The first game between Stratus and the Leopards started off.

“This matchup is going to be a little unconventional,” Yuel said. “You should build some Attack Speed early on in order to combat the Droid’s Drones.”

“Speed? That’s my middle name, yo!” Lars grinned. “Okay, then Golden Bow it is! Let’s gooooooo!”

“Wait, no, that’s taking it too far.” Yuel stopped the nonsense before it had a chance to start.

Golden Bow indeed provided lots of Attack Speed and it was a great item for Pirate, but it was reserved for the mid/late game. It was costly to rank it up to Lv.3, so players had no business building it in the early-game.

“What I meant by ‘building more Attack Speed’ is that you should build Ninja Tabi over Samurai Tabi.”

“What, that’s it?” Lars pouted. “That’s nothing new, dude. I start games with Ninja Sandals like half the time.”

“True, but not on Pirate.”

“Hmm. Yeah, I guess not.”

Apparently, Lars didn’t quite understand why picking Ninja Tabi was so unusual for Pirate. But fortunately, Yuel was well-versed in the math behind early-game builds, so he understood the consequences of this decision all too well.

During the early-game, it was generally more beneficial to build Attack Power over Attack Speed, even for marksmen. Getting just a bit of extra flat Attack Power made a big impact for early-game damage, whereas getting a slight Attack Speed increase was barely noticeable.

With that said, an Attack Speed increase scaled a lot better in the mid-game, and especially in the late-game. That’s why, even though Samuari Tabi was the superior early-game option, Ninja Tabi was also picked rather frequently in the pro scene. It was a pick that sacrificed early-game efficiency in favor of better DPS for mid/late game

That’s why Lars wasn’t too surprised when he was told to pick Ninja Tabi. After all, Yuel allowed the goof to pick these speed shoes quite often, for he trusted Lars’s ability to perform well during the early-game even without the extra Attack Power.

With all that said, Pirate was one class that strongly disliked Ninja Tabi early on. He started the game with subpar stats compared to the average Carry, so he normally wanted to make up for it ASAP by increasing Attack Power as much as possible.

Building Ninja Tabi early will be quite the handicap for Lars. Yuel thought. But, it’s necessary for dealing with drones. The faster Lars can get rid of them, the weaker the Droid’s push potential will become.

Droid was one troublesome opponent that warranted deviating from the usual Samurai Tabi build. It’s not like the class was inherently OP or anything, but it had some strong tools that had to be methodically shut down before they snowballed out of control.

The fact Droid demanded such careful counterplay already made it worthy of A tier in Yuel’s eyes, regardless of the caveats the class had. Nonetheless, the class’s “practical tier” remained a heated discussion among pros, theory crafters, and anybody in-between.

The upcoming clash in Bot will surely force Yuel and Lars to explore Droid’s attributes to the fullest, both its strong points and its weak points. It was certainly going to be interesting to see how AbsoluteWinner was planning to wield this complicated class.

He’ll be a troublesome opponent if he can utilize Droid well. Yuel thought. But, I’ll worry about it after I see him in action.

And so, the preparation phase began. Everybody finished buying their starter items and headed out of the base.

The start of the game proceeded as usual. Everybody headed to the usual Jungle Camps and cleared those together. Yuel, Lars, and Kai fought the Ogre Camp together, whereas Vincent and Nia took on the Wraith Camp.

There were no signs of the enemy planning any early invades, as expected. After all, the Leopards of this year were a defensive team.

They're not nearly as daring as the team from last year. Yuel thought. I remember that in the last regionals, Aron's team was caught off guard by Fenrir's intense invades. But this year, the Leopards don’t have any hyper-aggressive players like that, except maybe for their secret Korean player.

With that said, there was always the possibility that the Leopards only played hyper-defensive when the skill gap between them and their opponent was too big. Perhaps, they knew how to play aggressively as well and simply kept it a secret until the right time comes.

Though, now that I know Rook is Cato, I really doubt it… 

Cato was the herald of defensive play, that much was obvious from his chess playstyle. And, as the captain of the team, there was a very good chance he enforced his ideologies on the other members as well.

I'd much rather deal with a hyper-offensive team than a team that turtles. Yuel sighed. But, this should be good practice, at least.

The Leopards' defensive playstyle was both a blessing and a curse. It'll be a pain to deal with, but it'll also give the team plenty of experience. It should prepare them well for the eventual fight against StormBlitz.

Cato's take on defensive gameplay is somewhat different from Howard's, but there's more than enough overlap. I personally find Howard's defense to be tighter, but both of them are assuredly going to be a pain to deal with.

While Yuel was having such idle thoughts, he and the others finished clearing the Ogre Camp. Kai took the power buff and then split off, heading to Mid. Meanwhile, Yuel and Lars hurried to clear the Wolf Camp near Bot.

At the same time, Vincent and Nia did the same on their side of the lane. They finished clearing the Wraith Camp and Vincent took the blue buff. Then, they proceeded to clear the Wolf Camp near Top together. Or, at least they should've...

"VanishingFlower, milady," Vincent called out. "May I know where you are headed?"

"Hm? Oh..." Nia hit the brakes and turned around "My bad. I thought we were already done." She was already halfway to the nearby Griffin Camp, so she had to backpedal in order to rejoin Vincent at the Wolf Camp.

This is taking so long... Nia almost dozed off while clearing the camp with Vincent.

In her foggy consciousness, she dreamed about how she had already finished the opening phase. In that dream, the match had already escalated toward the mid-game, so surely the end was nigh. Soon, she’ll get her well-deserved nap.

Alas, reality moved at a much slower pace than that. Nia was still stuck in the opening phase, still clearing the Wolf Camp near Top. Zzz...

“The deed is done!” Vincent announced once they fell the final wolf.

“Finally…” Nia wobbled out of the area, this time heading for the Griffins for sure.

Meanwhile, Vincent proceeded to Top Lane. Due to the slight delay caused by Nia’s sleepiness, his arrival on lane was a little later than expected.

All the minions had already gathered in the lane. What’s more, his lane opponent was in the middle of punching minions with her bare fists.

It wasn’t a fatal delay by any means, but it definitely set Vincent back. And, it was all caused by that unrelenting sleepiness that refused to let up.

I really hope Nia is going to be okay... Yuel thought. She rarely makes mistakes in the opening, so this is new. I hope this is just the pressure of being on stage and not something worse...

Nia's situation was worrying indeed, but Yuel didn't have the luxury to keep tabs on her 24/7. He and Lars were about to confront their lane opponents for the first time, so the upcoming clash required Yuel’s full attention.

AbsoluteWinner and AbsoluteChallenger. Yuel reviewed what little data he had on that duo. Their naming convention reminds me of the "DaBest" duo. It's a little dumb, but I don’t mind the free information that comes with it.

Judging by the names, Winner and Challenger were most likely good friends. Or, at the very least, they surely played together a lot.

In this particular lineup, they played Carry and Support. That naturally meant they trusted each other and had good teamwork.

And, even in the Leopards’ other lineup, this duo cooperated frequently as Jungler and Top. Their playstyles were rather different but they meshed well, probably thanks to all the experience they accumulated from playing together.

In conclusion, Winner and Challenger were a formidable duo and it was dangerous to tackle them when they were together. At least, that's what anybody with a shred of common sense would understand...

"Yo, so can we fight these dudes right away?" Lars asked with an innocent grin.

"Forget about it,” Yuel said. “That’s not happening any time soon."

"Dang, figured. But hey, at least I tried."

"For the early-game, our goal is to slow down the Dorid’s framing as much as possible. So, make sure you keep an eye on him."

"Aye, aye, cap!” Lars saluted. “I'm watching this dude real good. He ain't gonna pop any drones, not under my watch!"

And so, both sides advanced toward the center of the lane. They went just deep enough to attack each other’s frontlines, but not a step further.

All four of them had ranged classes, so there was no need to overextend. They had the option of safely farming the minions from a distance, so that’s what they opted to do.

Out of everybody in the Leopards, only these two have an impressive offense. So, I definitely don’t want to be on the frontline against them.

That was part of the reason Yuel opted for a Druid pick. It was one of the few Support classes that had ranged attacks, which was a very useful property against aggressive opponents.

On top of that, Druid was a magical damage dealer, which complemented the fact their team was running a physical Mid Laner. With this setup, both Yuel and Vincent had access to Magical Damage in order to force the enemy to build at least some Magical Defense.

With that said, the greater factor was definitely the safety the Druid provided against the enemy’s potential aggression. Most notably, it was an effective counter to Challenge, who was an aggressive player whose attitude didn't quite fit with the rest of the Leopards’ mentality.

While Winner was a balanced player who just favored offense over defense, Challenger was like 80% offense and 20% defense. In fact, even now, despite playing Support, his build didn’t resemble a Support’s build at all.

A Lumimancer had no business building power at the start of the game unless he played Mid. And yet, Challenger did exactly that...

"First!" Ronald unleashed Ray of Light on the entire enemy wave. "I hope they like the damage, huehue."

Normally, Ray of Light was only treated as an AoE healing spell. It dealt some damage as well, but the damage was negligible because Supports didn’t build much power.

Except, Ronald did build power. Therefore, the damage of his Ray of Light was NOT negligible in the slightest.

Lumi goes brrr! Ronald grinned in satisfaction as he watched damage numbers pop all over the enemy wave. He was the only one in lane with access to AoE damage at the moment, so it almost felt like he was in charge here. He was practically like Mid Laner, huehue!

"Make sure you leave the last hits to me," William reminded.

"Sure thing, bro. Just make sure you don’t miss any of them."

"Of course." William nodded

It sounded like a trivial warning, one that had no place in a competitive scene. After all, anybody at this level of play was expected to land flawless last-hits.

However, things weren’t so simple when the Support had access to actual damage. It drastically sped up the wave clearing process, making it that much harder for the Carry to secure last-hits.

However, William was already used to this pattern. He had played countless games alongside his brother in Bot, so he knew how to properly farm alongside an aggressive Support.

First, a drone. William got into a firing position and activated Assault Drone. 

"ASSAULT. DRONE." A robotic voice resounded, then a small floating drone emerged behind William.

But, shortly after the drone was born- BAM! A bullet came flying in their direction!

"Ah!" William blinked for a moment. The timing on that shot was impressive. It was an immediate response to the drone’s summon.

And, it was no random misfire. The bullet was carefully aimed, straight at the drone.

That was fast. William backed away from the attacker. He needed a little time to regain his composure.

"Whoa!" Ronald exclaimed. "Did you just see that shot!? It was so clean, bro!" 

"Yes, I do happen to have eyes." Willaim frowned. It felt like he fired the shot before I even finished summoning the drone. Did he react to it based on the audio cue?

There was a robotic voice line that played right before the drone was summoned. These audio cues were an unfortunate drawback for all of Droid’s skills.

They normally didn’t cause much of a problem in Ranked. However, against pros and high-level players, the voice lines essentially telegraphed the skills. There was no shortage of skilled players who could respond to the robotic lines by instinct.

Even so, Gunz’s shot came way too fast. Not even a second passed from the moment the robotic voice announced the skill, and a bullet already drilled itself into the drone.

That shot wasn't just fast, it was accurate too. William grimaced. That’s the part that stumps me.

If Gunz fired that shot at William himself in response to the audio cue, then nothing would be have been particularly odd about that exchange. After all, Gunz had already proved he was an exceptionally skilled player with superb reaction speed, so he definitely could dish out quick shots like that on demand.

But no, Gunz’s shot didn’t hit Willaim. It wasn’t aimed at him in the first place.

Instead, Gunz hit the small drone behind William. However, that drone didn’t even exist on the field back when the voice line played.

He aimed for the right spot without even seeing a target. William concluded. It looks like his impressive record of headshots wasn’t a fluke. His accuracy is top-notch.

William felt a slight shiver across his arms. It was unusual for him to be stunned by an enemy’s mechanical skill, which stood testament to just how amazing was Gunz’s one little shot.

Interesting. So, this is the player Sonya considers worthy of being No. 2 in the region. Alright, you’re on! Let's see what you're capable of.

William regained his composure and stepped forth. First, he had to secure a good position.

His Assault Drone was injured but very much alive. Therefore, the drone could join the offense and help William clear minions faster.

Alas, there was one caveat. The drone’s attacks had a shorter reach than William’s. Therefore, William had to get a little closer in order to let the drone reach the enemy wave.

But, you’re not going to make it easy for me, are you? William posed that question to Gunz, who was mimicking every single move William made.

When William moved to the right, then Gunz also moved to the right. When William moved diagonally, then Gunz moved diagonally in the same direction.

Nice zoning. William thought. And, he still has the luxury to hit minions along the way, huh.

In-between matching all of William’s moves, Gunz found the time to land shots on the enemy minions. It was seamless execution on his side.

Two can play this game. William declared.

While stepping to the right, he fired a laser beam at one of the dying swordsmen. At the same time, he made sure to maintain his spacing and not let Gunz get any closer.

Maintaining this delicate distance was necessary. William had to keep his injured Assault Drone out of Gunz’s firing range.

With that said, for how long will he keep running in circles like this? The whole point of summoning the Assault Drone was to increase his DPS output. And yet, right now, he was preoccupied with nothing but keeping the drone alive, at the expense of slowing down his own DPS.

Hmph. This is getting counter-productive. William thought. I can’t stay on the defensive forever. I have to step in at some point, even if I instantly lose the drone.

He moved around just a little more, in hope of throwing off his stalker. However, Gunz stuck to him like glue, so there was nothing more that could be done.

Tch. Alright, here goes then. William stopped running around and tried his luck by stepping forward. However, Gunz was already prepared for this with every fiber of his body.

BAM! Another immediate shot! It fired as soon William brushed against Gunz’s attack range.

Like before, the shot cleanly hit the drone. With an attack speed and an accuracy like this, Gunz definitely lived up to the title of the region’s No. 2, no objections there. 

He also knows the basics of countering Droid, which is rather surprising. I took him for a muscle head, but he’s smarter than that.

Even in Ranked, most opponents had no idea how to efficiently defuse Droid, not even in Challenger rank matches. They fought against this unique class as if it was any regular opponent, and they always paid dearly for it.

By default, Droid was slightly weaker than the average marksman in the early-game. However, when he had the freedom to utilize its Assault Drones as he pleased, then suddenly Droid’s damage output shot up quite significantly, outpacing most marksmen in the early-game.

Therefore, stalking the Droid in order to shoot down his drones was a basic but neccessary countermeasure. And, Gunz executed this technique to a T.

He's even counter-building. William praised Gunz's choice of going for Ninja Tabi over Samurai Tabi. It was an unconventional opening for a Pirate, but one that made a lot of sense against a Droid.

Having access to a higher Attack Speed helped Gunz do his zoning better. With this Attack Speed boost, he could quickly switch from shooting minions to shooting William's drones. In fact, that slight speed increase was the reason William got shot the moment he stepped in.

Even though Willaim carefully calculated the optimal timing for stepping in, which was during Gunz’s attack recovery animation, it still wasn’t good enough. Gunz was fast enough to fire another shot almost immediately.

That’s some high-level knowledge right there. William thought. Also, building more power early on usually doesn't even help in killing the drones in fewer hits. That’s another reason why Attack Speed is more optimal for taking out Drones.

With how niche of a class Droid was, even many high-level players from the region weren’t quite aware of these delicate considerations. And yet, Gunz was. Or at least, somebody from Stratus knew the math and fed it to Gunz.

In less than one minute of playtime, Gunz has convinced William that Stratus was a different beast this year. With such mechanical skill and game knowledge on their side, a team like this couldn’t possibly be considered the "weakest", definitely not in this region.

In fact, at this rate, there was a good chance Straus might end up ranking among the strongest. That was certainly unexpected.

Hmph. Maybe I underestimated them a little too much. William criticized himself. I should've placed the drone on the other side to keep it out of reach. That's what I'll do next time.

But for now, Willaim had to advance toward the enemy frontline once again, to squeeze out all the juice he could from his dying Assault Drone. However, until the very end, all such attempts proved to be futile.

BAM! An immediate response, as usual.

This was the final nail in the coffin. The drone caught up on fire and exploded. Until the very end, it failed to land a single shot on the enemy minions. How useless.

Well, at least it slowed down Gunz’s farming a little. Willaim reassured himself he fired a laser beam at one of the swordsmen, scoring a last-hit. As much as I don't like this, it looks like I'll be relying on Ron to clear minions for now.

In this minion wave, all William contributed to the farming was landing a couple of basic attacks. Most marksmen could achieve far more than that, even in the early-game.

On the other hand, Ronald's Ray of Light was doing a lot of work. Effectively, all the last-hits William landed were prepared for him by Ronald’s Ray of Light.

As unconventional and as unreliable as it was, it seemed as if the Support will be in charge of clearing minions in the early stages of this game...