Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 227 I bet your team doesn't have a commander!

The first team fight seemed to set off a fuse on both sides, and the fighting never stopped in an instant.

The two sides were locked in fierce combat, but the kill ratio remained firmly within five, and the economic gap was not significant either.

Most of the time was spent fighting, and even Li Luo himself was killed twice by Taliyah and Excavator.

But at least, the most difficult development period for dual-wielding Ezreal has finally passed.

It has to be said that the reason why Ambition started to make a fortune in S8 was not only related to his love-hate relationship with KSV.

In his previous life, Ambition wasted the entire Spring Split at KSV, and had no choice but to transfer to Gen.G, but the result was still the same, he was outrageously bad.

Season 8 is no longer the era of map control junglers like Ambition.

Therefore, despite the relentless targeting from the mid and support lanes causing considerable trouble for Li Luo, Ambition's excavator gained an advantage but ended up buying tank items, wasting resources.

After several rounds of small-scale melee combat, Ez's score was 4/2/1.

Hanbing's record is 1/3/2.

The score was 13-10, with the three-kill lead coming from the bottom lane's Ezreal.

The three-kill gold difference, coupled with Taliyah's frequent roaming and the loss of lane minions in the mid lane, kept the two teams only about 1500 gold apart.

At a time when it's almost 20 minutes, this difference is negligible and has little impact.

But
"Tsk!"

Deft gritted his teeth, seeing his health bar suddenly disappear by a third after being hit by Ezreal's skillful WQ combo.

Keep in mind that this is just Ezreal's basic poke combo, and with the magic resistance he already has from his runes, this Ezreal's damage is still ridiculously high.

If it were placed on the squishier mid-lane Taliyah, it would probably hurt even more.

Ezreal's growth curve is such that he is known as the strongest mid-game ADC, with his win rate being among the highest of all ADCs, typically between 20 and 28 minutes.

Later on, EZ's curve will drop rapidly and fall to the bottom.

Therefore, in traditional matchups, most teams will turt down during Ezreal's power spike and wait until his power spike is over before engaging in team fights.

However, dual-cultivation EZ is not like that; it is a curve that completely violates the traditional EZ.

This playstyle transforms Ezreal into a true late-game ADC.

Of course, besides the growth curve of dual-spec Ezreal, the version buffs and team composition choices are also very obvious.

The MSI version already enhanced the selection of AP items, greatly increasing AP damage, while magic resistance items were weakened, as were AD items.

These changes significantly enhance the combat capabilities of AP mages in the mid-to-late game, making ADCs no longer the sole core of the team.

But none of the designers expected that there would be an ADC who could build AP items, thus accommodating two buff changes at once.

Once Ezreal has grown to the point where he has Manamune and Archangel's Staff, Ashe can no longer withstand the damage.

Ashe's growth curve is also quite strange for an ADC. She is strong with one and three items, but weak with two and four items.

Therefore, as Ezreal developed better and better, the Korean team gradually shifted towards defense, and the frequency of actively trading blows began to decrease.

There's no way around it. The bottom lane is already so obviously losing, and if you keep trying to trade blows, that's not called being a brave and reckless person, that's called being brainless!
Sending Ashe and Tahm Kench to fight Ezreal and Morgana is like sending Taliyah and Irelia to stand face-to-face and fight.

With the Baron Nashor about to spawn, the Korean team began to build vision steadily and group up to look for opportunities.

Because the fighting was so intense in the early stages, both sides were in very poor condition after each battle, and no one wanted to compete for public resources with such low health and condition.

So far in this game, no team has dared to touch the Rift Herald, and even the Dragon has only lost one Wind Dragon.

Moreover, this wind dragon was actually stolen and controlled by the factory director using his ancestral skills.

"So far in this game, the economic gap hasn't widened. It seems the Korean team is planning to take advantage of the strong periods of Rek'Sai and Taliyah to secure this dragon? Are they going for a macro-oriented playstyle?"

The doll observed the situation on the field and analyzed it with a hint of speculation.

"This team fight is difficult to engage in. Once Faker's Taliyah splits the battlefield on both sides, the Chinese team's damage output is actually insufficient, especially with Jarvan IV building tank items."

Seeing the South Korean team take the lead, Miller's words, though not revealing any fear, clearly indicated that he would avoid taking the ball if possible.

In team fights on this terrain, both Taliyah and Gangplank's ultimate abilities have double the bonus effect. Once this combo gains an advantage, with a numerical advantage, Ashe and Rek'Sai can take down Baron very quickly.

"Yes, this dragon might be a probe by the Korean team," Ren Dong, who couldn't get a word in edgewise, finally managed to convey a useful piece of information.

"This is still a Wind Dragon. We already have one Wind Dragon, so I think we can just concede it, farm a bit more, and wait until Uzi and Ezreal have their three core items before engaging in team fights. Anyway, if both sides already have a Wind Dragon, it's not really that useful."

Without the revamp, the Elemental Dragon's position is in such an awkward state.

Many people who have been fighting in S9 and S10 for a long time may have forgotten the original concept of the elemental dragon introduced in S6.

Since the attributes of the little dragon were divided into four categories—fire, water, earth, and wind—little dragons of different attributes have been given different abilities.

In the current version, the Elder Dragon will not spawn after killing three small dragons.

Even if no small dragons spawn on either side within thirty-five minutes, the Elder Dragon will arrive as scheduled.

The effects of the Ancient Dragon include doubling the attribute bonuses of the baby dragons and the burning true damage from bathing in dragon blood.

Actually, the reason Xiaolong was redesigned was because the designers repeatedly emphasized the need for fighting.

In the current version, the role of the dragon is more to reduce the snowballing ability of strong teams once they gain an advantage.

Why do we say shrink?

The reason why the dragon was updated in later versions was because the current dragon had too much of a luck factor.

Once a strong team gains an advantage, they immediately deploy the least useful Wind Dragon and Water Dragon.

In the mid-game, if a weak team sees a weak dragon, they'll just let you have it, then go and farm, continuing to outmaneuver you.

Therefore, in this version, when one side has a strong lineup, the best approach is to simply give up these useless dragons.

Both commentators shared this view, saying it wouldn't matter if the dragon was conceded.

"Huh?" Miller suddenly looked surprised at the Chinese team's decision. "Are they going to use Baron to force the Dragon? That doesn't seem very wise!"

"Even if they let you take down Baron Nashor in 20 minutes, you still wouldn't be able to finish it, would you?"

"Who was in charge of this? Are they crazy?"

"Is that coward starting to act recklessly again?"

While the live stream viewers were still explaining the situation to the commentators, they had already figured out the Chinese team's strategy and raised questions.

In the 20 minutes immediately after Baron Nashor spawns, many team compositions can indeed kill Baron Nashor instantly.

However, this lineup does not include hybrid Ezreal, tanky Jarvan IV, or Shen.

In a competition that concerns national honor, especially the finals, few people questioned whether the match was fixed, but everyone questioned the coaching of this team.

But the South Korean team's decision to turn their attention to defending the Baron Nashor surprised everyone.

Losing the dragon in this wave is a minor matter; even if they give it up, it won't have much impact on the situation. More importantly, Li Luo is gambling: Smeb, Ambition, Faker, and Mata are all four members of the team who have considerable experience in commanding.

With so many strong players gathered together, each with their own understanding of the game, playstyle, and attention to detail, many unexpected miracles can be created.

However, this also creates many minor problems.

Most importantly, it's about who has command authority.

Before the match, although the team had already assigned a captain, the four players each had their own opinions on the decision regarding the Baron.

The disagreement over this idea became even more pronounced when Ashe used her E skill to spot the five members of the red team who had successfully positioned themselves and were ready to engage.

From God's-eye view, the audience had a clear view of the situation in the Dragon Pit.

With Shen tanking in front, the damage from Baron Nashor at 20 minutes wasn't terrifying. On the contrary, the blue team's vision in the upper half of the map was completely wiped out by the red team.

The information gap allows the red team, which places first, to exploit this information advantage!

The factory manager's prince had already left the dragon pit and was lying in ambush in the small bushes in front of the dragon.

A blue spotlight descended from the sky, spotting the group fighting the dragon. The next second, the ward was ripped out.

They're fighting Baron!

And the dragon only has half health left!
This message prompted Deft, who had demonstrated foresight, to shout it out. The others, who hadn't had time to look, naturally assumed that the prince was inside the dragon pit.

The captain led the way, and with Orange's presence, even if he was immediately controlled, he could easily escape.

Taliyah used her speed to follow the captain, and the third was Ice.

Because of the dragon fight, the excavator was the slowest, positioned at the back of the team, walking alongside the toad.

A series of coincidences led to the factory manager's prince falling from the sky, leaving the three unsuspecting people in a complete mess.

Eq lifted Taliyah's ice, trapping the Captain within it as well.

Instantly, Letme, who was still at Baron Nashor, immediately used his ultimate skill, Merciful Soulfall (R), on the Prince.

The purple shield and tanky items allowed the prince to withstand the damage output from the blue team's three carries in the first instance, firmly holding the front line.

The blue team has a strong ability to divide terrain, but that doesn't mean the opposing team can do the same.

As Irelia's R and Ezreal landed, Ashe, who had just emerged from Jarvan IV's R, immediately declared herself dead.

Shen used his E skill to taunt Tahm Kench, preventing Tahm Kench from protecting Ashe immediately.

This brilliant team fight initiation immediately put Ambition in a dangerous situation. If the jungler, Rek'Sai, was killed instantly, then the Baron would definitely be lost.

Tahm Kench reacted quickly; since he couldn't kill the Iceborn Gauntlet, he turned around and protected the Captain, who had the highest damage output in the team.

In a flash, the captain, who was at half health, was swallowed whole by the toad, leaving only a bucket with exactly one bar of health remaining.

"Damn it!"

The conflict between Mata and Smeb's actions immediately put Faker in an awkward position, leaving him without a front-line tank.

Li Luo decisively used E to engage, and started with WQ.

The terrifying damage poured directly into Taliyah's fragile little body, instantly melting the Taliyah who had already suffered several AoE attacks.

Ezreal's skills remain as accurate as ever.

The captain, emerging from the toad's belly, saw that all was lost. He used Flash to escape, then used his ultimate to cover the retreat, leaving the toad alone in place.

Only Mata's toad remained, bewildered in the wind.

In a 5v5 situation, a 0-for-3 exchange wiped out the mid, bottom, and support players. With their health still good, the excavator had no chance of stealing the dragon.

The army was defeated like a mountain.

They play a very rational style, often making drastic sacrifices, and this time they even sold out their teammates in an attempt to prevent the Chinese team from taking the Baron.

As long as the top laner doesn't die, the enemy team can't secure the dragon.

However, they underestimated the Chinese team's determination to break through, and they also overlooked the potential that Clearlove could unleash in this situation of beating a drowning dog.

With only a third of his health remaining, the prince recklessly charged forward and knocked the excavator away.

This desperate fighting style startled even Ambition. Seeing the aggressive approach of the other members of the Chinese team, Smeb gritted his teeth and abandoned the excavator once again.

Four burly men surrounded the excavator with the prince, and in an instant, the excavator was killed.

In a brilliant team fight, the Chinese team managed a 4-for-0 exchange, with only the captain managing to escape in panic.

It's okay if no one is there to tank the dragon. The four of them start by engaging the dragon. Letme's Shen goes straight home and then teleports back.

Shortly after the blue team members respawned, the dragon let out a mournful cry, announcing its demise.

"This is going to be tough."

Faker's expression was serious.

This isn't Deft's fault; nobody expected it. While they were at Baron, the jungler didn't go; instead, he was hiding in the bushes ambushing people.

Such a cautious playstyle is something Faker hasn't seen in a long time. Similarly, they underestimated the opponent's burst damage in this situation.

The top laner, Gangplank, was laning against Shen and didn't build magic resistance. Similarly, his Taliyah was laning against Irelia and built armor as her first item.

Of the five heroes, only Tahm Kench had a Negatron Cloak; the other four had no magic resistance items whatsoever.

In this situation, an Ezreal's ultimate (R) can deal tons of AoE damage.

Without the Baron, the resurrected Korean team, in an effort to minimize their losses, reluctantly secured the Wind Dragon.

While scrolling, I felt disgusted.

Of all the elemental dragons, the Wind Dragon is generally considered to have the lowest impact, especially in unfavorable situations. When everyone is defending their towers, having the Wind Dragon or not makes no difference.

However, the team with the advantage can use the Wind Dragon's movement speed to rotate lanes and provide support more quickly, thus better seizing the resources of the losing team.

"That team fight was absolutely brilliant! That resource exchange was truly a feast for the eyes."

Seeing that all three of the Korean team's outer mid-lane turrets had been destroyed, Miller completely forgot his earlier doubts about the Chinese team's Baron Nashor attempt and said with a "sudden change of heart" expression:

"Once the dog gets its three core items—no, it's almost at its fourth—and seizes an opportunity to instantly kill either Ashe or Taliyah, the Chinese team can calmly push onto the high ground."

"What a mistake! It cost us the whole game."

The doll also had some feelings about it.

Unlike management games, once you gain an advantage in a fight, it's very difficult to turn the tide, since resources are built on the suffering of others, and the economic gap can be multiplied.

A team's economy is 1500 gold from a single dragon, 1200 gold from four kills, plus the extra minions and three mid-lane towers.

The economic gap between the two sides, which was originally 1500 yuan, suddenly became 6000 yuan!

(End of this chapter)