If the Leopards were indeed planning to use their other formation in this game, then that would flip the entire playing board on its head. The Absolute Duo will split up and occupy Top and Jungle, creating aggressive threats at two different parts of the map.

While it wasn’t a big deal that Challenger moved to Top, Winner switching to Jungler meant serious business. As the Jungler, he was free to attack lanes on demand. He wasn't anything like the passive Jungler that Cato was.

And, there are other potential problems with that formation, like the new duo in Bot.

Rook and Merlin were a peculiar Bot pair. They were both theory players with just passable mechanical skill, which didn't sound like a very balanced pair.

With that said, they both understood their own flaws. Therefore, this Bot duo focused on fortifying their defenses and biding their time until the right moment. In essence, they played the laning phase with the mentality that they could lose a few battles if it meant winning the war.

It's hard to predict how our matchup will go down. Yuel thought. We'll either bust through their defenses or they'll be a pain in the neck from start to end. Though, I suppose this will be good practice for the rematch against Howard and Ellen.

These two defensive duos played differently from each other but their essence was the same. Both pairs played defensively in order to avoid losing the lane. They focused most of their efforts on studying their opponents and adapting to them.

In fact, Merlin dialed that mentality up to eleven by playing Elf and absolutely nothing else in all the games he was Carry. It was like a match made in heaven. Elf was the best defensive marksman and Merlin was a serial turtle.

In every replay we watched, his Elf's turtling always got to the enemy. Yuel thought. It always ended up with the enemy cracking under frustration and making one careless attack, which Merlin and Cato never failed to capitalize on.

This playstyle strongly reminded of the tricks Ellen used. Lars also fell for many such traps in the past, including in the fateful battle for StormBlitz’s first-string.

But, Lars had gotten much better since then. His experience as a Mid Laner taught him to be more independent in the lane.

In Mid, Lars couldn’t rely on Yuel to clean up every mess he created. So, he had to start playing more carefully and methodically, which included seeing through enemy traps. As such, surely he'll be able to handle whatever turtling Merlin was planning to pull.

But, I still rather weaken Merlin as much as possible across the board, just in case. Yuel thought. Especially, since there are two easy picks that’ll weaken him while strengthening us.

"I'm usually not a fan of opening the draft with picks like that, but let’s go with Elf and Sorcerer."

"Sweet!" Luke whistled. "We’re going hard right at the start, yooooo!"

"Indeed, this is quite the bold strategy," Vincent agreed. "Is it truly wise to reveal both of our damage dealers so early? It sends our enemies the invitation to counter-pick."

"True, there are some risks," Yuel admitted. "But, it allows us to counter the enemy while simultaneously picking good classes for ourselves, so nothing is lost."

"I'm totes for it, dude!" Lars gave a thumbs up. "That Merlin dude plays Elf too, right? So, we gotta steal it first!"

"Oh, wow.” Yuel blinked in surprise. “Did you actually pay attention to this detail when we were reviewing the Leopards?"

"Hey, of course, I did, dude! I remember seeing Merlin's Elf and I was like 'Dang, this dude be turtling!' It was a real painful sight. Reminds me of how Ellen goes about her business."

"Yes, their playstyles are quite similar." In fact, some of Merlin’s tactics are almost identical to Ellen's. Could they be related in some way? Nah, I'm probably overthinking it.

"So yeah," Lars repeated. "I'm in! Gimme that Elf, yo."

"Well, I'm not as thrilled about this," Kai interjected. "Sorcerer is best used as a counter pick, not an early pick."

"True," Yuel agreed. "But, I think we have to strike preemptively here. Besides, these picks aren't very 'aggressive' so they’ll do a good job hiding our true game plan."

"Huehue." Luke thrust a first into the air. "Yep, this hides our real intentions of going all out with a BANG!"

"Please don't shout our strategy out loud in front of the enemy."

"Heh, whoops." Luke scratched his head. "But, these guys can't hear anything with their headphones anyway, so no problem, man."

"I really hope so." Yuel sighed. "Anyway, Elf and Sorcerer, that's what I believe we should open with. There was no time to discuss any of this in detail during the break, so now is all the time we’ve got."

"You're really putting me on the spot here, huh." Kai sighed. "There isn’t much I can say with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Let's just roll with it, I guess. You countered them in the previous draft, so maybe you can do it again this time. Besides, you got the control now."

In this scrimmage, Yuel was the one who was given the ability to select and lock in classes. Even though Kai was the captain, she surrendered that privilege to Yuel after realizing how pointless it was for her to hold onto it so dearly.

Yuel was the one in charge of the team's strategy, so he was going to make all the major calls anyway. As such, there was no point in Kai hogging that power for herself.

As much as it pained Kai to admit it, her word didn't hold as much power as Yuel’s when it came to strategic decisions. So, even though she made sure to act as the captain in all other aspects, she decided to leave the strategic matters to Yuel.

"Just because I'm the one who presses the buttons, it doesn't mean you shouldn’t voice any objections," Yuel said. "Sure, the drafting phase is largely my responsibility, but it's not ONLY mine."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kai said. "Anyway, on the Sorcerer topic, I don't have anything else to add. I'm not a fan of it as an early pick, but it's not a deal breaker."

“Okay, then let’s go with that.”

And so, Stratus’s first two picks became Sorcerer and Elf, both targeting Merlin in whichever position he’ll choose to play. Naturally, that didn’t amuse the guy in the slightest.

“Can we pick Seraph, please?” Matthew requested. “I don’t want them to give them a chance to ban it.”

“My, aren’t you a worrywart~” Cato smiled meaningfully. “You haven’t even shown your Seraph on this stage yet.”

“You can call me paranoid but I don’t know what to expect from these guys anymore,” Matthew admitted. “I never imagined I’ll get targeted so hard during the drafting phase, yet here we are.”

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“They can’t target a class they haven’t seen you play.”

“Who knows? Nothing is certain at this point,” Matthew argued. “Besides, they saw Will play Seraph last game, so they might target it from that angle. Seriously, who knows how these guys reason.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll pick Seraph for you.” Cato sighed. “But, don’t come crying to me if they counter-pick right afterward. It’s one of these picks that’s best to save for last.”

“They’ve already picked their Carry, so I’m not worried.”

“If you say so.” Cato shrugged. “Anyway, we need to pick one more. Sonya, do you want to pick now or later?”

“I think now is fine,” Sonya said. “They’ve already shown us their Mid Laner, so I can make a decently informed decision.”

“That is if Sorcerer is really their Mid Laner~” Cato smiled impishly.

“What do you mean by that?” Sonya frowned. “Do you think it’s a ruse?”

“Who knows~ Always expect the unexpected with Stratus.”

“And to think that you’ve just criticized Matt for being too cautious.”

“I’m just pulling your leg here,” Cato said. “It’s always good to think ahead and consider multiple options, but we can’t get caught up in it. Our opponents want us to overthink all of this and stress ourselves out.”

"Although," Matthew said. "In the last game, the drafting phase didn't go well for us because we didn't consider other options properly."

"Touche." Cato had no counterargument to that. Indeed, he had to walk on thin ice when drafting against Stratus, against Yuel. That team was capable of pulling off unexpected lineups out of thin air, so it was important to keep that in mind while trying to avoid overthinking things too much.

Easier said than done when we have so much pressure on our shoulders. Cato gulped. We HAVE to keep winning from here on out. Not only to uphold our reputation but also to not give Jin any reasons to sub in. Allowing a team like Stratus to force Jin onto the stage would be the epitome of embarrassment.

As such, even though Cato said he was joking earlier, a part of him did question the picks Yuel has just made. These Elf and Sorcerer, were they really the Carry and Mid?

We've seen Gunz and Beat play these before. Cato recalled. So, at least this is in line with the data. But, that in itself could be a trap.

There was no telling how many layers of trickery Yuel was going to use this time around. He was the type to go as far as needed and beyond in order to mislead his opponents and catch them off-guard. So, Cato had to be ready for anything.

But, it feels pointless to overthink this one. Cato concluded. For now, I don't see how these questionable picks are going to mislead us into anything. It feels like Yuel just wanted to secure specific classes here before we get to them, nothing more. At least, if there's any deeper meaning to these picks, then it escapes me at the moment.

And so, Cato ignored the noise and locked in Seraph for Matthew and Sage for Sonya. With that, the ball returned to the enemy's court. Their next pick was almost immediate: Knight.

Of course, of course. Cato nodded. It’s the one meta class I didn’t ban, after all.

The original plan was for Ronald to pick Knight, but the brat had to go and request Berserker instead. The brat better deliver some big results, or else the urge to kick him out of the team will escalate exponentially.

Anyway, the drafting proceeded to the second banning phase. The Leopards still haven't picked their Support and Jungler, so the enemy targeted these roles with their bans. In particular, the Lionfolk ban hit close to home.

"Hmph." William scoffed.

"My, that’s a headshot~" Cato smiled impishly. "You planned to pick Lion, didn't you?"

"It was the plan, yes. But, there are other options."

"True, true."

Cato wanted to respond in kind to the enemy’s personal attack by targeting one of Stratus’s open spots as well. But, things were a little awkward here for both sides because they both left Support and Jungler for last. So, anything Cato chooses to ban will also be a ban for his team. too.

Furthermore, the enemy had the initiative because they’ll be the first ones to pick a class after this banning phase. That pick will essentially be like another ban against the Leopards. What a pain in the neck.

I’m sorry, Paladin. Cato apologized. As much as I'd like to utilize you as my minion in this game, you have to go, just in case.

As unfortunate as it was, Cato had to eliminate one of his own preferred picks in order to deny it to the enemy. What a tragedy.

The rest of the banning phase proceeded in the same fashion, with both teams trying to deny classes to each other without screwing themselves over too much.

Eventually, the second banning phase came to an end. Next, the enemy picked Lumimancer, which was like another ban against the Leopards. Furthermore, this sophisticated pick served as a twofold d ban, both against the Support and against the Jungler.

"My, it looks like he doesn't want you to pick Ninja," Cato said.

"Hmph." William scoffed once again. Ninja was indeed at the top of his considerations, but the Lumimancer pick practically shot it down.

It was clear that the enemy team did their research. William played Ninja only once on the competitive stage, but his killing streak with the class must have left quite the impression. He single-handedly decimated the enemy team all by himself in that game, assassinating one key target after another. Somebody on the enemy team must’ve taken note of that.

"When you said 'he', you meant Chessmaster, right?" William asked.

"Yes, of course.” Cato nodded. “I'm fairly certain that almost anything that happens during the drafting phase is his work. So, if you want to vent a little during the match, then you know who to target~"

"He seems like the type to ruffle people’s feathers on purpose. So, if I decide to target him because of this, I’ll probably be playing into his hands."

"My, it sounds like you’ve developed quite the respect for his skill."

"He's a dangerous player in a very different way from Gunz,” William said. “It seems that together, those two are carrying their entire team's tactical and mechanical skill."

"They sure are,” Cato agreed. “That's why we have to crush them thoroughly~ I'll need your help with that."

"I know, that's why I considered going Ninja to rip them apart," William explained. "But, that Lumi is a pain in the neck."

Lumimancer's most famous feature was its ability to reveal enemies, including stealthed ones. Worst of all, unlike Stealth Wards that could be played around, the Lumimancer's ultimate targeted the entire map and was undodgeable. So, no matter how good of a Ninja player William was, he could never escape the all-seeing eye of Lumimancer.

"Well, next in line is Viking," William said. "Not exactly the highest tier option, but it has the tools to initiate attacks and it synergizes well with Berserker."

"Heck yeah!" Ronald exclaimed. "Let's freakin’ go, bro! We gonna combo these scrubs to death!"

"Sounds good enough." Cato picked Viking. There were a few other options available that were slightly higher on the tier list, but tier lists never told the entire story anyway. The synergy between teammates was far more important than some generalized tier placement.

Now, what do I pick for myself? Cato scanned all the available data in front of him before making the call. There were the bans, the picks, the order in which all of them occurred, and the state in which both lineups ultimately ended up. Almost the entire board was visible for him at this point, save for the enemy's Jungler pick.

Their lineup looks much tamer than last time. Cato thought. It doesn't seem like they're going to pull anything too crazy this time around. But, that makes sense. Yuel must’ve realized that their DK shenanigans won't work on us a second time.

So far, all the classes Yuel picked leaned more toward defense. Elf was the most defensive marksman, Sorcerer was a zoner, and Knight was an all-rounder. In fact, even Lumimancer was probably a defensive pick meant to counter stealth.

All in all, this lineup told a very clear story. The enemy was planning to take their foot off the gas in this game. Heck, maybe they even planned to fight fire with fire by going with a defensive game plan.

Yuel should know better than to challenge us on our own turf. Cato thought. Then again, his historical records are filled with many odd decisions, so nothing can be taken for granted when he's involved. All I can say is, if you think you can challenge me with defense, then you’re welcome to try.

It seemed like Cato had no need to pick anything too special here. He could simply focus on countering what’s in front of him.

And so, he picked Cryomancer. It had the ability to wall off Elf and Sorcerer's snipes, as well as interfere with Knight's ability to flee from the scene on his horse. So yes, Cryomancer was definitely a great pick for making a lot of people mad~

With that, the drafting phase approached its end. Stratus had only one more pick to choose and they locked it in instantly. It was...