Go for it," Yuel said.

"Awesome!" Roi locked-in his Warrior like an excited child.

With that, the drafting phase approached its end. For some reason, there's still no sign of Pyromancer. The enemy didn't ban any of Pyromancer's main counters for Mid Lane, so it's safe to assume Breaker wasn't going to play Mid. Besides, the enemy already picked Shaman, a mage without combo potential, at least as far as Yuel knew.

Still, just in case, Gilbert picked Sorcerer. There's always the possibility the enemy was playing mind games and planning sneak in a Pyromancer in the last second. As the one who invented the mixup strategy, there's no telling what other aces the Leopards' coach had up his sleeve.

Shaman wasn't Carry material either, so the enemy's last pick was assuredly going to be the Carry. Was it going to be Pyromancer? Or, some other class with combo? Either way, the Elf pick for Lars should had covered all these scenarios.

[Elf, huh.] Jennifer lifted her chin. [I see what you're doing. You ain't gonna ban my Pyro, but you still play around it. And, this one too.] She threw a glance at the Sorcerer, who was clearly picked to kill the possibility of Mid Pyromancer.

So, that's what these scrubs were basically saying, right? "Come at us with everything ya got! We gonna mop the floor with ya!"

Irritating scrubs, they hadn't banned Pyromancer even once today. She had been making sick plays left and right the whole day, yet these triggered trash kids thought they could handle her without a problem.

Grrrr! She sooooo wanted to insta-lock Pyromancer and beat the shit outta these trash kids! But, what's even more infuriating, was how everybody seemed to think she can't play shit except for Pyromancer.

[Bitch, I got a bunch of combo classes waiting in line. I've been waiting the whole day for you to ban Pyro so I can show 'em off, dang it!] Jennifer waved an angry fist at the screen.

What's even worse, it didn't even cross anybody's mind she can play anything other than combo classes. Sure, she was a combo god above everything, but she practiced normal meta plays too. She just found them less fun to play, that's all. She could definitely play them decently, and yet...

["Decently, huh. I hope you give it a try next match. You may be surprised."] What was it with Coach? It's like he was saying Jennifer will have her ass handed to her if she plays a non-combo class.

Okay! Fine! They all wanna see her play something that's not combo? Then, she'll show them a mothafucka non-combo class!

[Here! How's that, huh!?] Jennifer made the last pick: Pirate. Here, a non-combo class! These scrubs better not fall off their chairs from shock!

"Wha..." Yuel gaped like a fish.

"That's one funny-looking Pyromancer." Lars chuckled.

"Um," Dan titled his head. "I think I've been sleeping on the latest patch notes. Turns out they made Pirate into a combo class"

"You didn't sleep on anything," Yuel said, his voice hoarse. That was no Pyromancer and not a combo class either. In fact, it wasn't even a mage. Just a [proper] and [standard] marksman who was meta to boot. Yes, the [normal] stuff.

Yet somehow, it couldn't get more alien than that. It's the last thing Yuel expected ComboBreaker to pick after she has been coming across as a meta-defying player the whole day. Pirate was even partially a counter to Elf if utilized correctly.

Just what was going on with this match? Yuel was exhausted, so he picked Warlock to cut himself some slack. Trickshooter was banned, so Lars had to play a weaker class and a defensive one at that.

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, Dan played the high skill Chronomancer because he claimed he could play any Jungler. And, Roi picked Warrior for... better parrying ratio?

And finally, Breaker picked a non-combo class for the first time today. Odd and uncharacteristic picks all over the place. Yuel didn't even...

He was too tired to try making sense of this mess. The final game was definitely going to be something. He had no idea what, but it'll be something.