Responding With a Defensive Lineup

"Wait, what? Berserker?" Ronald cracked a laugh. "Is it just me or this shit is getting even more ridiculous?"

"Yes, this is all rather... unconventional." Sonya frowned.

"My, I take it that's their Jungler?" Cato wondered.

"Naturally. What other role could it possibly be here?" Sonya asked. "Jungler Berserker is niche but not unheard of. Besides, an unconventional pick like this fits perfectly with the data we have on Memer, so it checks out."

"Sure, that makes sense, I suppose..." Cato wasn't entirely convinced for some reason. [It makes sense, and yet, somehow, this Berserker pick almost looks like a soft counter to Dragonborn. But, that wouldn't make any sense, would it?]

Suppose the Berserker was a pick for Top Lane, then what role will that leave for the Dark Knight?

[Well, Mid Laner isn't entirely out of the question.] Cato entertained that line of thought a little further. [I remember DK was used in Mid some years ago because of its strong wave-clearing. But, nah.]

Stratus has already picked Electromancer, which was definitely a Mid pick. So Mid Laner Dark Knight was out of the question.

But then, where could that Dark Knight possibly go? Surely it was neither Carry nor Support, and not Jungler either.

"Yeah, I guess DK is Top and Berserker is Jungler," Cato concluded. "I can see Memer play Jungler Berserker, so it checks out."

"Kinda weak for a 'meme', if you ask me," Ronald commented. "But welp, it's still a hella rare pick so I like it!"

[It's a niche pick but I don't think it falls under the definition of a "meme".] Matthew retorted silently. [Is that really Memer's pick? Honestly, judging by what we saw of his picks last game, I wouldn't be surprised if that DK is his and he's planning something crazy like Jungler DK.]

It was a wild idea, but to Matthew, it didn't seem completely off the table. As a pupil of Esmeralda, the woman who was the devil's advocate of unconventional plays, a Jungler Dark Knight sounded feasible.

[But, I agree it sounds dumb.] Matthew concluded. [Looks like nobody is considering this, not even Cato. So, maybe I'm just overthinking this? Yeah, I probably am. So, no point bringing this up. I'll just look stupid when if it turns out I'm totally off the mark.]

And so, the Leopards have reached a uniform conclusion: Dark Knight was the enemy's Top Laner while Berserker was the Jungler. That's the kind of lineup they'll be dealing with this game, so they had to draft accordingly.

"They're sure dialing up the offense in this round," Cato said. "I gotta say, I'm liking Vampire more and more right now."

"I agree, it's a strong option here," Sonya said. "It's clear that they'll try to wrap this up during the mid-game, so we need good defensive options."

"Do we, really?" William questioned that logic. "Cato, in your place, I'd pick an assassin and pressure them with ganks."

"Yeah, I'm sure you'd do that." Cato smiled wryly. "But, I'm not that kind of Jungler. Slow and steady wins the race, that's my motto."

"Hmph. Suit yourself."

In the end, William's advice was ignored and Cato went ahead with Vampire. The class's strong defensive capabilities will allow Cato to withstand that hyper offense the enemy was assembling.

And so, next came the second banning phase.

Stratus focused on sealing the defensive Support options of Druid, Vanguard, and Cleric. Meanwhile, the Leopards focused on sealing aggressive Carry and Support options by banning Impaler, Pirate, and Knight.

After that, it was the Leopards' turn to draft a class again.

"My, such aggression," Cato said. "If it wasn't already clear enough that they're planning to rush this game, then this banning phase proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt. They're like beasts thirsting for blood~"

"Which means we better focus on fortifying our defenses," Sonya said. "As long as we survive the early-game, it'll be smooth sailing from there."

"Yeah, I 100% agree. So, Ronald, you'll be taking Cryomancer."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Ronald objected. "Don't I get a say in the matter?"

"And, what do you want to say, exactly? That you agree with my brilliant pick? Why, thank you very much."

"Well, I mean, it's not like I necessarily disagree, but...!"

"It's settled then." Cato selected Cryomancer.

"What the-!?" Ronald waved an angry fist. "Where's my right to vote, man!?"

"You'll get one once you're old enough, [kid]."

"You little...!" Ronald grumbled.

"Alright, for real now," Cato said. "Do you have any actual objections? Or, are you just rebelling for the sake of it? I'll give you 5 seconds to present your counterarguments. Five. Four. Three..."

"Ugh. Um. Hmmmm!" Ronald crossed his arms, knotted his brows, and tilted from side to side on his chair.

"Two. One. Zero! Game over!" Cato dramatically lifted his finger and brought it down on the mouse... slowly, to give Ronald just a couple more seconds just in case.

"Okay, fine! Whatever." Ronald pouted. "I got nothing. Cryo is good enough."

"That's what I thought." Cato locked in the Cryomancer pick.

"Dang, that bastard." Ronald scowled and turned to his brother. "Did you see this shit? Tell me, is that how a captain is supposed to act, bro?"

"He's just messing with you," William said. "In the end, you didn't really have any objections, right? He picked a good defensive class, but it's also a class which you know how to build offensively the way you like it. So, all in all, it's a pick tailored for you."

"Yeah, it's a good pick, but he didn't have to be an ass about it."

"I guess he's blowing a little steam." William shrugged. "He makes a point to not show it, but the outcome of the previous game clearly put some pressure on him."

"Huh? It did? Why, though? We totally crushed these guys."

"Did we? Really? We came just a little short of losing. And, as the captain, he feels responsible for it."

"Welp, it was totally his fault, after all." Ronald shrugged. "He's the one who insisted to keep dragging out the game."

"You didn't listen to a single word the coach said, did you?" William sighed. "Cato was at fault, that's true, but so were the rest of us. We should've opposed him more." [Especially me, as much as I hate that responsibility...]

"Oh, don't worry, bro. I listened to the coach real well!" Ronald gave a thumbs up. "This game, I gonna object to everything Cato says! Even if I actually agree, I'll make sure to object first, just in case!"

"So, that's why you felt the need to object to the Cryo pick for no reason?"

"Yep! Doing my duty as a good obedient citizen, heh."

"... that's not what the coach was asking for, you know."

"Well, we got no choice, bro. That Cato is a professional snek. You can never tell when he's swindling ya, so you gotta disagree with everything to be on the safe side!"

"Well, have fun with that." [It's not my problem, anyway.] "Just make sure you don't distract us too much with your 'objections'. You might end up making things worse like this in the long run."

"No problem, bro! I'll object to everything, but smartly!"

"You do you." William shrugged.

And so, the Leopards' 4th pick was finalized. It was Cryomancer, chosen for its ability to block off enemy attacks and protect allies.

"It's a good pick overall," Sonya said. "But, I hope you realize it leaves us exposed to one strong counter-pick."

"Aquamancer, right?" Cato asked. "Yeah, we should've banned it when we had the chance. I totally missed it because I was so focused on banning aggressive classes."

"Yes, I was preoccupied with the same thing."

"My, my. It's almost as if it's by design."

"What do you mean?"

"Heh, never mind." Cato smiled meaningfully. [I wonder, how much ahead of this drafting phase did you predict, Yuel? I have a feeling you pressured us into banning aggressive classes so that we leave Aqua alone.]

Then again, Aquamancer was a rather niche class. So, perhaps Yuel had no intention of picking it at all. Maybe Cato was just overthinking this.

Either way, the turn passed to Stratus and they locked in their next two classes almost immediately...