Chapter 116: Can you both Poke and Harvest?
"Verus?"

The moment he heard the word "hero", the Marquis was stunned.

It’s not because he doesn’t know this hero, he’s just a little curious why Lin Dong suddenly mentioned this hero.

Because of this hero, he really can!

In fact, when the hero Varus came out during S2, he was positioned as an AD player.

It was not until the S4 period that the mid-lane Tsar appeared.

Hou Ye remembers very clearly that the SKT coaching team recorded a statistic.

That is, after 40 minutes of the game, the Tsar's winning rate was far ahead, and his winning rate in the game was as high as %!
In other words, as long as you select the Tsar and develop normally, as long as you can drag the game to 40 minutes, there is a great chance of winning!
For this kind of late-game mid-lane hero, the normal way to deal with it is to train the middle lane in the early stage, suppress the Tsar's development space, and after gaining an advantage in the middle lane, go to other lanes to snowball and quickly win the game.

But the problem is...

The Tsar’s mechanism is too special.

Because of the ability to summon sand soldiers to attack opponents, the Tsar's skill range becomes very far!
It also takes into account both the means of starting a team fight and defense.

It’s hard to catch the laning phase.

It is difficult to kill the Tsar instantly in a team fight. If you rush in, you will be pushed back by the Wall of Imperial Guards and attacked by the Sand Soldiers. If you cannot kill the Tsar instantly, anyone who goes in will surely die.

So, in order to deal with the powerful Tsar in this version, someone developed a solution.

That is to use the mid-lane Poke Varus to counter the Tsar!

Varus' Q skill can poke the Tsar from a very long distance.

First, cripple the Tsar, then the team battle will be much easier. Just give him some AOE and the Tsar will not be able to continue to output.

It is precisely because of this...

During his time with SKT, Hou Ye practiced this hero.

Of course, compared to Varus, he definitely prefers playing the Tsar.

It’s a pity that the current Tsar has been weakened several times by the designers, and is no longer the legendary hero who was at the top of the late-stage win rate list.

While expressing his emotion, the Marquis nodded quickly and replied.

"Of course I will. After all, I am an old Tsar. I will definitely play the hero that is most restrained against the Tsar."

"But if I choose Varus..."

"You mean, let me try the Poke flow?"

"But the problem is..."

"If I play Varus, won't we be short of AP damage?"

"You can choose AP heroes for the top lane, but the problem is... Aren't top AP heroes like Ice Witch, Kennen, and Rambo? They are all mainly used to initiate teamfights."

"But what the Poke lineup lacks is not the means to start a team fight, but the means to pull the opponent and the means to counter the opponent's team fight."

After hearing the Marquis's analysis, even Lin Dong sighed.

As expected, he is Faker’s substitute. His skills are indeed not as good as Faker’s, but his understanding of the game is really top-notch.

The advantages and disadvantages of the Poke lineup are analyzed in just a few words.

It’s a pity...it is still limited by the version.

In the S6 version, many disgusting new tricks have not been developed yet, so it is naturally difficult to think of them suddenly.

But to those who came later, the answer to this question is very simple.

Top lane? AP damage? Can poke? Can pull?
Is there such a hero?
Of course there are.

A hero who was developed in later versions to fight against strong top laners like Noxus. The length of his arms, his consumption capacity, and his pulling ability are enough to make all Noxus players curse. He even has his own exclusive BGM in the video!
Sprinkle And Sprinkle!
That's right!

The Apocalypse - Karma!

Commonly known as Fan Mom!
When this hero appeared in the top lane, she immediately became the biological mother of the top lane quality inspector Noxus.

After one game, Noxus didn't use Bloodrage once, but he was always in Bloodrage!
What's worse, they have even developed another more outrageous way to play!
Combined with the Grasp of the Undying talent, go straight for the meat!
And this routine has a resounding name.

An old woman with a strong body!
However, Lin Dong did not rush to tell the Marquis, but just said with a smile.

"It's okay, let's see the lineup later, but you can definitely try the Poke flow."

Hongmi, who was standing by, also came over, nodded and said.

"When it comes to Poke, we're afraid that the opponent has a strong opening method and a high burst, such as Kennen on the top lane and Alistar as the support. If it's this kind of lineup, we have to run, but if the opponent wants to play protection..."

The next second, the three of them looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

At the same time, on the other side.

Looking at VG's starting roster, RNG's head coach Fly was very worried.

Because it was different from what I expected.

Where did that mid-lane killer go?
Why was the Marquis brought up suddenly?

Could it be that VG suddenly wants to play in the late game?

Although it does work for the mid laner in the late game, RNG's shortcomings are obvious.

That means the bottom lane is not good!
This is not even a secret, but something that everyone in the major LPL teams knows.

Thinking of this, Fly couldn't help but sigh, and even felt a little envious of VG.

Look across here!
Each position is strong, so it’s easy to do BP and you can choose any style you want!
Each one of them has a very deep hero pool!
Who would believe that the opposing jungler has never used an evergreen like Lee Sin since his debut in the spring season?
And in most games, heroes are not repeated.

The players of other teams have a hero pool, while the players of VG have a sea of ​​heroes!
However, thinking of this, Fly was suddenly stunned.

"Huh? Wait."

"The Marquis doesn't seem to be a hero. He is quite conventional."

"It's mainly because the mage heroes he's good at are all average in this version."

"How about this? Let's target him in the BP this round?"

At the same time, in the commentary booth.

Watching the players from both teams come on the court, Wawa spoke again.

"The first game of Bo3 is about to begin."

"In the first game, RNG was on the blue side and VG was on the red side."

“I’m sure people who watch the game regularly should have noticed it.”

"The blue team has an advantage when forming a lineup because they have the priority to choose heroes on the first floor. They can definitely use heroes that are strong in the version to ensure that there is a core in the team. The red team, on the other hand, must defend against the first floor. For example, when the blue team grabs Skateboards on the first floor, the red team is better off taking Minotaur to replace the ban."

"Of course, although the red team does not have priority, they can choose the counter position later. For example, they can choose not to fight for the Alistar, but use Gragas, Poppy, and Thresh as support, and use skills that can interrupt Alistar's WQ combo to restrain the opponent."

"However, this style of play has a basic requirement for the red team, and that is that the hero pool must be deep enough!"

"I personally feel that based on VG's current performance, VG is actually more suitable for the red side."

"After all, VG has a very deep hero pool in several positions, so they don't just stick to one or two heroes all the time."

"Okay, without further ado, let's take a look at the BP situation of both teams."

"RNG banned Lily, Ryze, and Card."

"The mid laner has been triple-banned! RNG is targeting Lord Hou!"

"VG chose to block RNG's bottom lane and banned Alistar, Braum, and Spear of Vengeance."

"VG's decision is also very smart. After all, RNG's AD position is relatively weak. If they can't get an AD like Spear of Vengeance that is strong in the early game and has strong snowballing ability, it will be difficult for them to gain an advantage in the bottom lane. In addition, Mata has also been targeted..."

"Although they are being targeted, Houye can still use Tsar, and Mata can also use Thresh. It depends on what the two sides decide."

"RNG's side... directly locked down the Tsar on the first floor!!"

"Triple ban mid laner, plus grab the Tsar."

"RNG is really determined to target the mid lane!"

"This time, VG's mid lane might be a little difficult to play against!"

However, what the three people in the commentary booth did not know was.

Seeing RNG snatching away the Tsar directly from the first floor, everyone in the VG chat room had strange expressions, especially Lin Dong!
Looking at this Tsar, he was even more amused!
What did you say just now?

What does a late-stage hero like the Tsar fear the most?
Virus!

It just so happened that in this round the opponent banned several of the heroes that Hou Ye was best at, and luckily they also happened to lock on the Tsar.

This is simply like giving someone a pillow when they are sleepy!

If we don't choose the Poke lineup, it would be a shame for RNG's painstaking BP.

Shaking his head, Lin Dong turned to look at Hongmi, and Hongmi shrugged.

"What are you standing there for? Go ahead and take it! The opponent is giving us face, how can we not give them face? Let's take Varus first. Braum has been banned anyway, so there are basically no heroes that can restrain Varus. If the opponent wants to change the lineup, we can let Varus play as AD."

"By the way, the Poke lineup is afraid of being forced open by the opponent. Tam is still there, so take Tam as well."

However, looking at Varus and Tam, Fly finally reacted and his brows immediately wrinkled into a "川" shape.

"Wait? Varus? Is this Varus in the bottom lane or the middle lane?"

"If it's the mid laner, the Tsar will be restrained, but does the Marquis know this? I haven't seen him bring it to the game much."

"Could it be that the opponent wants to play Poke?"

"If it's a Poke flow, the top laner may lock on Jayce. Jayce and Varus together, if they have an advantage, it's really uncomfortable, mainly because Braum is banned and there's no way to stop it."

"If there's another Nidalee in the jungle position, we'll be in trouble."

"But the question is... should we take Nidalee? Mlxg happens to be very good at playing Nidalee."

After a brief thought, Fly immediately gave up the idea.

"Forget it, Leopard Girl needs to fight the invasion, and Tsar can't help in the early stage."

"It still has to be delayed to the later stages. Even so, the rhythm in the early stages also has to be stable."

Thinking of this, he said immediately.

"The jungler should take the spider to maintain the early game rhythm."

"As for AD... let's take Jinx. Azar's damage might not be enough in the early game. Besides, our lineup doesn't lack damage but the ability to harvest. Jinx happens to be able to harvest. So let's take Thresh as support."

"This hero may be at a disadvantage in laning, but the opponent already has Tam, and there is nothing the opponent can do about Jinx."

This time, Fly’s idea coincides with Redmi’s.

Especially when he saw that RNG actually brought out an AD who had not been seen on the field for a long time, Hongmi frowned.

"Jinx?"

"The opponent actually picked Jinx?"

"The problem is that this hero's laning strength is not high."

"Does this mean that RNG is going to give up the bottom lane and focus on teamfights?"

"No... If we focus on teamfighting, Jinx's burst ability in teamfights is not as good as Twitch's, and her speed in dealing with the front row is far slower than Kog'Maw's..."

"This Jinx is for harvesting in the early and mid-game team battles!"

"This hero's passive effect is that participating in a kill will gain movement speed and attack speed bonuses, and the harvesting ability is very strong!"

"It just so happened that in this game, the opponent had Poppy. The lineup was quite tanky, but lacked damage. The burst was not enough to kill us in seconds."

"But if we pull it back a bit and Jinx gets an assist, this game will be more difficult for us!"

"The most important thing for the Poke lineup is to pull, but after Jinx got the assist, I couldn't pull anymore!"

Hongmi's concerns are not unreasonable. Although Jinx, the AD, has weak laning ability in the bottom lane in this version of Target, in many cases, the upper limit of AD depends not only on the player's operating ability, but also on the coordination with the lineup.

And when Jinx was brought out, RNG's lineup seemed reasonable.

Jinx makes up for the defect that Tsar can deal damage but cannot harvest.

The Tsar makes up for Jinx's lack of damage and the lack of displacement skills that make her prone to sudden death. The key is... During the laning phase, Jinx's arms are still long, so even when facing Varus, she will not be at a big disadvantage!
After all, in the previous Demacia Cup, the newcomer Xiaobei made his debut and successfully harvested with Jinx, getting a pentakill and becoming famous for a while.

This hero's harvesting ability is evident.

Thinking of this, Hongmi sighed and said.

"Forget it. Since you still want to play Poke from the beginning, then just play it to the end. Lin Dong, how about you play Nidalee?"

However, looking at RNG's lineup, Lin Dong suddenly felt happy.

"Jinx? Harvest?"

"Then let's get a harvesting hero too."

Hongmi was stunned when she heard Lin Dong's words.

"Harvest? The problem is that our lineup is for Poke, so you have to choose someone who can Poke, otherwise the lineup will be weird. After all, the most unstable thing about Poke is the output... There is damage only if the skill hits, and no damage if it doesn't!"

"No, I mean... a hero who can both Poke and harvest." Lin Dong said with a smile, "Have you forgotten about Mantis?"

After hearing Lin Dong's words, VG's voice was silent for a moment.

Then the whole thing went haywire!
"Mantis? Wait! Holy shit!"

“This thing seems to really work!”

"Level 6 evolution skill W can be used for Poke, and level 11 evolution skill E can be used for Harvest!"

"That's right! We definitely can't kill the opponent, but Mantis can kill him if he goes in!"

"But if this happens, Mantis won't be able to evolve his Q skill, right? Will the damage be insufficient then?"

"He's already a Poke Mantis, do we still need him to single-handedly cut off the opponent's back row?"

"When the time comes, we'll throw it first to wear down the opponent, and then Mantis will go in to harvest. Isn't this thing more useful than the opponent's Jinx?"

"Besides, what's the point of evolving the Q skill? Can it be triggered? Didn't you see that the opponent's jungler is Spider?"

At the same time, seeing VG take out the Mantis, the RNG players had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter.

Especially Mlxg, who was stunned when he saw the mantis in front of him, and then laughed out loud.

"No, the jungler on the opposite side is crazy, right?"

At the same time, the crowd in the audience was also going wild when they saw this mantis.

"Huh? Mantis?"

"No, what is Winter God doing? Isn't the mantis restrained by the spider?"

"Yes, in a one-on-one duel in the jungle, with Spiderling here, Mantis can't trigger Isolated and Helpless at all, and can't beat Spider at all!"

"???"

"They picked a hero that was countered by the opponent in the second hand. What on earth is VG doing with this BP?"

However, how could the crowd know at this time.

In this game, Lin Dong didn't play the assassin Mantis at all.

But cockroaches!

After all... on VG's bench sat the jungler who later mastered the roach strategy to perfection!

Soon, the lineups of both sides were locked.

RNG: Blue side
Poppy on top, Elise in the jungle, Tsar in the middle, Jinx + Thresh in the bottom lane.

VG: Red Square
Lineup: Karma on top, Kha'Zix on jungle, Varus in mid, and Annie + Tam on bottom lane.

Looking at this lineup, the RNG players finally realized that something was wrong.

"and many more!"

"The opposing team's lineup is really a Poke style!"

"Then this mantis, could it be that it is also used for Poke?"

"It's bad! The opponent's lineup has strong consumption ability!"

(End of this chapter)