Starting with Zaozi Ge, a dream lineup

Chapter 389 Plague? It's Fear!

"Fifth pick, the counter pick for the factory manager, what should we choose? Time's almost up. How about a more stable pick, like Sejuani or Zac, a tanky frontline to stabilize the lineup? Let's leave the damage to Flandre's Sylas and Uzi's Ezreal!"

"Or... ah? Here!!"

Before the words were even finished, on the BP page, Edg suddenly revealed a hero that no one had expected on the fifth floor.

A hero that's frequently seen in ranked games but rarely appears in competitive matches—
"Heh heh~ What do you want?"

The source of the plague—Tuch!

Commonly known as, rats!

"mouse?!"

"Do you want me to confirm this? You're not joking, are you???"

At the Icelandic Sports Centre, as Edg revealed their final pick, Twitch, the commentators from all major regions around the world were stunned.

The champion Rat has completely disappeared from the competitive scene since the Ardent Censer rework in Season 7.

Especially in the S7 RNG vs. SKT match, Uzi picked Twitch in the fourth game, but failed to turn the tide and secure the fourth victory for RNG.

The hero Rat completely disappeared from the World Championship and MSI.

Even in the regular season of the major leagues, the mouse has not appeared on the field for a full two years.

This is a hero that even commentators would find unfamiliar.

In the current version of op.gg, the rat is ranked as a Tier 5 ADC, making it the undisputed king of the bottom tier.

How dare Edg use this hero when playing against Skt?

"It's probably just a joke, since the last time in the tournament, it was Lycan who played Twitch. This time, it's like Lycan showing off his hero to Skt, signaling that I'm going to redeem myself, right?"

Before the teacher could finish speaking, Edg's fifth floor player showed no hesitation or intention to change heroes, and had already locked in the Twitch hero.

It's confirmed, it's Twitch jungle!

Wow!
The Icelandic spectators at the stadium immediately started discussing the match.

This isn't a home ground for Chinese fans. Viewers from other regions were immediately intrigued by Edg's player selections.

They don't care whether the rat is suitable for professional matches; all they know is that this champion hasn't been picked in a long time, and since Edg dared to pick it, they must be up to no good.

For viewers from other regions, creating engaging content is much more interesting than managing the event itself.

"It's actually locked!" Teacher Ji and Hao Kai exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

“Picking Twitch against SKT's lineup was such a bad idea! EdgG's draft was a bit irrational!” Rita shook her head with a wry smile.

As the three commentators expressed their lack of confidence, the live stream chat exploded with comments.

"Get cocky? You really think you can mess around even against SKT? Let's see what you have to say after you lose the game."

"Isn't Twitch a champion that's easy to feed? I don't believe a professional player like Clearlove, who almost never plays ADC, would play a champion like Twitch."

"That's outrageous. I'd have some confidence if you let Zaozi pick Twitch, but Clearlove is being reckless. Twitch is a champion that really needs micro-management and kiting."

"A jungler who has never played ADC before playing ADC? Isn't that like asking a top programmer to cook at a state banquet?"

"No matter what, I still trust the factory manager; maybe he has a trump card up his sleeve?"

"Using an excavator to kill a rat? Don't even mention Cuzz, I could make rat droppings out of it myself!"

Even after the game entered the loading screen, Li Luo still appeared calm and collected in the camera's view.

The number of doubts in the comments section increased instantly.

"This Twitch is really tough against Excavator and Faker's Ekko. These dive heroes will never listen to reason once they see you. With Twitch's physique, contact means death." Teacher clicked his tongue and said, "I wonder if Clearlove has any secret techniques this game!"

"And Cuzz is about to start," Hao Kai added.

In the camera footage, everyone could see the smile on Cuzz's face. At this moment, all that was missing was a microphone placed in front of him so he could shout, "Catching a mouse? Isn't that something you can do with your hands?"

"We'll have to give it our all in this game. It all comes down to who can gain an advantage in the early to mid-game. If I remember correctly, this is the first game Clearlove has played as a jungler since he started playing professionally on October 5, 2012."

"Unprecedented! It's truly unprecedented. The factory manager has brought out a hero he's never used in a match before. Right now, all we can do is pray that his Twitch can bring everyone a surprise."

Remember what I said was right. In this kind of situation, with this kind of lineup, even the commentators didn't know how to win.

Even if we disregard the first three levels of excavators, once they reach level six, even if a rat is carrying a large item, it is very likely that it will not be a match for the excavator.

With its high damage output, the finishing move of its R skill, and the true damage of its E skill, Excavator is clearly a level above Twitch.

With Twitch jungling, perhaps everyone can only pin their hopes on -
The elusive and invisible ability to capture people.

This is the only advantage of the rat, and it is also the core advantage that allows this hero to move from the ADC position to the jungle position.

At this point, the loading process on both sides was nearing its end, and the match was about to officially begin.

"Let's look forward to this clash of titans. This might be an opportunity for the LPL to prove itself. With the lineups finalized, let's begin the match and get started—"

Summoner's Rift!

As soon as he finished speaking, the audience began to applaud and cheer, the rolling sound echoing throughout the sports center, shaking the snow on the roof.

The game officially begins!
In this match, Edg's lineup was actually quite strange. The other positions were okay, and Galio and Sylas both had a period of development. Looking at the lineup alone, it was a relatively strong lineup in the mid-game.

But the presence of rats makes this lineup seem a bit out of place—
Because the rat's main strength lies in the early and late stages.

The mid-game is the most awkward time. The damage is low, the body is fragile, and there is no control in team fights, so it is difficult to cut down the enemy's carry.

On the other hand, SKT maintained their consistent style, with the team mainly maintaining a strong and dominant rhythm in the early and mid-game. Furthermore, Ekko in the mid lane was not much less flexible than Galio, and could gank the bottom lane aggressively after reaching level six.

Add a sheep, and you can either solo push or team fight.

Whether it's support, tactical polygons, or any other aspect, Skt's choice is superior.

"The early stages of this match will depend on the mid-jungle duel between the two sides. Both sides' mid-jungle combinations need to establish their own rhythm and make plays in the early game!"

Rita couldn't help but chuckle, "It's called a mid-jungle game, but it's really a battle of junglers. Whether Edg's Twitch can perform well might determine the outcome of this match for Edg."

"Yes, what about this side? Do the two sides have to touch each other right from the start?" (in the game).

As soon as the match began, Skt grouped up and headed straight for Edg's jungle. The director's camera immediately became sensitive, quickly switching between the two sides.

"What's SKT doing? It looks like they're going for a level 1 team fight, while Edg is just going to lane normally, with only their jungler and bot lane duo in the jungle."

Seeing how exciting the game was right from the start, everyone's spirits immediately lifted.

Of course, LPL viewers were extremely nervous at this moment.

However, after seeing the wards that Edg had placed outside, everyone breathed a sigh of relief: "Edg is both stable and aggressive this season. These wards have basically eliminated Skt's idea of ​​a level 1 team fight with all five of them invading. But Skt doesn't want to give up!"

Before they could finish speaking, Skt's five players approached the bottom lane river and near Edg's jungle. They immediately activated their scanners and spotted the wards Edg had placed, clearly indicating their intention to take over Edg's jungle.

This dominance comes not only from the lineup, but more so from the strategic approach that Skt has developed throughout the Spring Split.

Having cleared the first ward, even if they didn't gain an advantage in this attack, they still had the advantage of experience.

However, having already arrived here, the Skt team could no longer retreat. The five of them lined up like five thieves and strolled into Edg's jungle.

"Wow! Skt, they're really aggressive. They know Edg spotted them here, and even after clearing them out, they still keep pushing and trying to invade aggressively. They're taking advantage of Edg's difficulty in engaging in level 1 team fights. This is really tough on them."

Seeing this, some enthusiastic European and American spectators began cheering and whistling, as if they could see the battle about to begin in the next second.

"Skt has figured out EdgG's opening strategy. They've been preparing for this MSI for too long. All five of them have already entered EdgG's jungle. Of course, EdgG has now realized that Skt hasn't given up and has started to retreat. But will the blue buff be eaten by the Rek'Sai?"

"Their primary goal this game is to suppress Twitch's development and prevent him from making any plays in the early game. Once the mid-game arrives, given the dominance of SKT's lineup, Edg simply won't be able to engage in team fights."

The European commentators at the scene were rapping, practically shouting that SKT would take the victory with this wave.

"I can only say that SKT's strategy is too clear. By taking this blue buff, no matter how things develop afterward, SKT will have a certain advantage at the start. On the other hand, it will be difficult for Twitch to go into SKT's jungle to get back at them and steal Rek'Sai's jungle monsters. What do you think of this wave?" Remember Teacher stared at the screen with a grim expression.

In his mind, the best way to break this deadlock with the rats was to give up their blue buff and choose to start with red buff.

Then, try to use the rat's invisibility to launch an attack at level two, either to get a kill or to help establish an advantage in the lane.

There is no other solution.

As for joining a level 1 raid group, that's even more impossible.

Sylas, Galio, and Leona are all champions with level 1 crowd control, but they lack the crucial burst damage.

If Yasuo had used his W skill, this wave would have been completely devastating.

Time ticked by, and with only 13 seconds left before the blue and red buffs respawned, the Twitch, Ezreal, and Leona, who were waiting near the second tower, began to move!
"Here, is the factory manager still going to give up his blue buff? It's a wise decision, considering Skt's level 1 strength is quite high right now, so giving it up is a smart move."

"Huh? No way, the factory manager isn't planning to leave. He wants to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and fight SKT head-on with Smite? This..."

"Do you think Skt will give you a chance? The barrels are guarding this spot; the rats can't get past!"

The factory manager's situation suddenly changed.

No one expected that Edg would take such a risky move when Skt was so dominant.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere within the Edg team's voice chat was far from calm.

"I'll lure the barrel down here, and the rat will sneak in to steal it. If he can't get it, he'll leave immediately. Don't give away any lives, or we'll lose big time," Brother Zao said quickly, staring intently at the screen.

"I can watch, I can teleport, if we get it we can go for a fight!" Saint Gun Bro's body was in the top lane but his mind was in the jungle.

There was absolutely no pressure on the opposing Ornn; even though he was behind in levels, it didn't really matter.

Therefore, Sylas has the initiative in providing support in this wave.

"Sure, sure, I can do it here too!"

The entire Edg team was united and began to concentrate intensely, pushing their micro-management skills to the limit.

Zaozi controlled Ezreal and began harassing the enemy along the bushes next to the bottom lane's first turret.

A ward was placed, instantly locating Gragas and Yasuo, and providing crucial vision of the blue buff.

A precise rune shot erupted from Ezreal's hand, striking Gragas's large belly.

Seeing that his health had dropped slightly, Effort frowned and began to reposition.

However, as he moved, he happened to be a certain distance away from the wall, and a sneaky figure successfully slipped over the wall.

"Wow, Clearlove is so daring! This is an extreme control over the stealth distance of Twitch. It's hard to imagine that this was done by a jungler. His proficiency at this distance is amazing. Skt had no idea that Twitch was now hiding on top of the blue buff wall!"

The audience was stunned by the mouse's little trick.

This kind of art, which relies on vision, is not common in large-scale competitions like those in Europe and America; you might not even see it once every year or two.

But now, seeing Edg manipulate vision like this firsthand, everyone feels as if a new world has been opened up for them.

"This Ezreal is so annoying. I wonder how he'll lane after he uses up all his blue buff."

As Zaozi hit the barrel again, Effort became enraged and retreated directly out of Ezreal's Q skill casting range.

Wow!
The blue buff refreshed on time.

At this moment, standing in the blue buff pit are Ekko, Gragas, Yasuo, and the jungler Rek'Sai.

After helping out a couple of times, Li Ge used his E skill to jump over the wall and headed to his mid lane.

In the field of vision, Galio was already standing in the front row and starting to clear the minions. Naturally, Skt assumed that Edg had chosen to give up their blue buff in this wave!

"Faker, I'm going to counter-gank your mid lane later. Be careful not to get caught by Twitch at level two," Cuzz said cautiously.

SKT's current mid-jungle duo still prioritizes Faker, with him playing a supporting role. Therefore, in terms of tactical priorities, he needs to ensure Faker's development.

Upon hearing Cuzz's words, Brother Li nodded and responded with a muffled "Mm."

For some reason, Faker felt uneasy about this, as if Edg had set a trap, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

However, the next second, Brother Li found out!
"Damn it, what's with the rat here? He stole the blue buff!"

"Sylas in the top lane is teleporting! We're surrounded!"

(End of this chapter)