League of Legends: Reborn in Season 3, Tuning the Entire League

Chapter 235 Grave Digging and Dog Heads!
"Okay, the bans for both sides are now over. Blue side IG picks first, first pick... Oh my, they directly gave Shadow Spider, that's rare."

"They're going to fight to the death!"

Only XiaoXiao, a member of the IG team, understands what it means for them to have Shadow pick Spider in the jungle.

The entire IG team is well aware that playing the conventional game against NXG is tantamount to certain death, while a surprise attack might offer a chance to win a game.

That's right, it wasn't even winning the BO5, but taking a point from NXG.

Before the quarterfinals of the World Championship, they had been playing scrims with NXG. The five members of IG as players understood this, and head coach xiaoyan understood it even better.

So for them, now is the time to risk everything and fight for that tiny sliver of hope.

"NXG adopted a consistent approach, securing Orianna and Vi on the first and second floors in quick succession. This classic dribbling combination is often devastating for well-coordinated teams."

Shen Chao exclaimed sincerely.

Royal Club, including Orianna and Vi, did consider using this combination to break through SKT's defense, but the most crucial aspect of this dribbling tactic is the team's ability to cooperate with each other.

The timing of the jungler's entry, the mid laner Orianna's ball delivery and timing of the pull, and even how other teammates create opportunities for the two to execute a perfect combo—these are all crucial details that test a team's ability to execute well.

NXG is strong because of their terrifying coordination and teamwork in team fights.

The average player might think that NXG doesn't focus on solo kills, lacks entertainment value, and doesn't have any players with outstanding individual skills.

What professional players see is an impenetrable wall of steel with no loopholes.

After all, if you prefer to rely on your personal skills to find opportunities online, it also means that you will expose your weaknesses.

What kind of team is the most terrifying? It's the one that maintains a safe distance from you online like a precision instrument, steadily farming, leveling up, and upgrading their equipment, and then initiating team fights and strategic lane rotations at the most opportune moment for their own team composition.

They hover on the edge of your skill cooldowns, neither greedily seeking kills nor recklessly charging in, but quietly completing their tactical setups in the gaps when you let your guard down—as time goes on, you'll find your team's economy falling behind without you even realizing it, your jungle vision gradually being completely controlled, and your turrets falling one after another without you even noticing.

"IG's second and third floors, the first duo confirmed: Caitlyn and Sona." Bella glanced at Xiaoxiao beside her. "Well, IG doesn't need to worry too much about missing their ultimates today."

Hahaha!
Inside the Garen Center arena, many LPL fans who came to watch the game burst into laughter.

Jiang Ming also played his own bot lane combo: Corki + Zyra!

This team composition, which balances laning, poke, and control/counter-engage, ultimately had its counter pick reserved for Song Yuan in the top lane.

IG's last two picks were delayed for a long time, as if they were discussing it, or perhaps they were deliberately waiting for the draft time to pass.

[I feel like the blue side needs to pick another counter-engage champion. Sona is too squishy, ​​and Vi's ultimate grants immunity to crowd control during its duration, making it difficult to limit NXG's mid and jungle from engaging.]

Yes, I find it a bit strange; Nami would be a better fit.

Sona is, after all, IG's signature champion, so let's be understanding.

[Pfft, bro, what kind of hellish joke are you making? Sona is IG's signature champion... what does she mean? Supports missing their ultimates, huh?]

[If we're going to counter-engage, Lissandra is a great pick; IG could totally let Xiyang play her.]

Under Jiang Ming's influence and popularization, many ordinary players have also consciously and actively started to pay attention to the pre-match draft picks.

However, just as they were debating whether to pick Lissandra in the top lane and have a double AP top and jungle, and there were no suitable physical mid lane champions for Zz1tai to choose from, in the last two seconds of the draft, IG's fourth and fifth pick champion frames lit up at the same time.

"Everyone will submit!"

Who needs my services?

"what!"

"Wait, what are IG's last two heroes?!"

"Does Lissandra still dig graves?"

"Wow, they've already unleashed their ultimate move in the very first match."

"IG says, 'Today, either you kill me, or I'll come up here and kill you.'"

"Yoji should be the top laner. Fortunately, NXG has a counter pick. Renekton or Rumble should be able to easily suppress Yoji in lane, but the problem is the team composition on the left side..."

Ok?
Grave digging?
Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised that IG would reveal such a valuable asset to him in the very first game.

Aside from summoning imps, the Grave Digger of today has vastly different abilities compared to the Shepherd of Souls who reigned supreme in solo lanes in later generations.

Yorick the Gravedigger:
Passive [Evil Pact]: Each ghoul reduces Yorick's damage taken by 5%, and Yorick's basic attacks deal an additional 5% damage. Ghouls have 35% of Yorick's attack damage and health.

Q Skill [War Omen]: The next attack deals bonus damage and summons a fast-moving ghost ghoul. W [Plague Omen]: Summons a rotting ghoul that deals damage and slows enemies. E [Famine Omen]: Summons a hungry ghoul that deals magic damage and heals the caster...

The old version of Yorick was less of a top lane fighter and more of a summoner. As long as you had enough mana, he could annoy tanks and other champions in the top lane to death.

Therefore, many players will occasionally consider building a Demon Blade when they choose the Grave Digger.

With the added resurrection effect of his ultimate, his ability to disrupt team fights is in no way inferior to that of Alchemist.

In Season 2, many players enjoyed playing champions like Anivia, Karthus, and Yorick with Teleport and Resurrection, a strategy that involved dying and resurrecting.

Regardless of combat prowess, the sheer joy was undeniable.

"Ming-ge, shall we take the crocodile?"

After IG locked in their heroes, the pick option was switched back to NXG. The reactions of the audience and commentators are unknown to them; now, the question is which hero to choose to play Yorick.

Crocodile?

The crocodile is definitely no problem. In the early laning phase, Yorick is a complete pushover when facing a crocodile that has both sustain, no mana cost, and high damage.

However, when drafting a team composition, you can't just consider the lanes; the overall team coordination and the power curve of each hero are also crucial.

In this game, the mid and jungle picks Vi and Orianna, and the bot lane picks Corki and Zyra. It's difficult to invest more resources in the top half of the map to protect an aggressive top laner. However, if they pick tanks and let Song Yuan and Yorick farm against each other, it will undoubtedly play right into IG's hands.

"How's the dog head?"

In the team voice chat, Jiang Ming's voice, tinged with amusement, suddenly rang out.

"Huh, dog head?"

"Sand...the Grim Reaper of the Desert?"

"Ming-ge, you're kidding, right?!"

Song Yuan's brain went blank for a moment. He was indeed a master of dog head tricks, and even the moderator of the dog head forum on Baidu Tieba.

The problem is that he rarely plays Nasus after entering professional play.

Simply put, in NXG's offensive tactics, there is no place for the dog head!

Other LPL teams used this strategy in the Spring Split, but either they picked it and got quickly eliminated in the top lane, or they used it to jungle, utilizing the efficient crowd control provided by Ghost and W to help their team.

Regret, who hadn't said much until now, suddenly chimed in, "Old Song, I think you can play it. I remember Nasus's Q, hitting Yorick's imps also counts as stacks, right?"

"Yeah, Doghead himself also replied that he's not afraid of the graveyard's cost at all. In fact, he's even stronger in combat after his equipment is fully developed. Pick him, pick him, who's afraid of who?"

Of course, this is only one aspect.

Jiang Ming had another reason for choosing the dog head as the top laner.

Isn't IG planning to let the top laner farm freely, then focus on the mid and jungle, and push quickly with the bot lane?
Okay, then I'll put a dog head on the top lane and see if you dare to let him farm for twenty minutes.

put?
Have you heard of a 600-layer dog head?

Song Yuan, as the moderator of the Dog Head Bar, is quite skilled at stacking Qs.

With Nasus in the top lane, whether IG likes it or not, ganking top is part of their plan to enter the jungle where Elise is visible.

But if they really tried to catch him, even the Gravedigger and the Spider might not be able to kill him. "Finally—finally, Doflamingo finally told me personally that I can choose Nasus on the field."

"I'm fucking here!"

After getting an explanation from his boss, Song Yuan suddenly grinned crookedly.

Unexpectedly, this scene was captured by the cameras on site.

Before the viewers in the live stream could even ask a question, a hero with a dog's head and a human body, dressed in Egyptian style, appeared on the big screen in the hero frame on the fifth floor of NXG.

"Life and death are an endless cycle; we are born while they die!"

—Nasus, the Desert Reaper, reports for duty.

"Huh, dog head?"

Bella's eyes widened, and her little mouth formed an "O" shape.

"No way... they really chose it." Xiaoxiao and Shenchao were also stunned. "Desert Reaper is here. Both sides need to calm down. This is only the first game of the semifinals!"

If the three commentators' voices weren't loud enough to show their reaction, then the dense, wave-like barrage of comments in the TGA livestream room was enough to prove everything.

[Wuhu, my beloved Song is doing well in the World Championship, my favorite dog is playing!]

[Haha, I feel sorry for IG for a second. They were just gloating over how Yi Jianlian gave JM a tough time, and the next second it's turned into a battle of strategies.]

[Gravedigger: I'm afraid summoning this little devil of mine today might be a bit like him being a spiest servant.]

The more imps you summon, the faster Nasus's Q stacks.

The journey of iteration never ends!

[What the hell? A champion like Nasus gets wiped out after two ganks in the top lane. I'm telling you, IG won this game.]

Hey bro, do you want to hear what you're saying?

The chat was filled with arguments, but as the hero positions were swapped, the final lineups for both sides were determined on the big screen.

Blue side IG: Top lane Yorick, Jungle Elise, Mid lane Lissandra, Bot lane Caitlyn and Sona.

Purple Team NXG: Top lane Nasus, Jungle Vi, Mid lane Orianna, Bot lane Corki and Zyra.

After explaining some details, Jiang Ming went to the center of the stage, where IG coach xiaoyan was already waiting.

"Brother Ming!" Xiaoyan stretched out his hand and chuckled.

Jiang Ming praised, "The draft was excellent, a very thoughtful top, mid, and jungle combination."

"Haha, I can't help it. Ge Yan is just too unpredictable. He keeps pulling big moves for us. Having Yorick in team fights can save him for ten more seconds."

"It's just that Ming is too disrespectful, pulling out a counter hero in a second."

"Didn't you consider the dog's head before?"

"We've considered that. The problem is we don't have enough ban slots. And if we actually manage to squeeze out a ban slot for Nasus, you can probably guess what we're going to do."

"Sigh, everything is great at IG, except there's no one to discuss the draft with."

"Is it too late for me to come back now?"

"You're now a coach for a World Championship semi-finalist, your value has increased many times over. NXG can't afford to buy you, and they can't afford to support you."

"As long as I didn't embarrass you, Ming-ge, that's fine."

"Let's see what happens next. You should have more cards up your sleeve than just these."

"Hehe, just a tiny bit, just a tiny bit."

After shaking hands, the two walked side by side backstage, their conversation sounding more like that of a couple than rivals battling it out in the semifinals…

Master and apprentice!

……

After a brief loading period, the match officially began.

Both sides made different level 1 choices. NXG needed to limit the push of the bot lane Caitlyn, so they grouped up and invaded IG's bottom jungle.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Sunset ran to the top lane, preparing to switch jungle areas.

After symbolically acting as a bodyguard for his teammates for a while, the dog-headed guy headed off alone to his top lane.

During this time, Song Yuan was very careful and did not take the shortcut to the red buff wall. Instead, he chose to return to his lane from the F4 bushes near his own second tower, heading towards the high ground tower.

Unfortunately, IG's top and jungle duo were reckless, standing directly in the F4 bush and managing to whittle down Nasus's health.

"Hey, hit me all you want, I'll pick Doge, if you don't arrest me I'll look down on you."

What's the joy in playing with dog heads?
It's like layering Qs one by one, then emerging from the mountains in twenty-five minutes to unleash a devastating blow, smashing the skulls of five opponents.

Or will you play solo, using the demolition office to govern and directly reach the opponent's high ground?

neither!
Lao Song, the moderator of the Nasus forum, said that the real joy for Nasus players is being targeted by an entire division of troops throughout the game, yet still managing to develop and win, and then typing a message in the public chat to send off the victory.

"Grasp!"

"you!"

"father!"

"Have!"

"use?"

"Is everything alright?" Pang Ran asked worriedly when he saw the dog's head being intercepted midway.

"It's not a big problem, just a little watering."

"Brothers, start the timer. From now on, there are 24 minutes left until I transform into the Grim Reaper of the Desert."

Xu Jing didn't understand, "Um, what are we calling it now if not Desert Reaper?"

"Hi, that's what we call him to outsiders. Inside the forum, we usually call him the Oasis Living Buddha."

"..."

"six!"

Both sides separated, with the junglers exchanging jungle areas, while the lane heroes remained in normal matchups.

As the audience had predicted, the blue team's jungler dominated the top half of the map, while the purple team held sway over the bottom half.

IG really didn't want their bot lane Caitlyn to fall into this kind of development rhythm where she was restricted by the opponent, but unfortunately, NXG's draft and level 1 invasion were perfectly designed, the script was written in advance, and all that was left was to push forward step by step.

Of course, IG could also refuse to follow the normal path, but the price would be that the jungle with visible shadows would be destroyed.

At three and a half minutes, both junglers simultaneously launched attacks on the side lane heroes.

Spider and gravedigger have come after Doghead.

Vi then turned her fists on IG's bot lane duo.

(End of this chapter)