Dark Knight.

Yes, Dark Knight. Once again, the enemy picked Dark Knight.

"Say whaaaaaat?" Ronald exclaimed.

"Wow, these guys really like memeing," Matthew commented.

“This… I just can’t.” Sonya took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “This is beyond the level of ‘memeing’. This is outright stupid.”

“Yeah, I have to agree they’re really pushing it,” William said.

“Now, now,” Cato said. “I know this pick looks like a bad joke, but don’t forget we thought the same thing last game.”

“This is far worse than what they did last time,” Sonya pointed out. “Their previous lineup at least had some synergy, it was built around Dark Knight’s offense. But, this lineup? It makes no sense. It’s leaning toward defense, yet it has a Dark knight.”

“Maybe bruh gonna build a defensive DK!” Ronald chuckled.

“Yeah, no. Defensive DK doesn’t exist, not even in memes,” Sonya said matter-of-factly. “Don’t you even try to suggest it’s a thing.”

“I mean, why not? DK has self-sustain and all.”

“Yes, self-sustain via killing enemies.”

“Hey, still got it, tho! Just gotta defensively kill people. Ezpz.”

“Yes, you’re making perfect sense right now...”

Of course, nobody even considered taking this theory seriously, not even for a moment. Heck, Ronald himself didn’t believe a word of what he just said. He just threw random ideas around to see if any of it made sense to anybody else. But as expected, nonsense was nothing more than nonsense in the end.

Simply put, Stratus’s current lineup made no sense, period. There were no ifs or buts about it. It was just plain bad.

If their previous lineup was “meme level”, then this one was “dumb level”. Even for a meme, this team was poorly constructed. It couldn’t properly utilize the main strengths of the meme they had on the team.

"Actually," Cato said. "Our perception of their classes might be a little warped.”

“How do you mean?” Sonya asked.

“For example, Sorcerer is mainly a zoner, right? But, it has ways to deal some serious burst damage. Likewise, Elf is a defensive Carry, but we’ve already seen Gunz utilize it to harass defenders. And, Knight is veritable so it can theoretically be built offensively."

"Hmm. I suppose you have a point," Sonya conceded. "Their lineup looks very defensive but the classes have some offense potential as well, depending on the build and playstyle. I suppose we've been had."

"Yep, most likely." Cato shook his head. "They picked classes that together created the image of a 'defensive' comp, but it was one big ruse."

"That doesn't sound very efficient," William pointed out. "Even if their classes can be used for offense, it's undeniable that they're more geared toward defense. So, their offense can’t be as oppressive as last game.”

"I agree," Cato said. "Honestly, I can't tell whether that whole trick was worth it. Feels like they prioritized the surprise element above anything else.”

“And we sure got surprised, word!” Ronald nodded. “But, was it worth it? Like, did they actually gain anything from it?”

“A little bit,” Cato answered. “It made me not pick certain classes I had in mind for dealing with DK, like Druid for example. But in the end, I think they lost more than they gained by committing to this trick."

"That's my thoughts, too" William agreed.

"Yeah, me three!" Ronald joined in for some reason.

"Wait." Cato paused. "If you, kid, also agree with us, then now I'm suddenly worried about whether we’re right.”

"Oh c'mon, bruh!" Ronald pouted while the others cracked a laugh.

"Either way," Cato continued. "We'll have to see how this one pans out. It's too early to say whether their lineup is going to work or not. Just remember that, no matter what, do NOT underestimate them. We did that enough last game."

"Don't worry, man!" Ronald grinned. "This game gonna be totally different! You know why?"

"Humor me."

"Because I got Berserker! They won't be able to start an attack even if they wanted to. Why? Because I gonna hit 'em first!"

"Oh really." Cato made a face. "Who wants to bet that Ronald will give the enemy First Blood?"

"Nah, bruh. I'm gonna be the one who scores First Blood!"

"Sure, sure."

"Just you watch!" Ronald clenched a confident fist. "I'mma wreck their offense with my own!"

"And I'll help with that," William said.

"Brooo! I knew you'll understand!"

"We’ve both picked aggressive classes, so it's something we're obligated to do," William said matter-of-factly. "We have to interrupt their offense by striking first."

"My, it sounds like you want to fight fire with fire," Cato said. "I'm not a fan of this approach, but we'll have to see how the game develops. With that said, if you DO manage to tackle them successfully, that’ll surely ruin their entire game plan. I can already imagine the delicious frustration on their faces~"

And so, the drafting phase came to an end.

===Stratus===

Yuel (Chessmaster): Lumimancer

Lars (Gunz): Elf

Vincent (InformationBlackhole): Knight

Kai (Beat): Sorcerer

Luke (LegendaryMemer): Dark Knight

===Leopards===

Cato (Rook): Cryomancer

Matthew (Merlin): Seraph

Ronald (AbsoluteChallenger): Berserker

Sonya (TheTheorist): Sage

William (AbosluteWinner): Viking

At a glance, the teams' lineups looked almost the opposite of what their real game plans were going to be. Stratus was supposed to go hard on the offense, yet the majority of their lineup had semi-defensive classes. Likewise, the Leopards this year were best known for their airtight defense, yet their Top and Jungler were very aggressive picks.

With both teams walking the thin line between offense and defense, which one of them was going to execute its game plan better and emerge victorious!?