Kite, Rachel, Leo, and two of their blockmates went into the lobby.
Kite used the account of the previous blockmate whom he changed seat with. He also changed the name of the said account. He noticed that the other two Archon players from his block has IG names of 'Blackhorse' and 'Whitehorse'. He thought maybe they were fans of Taylor Swift or something, afterall, everyone has their own tastes. After some contemplation, he decided to have his name blend with the two.
'Redhorse'.
After this, they went to ask the other team for the toss-coin. However, they were arrogantly told that they can choose for themselves.
"Well, who are we to decline their generosity?" Kite told his team. And so, they accepted it and went for the Dire side.
Because there are bets at stake now, the mode normally is 'Captains Mode'.
This mode requires both of the team to pick a representative from each as their captain. This 'captain' is responsible for the drafting, eg; banning and picking.
Naturally, Kite was the captain of the Dire side. While Jeremy on the Radiant's side.
Captains Mode has an overall sequence of 'banning-picking-banning-picking-banning-picking'.
First banning phase:
Dire-Radiant-Dire-Radiant-Dire-Radiant-Dire-Radiant
First picking phase:
Dire-Radiant-Radiant-Dire
Second banning phase:
Dire-Radiant
Second picking phase:
Radiant-Dire-Radiant-Dire
Third banning phase:
Radiant-Dire
Third picking phase:
Dire-Radiant
Kite went for the Dire side for sole reason thay they'll have the opportunity to get the first pick.
He was planning to grab every opportunity that he could get.
He won't let those guys get away with a simple lost. He's planning to crush them, but not by himself. He's planning to utilize his team and have them destroy the enemy themselves. This should also increase their morale.
After everyone has entered the lobby, the game finally began.
———
Jeremy glanced at the enemy team, his gaze focusing on the newcomer. His rage has been rising ever since being humiliated by that guy. Thus, he couldn't help but look forward to the game. Of course he's not concerned about that guy's prowess, but merely looking forward to crushing him and his team.
He first went to click at the newcomer's account.
"Redhorse."
'Hmm, malakas siguro tama neto.'
He was observing the enemy's account to get a few advantages. Usually, people tend to display their best heroes and brag about their highest acquired medal/rank. A Dota 2 account also has a default display of the person's 3 highest winrate heroes. This, could be used by him as a way to remove their best card in hand and to somehow assess the enemy's ability.
After quite a while, he was disappointed in what he saw. The newcomer's account has Lion, Shadow Shaman, and Bounty hunter as its highest winrate heroes. Plus, he's only an Archon ranked player.
Nevertheless, this is also a great news. With the other party being a support user, it means that the other person wasn't a threat and that he could crush the enemy just as he had done earlier.
Since the earlier game was only an All Pick round, Jeremy didn't need to look at the other team's accounts as there is no need for banning. Naturally, he didnt know that Kite was only using the previous person's account which is a support user.
Kite of course didn't disclose this to the enemy.
———
First banning phase.
The other players of the team were surrounding their respective captains to give their opinions on the drafting.
"What are we banning? Do you have a strategy in mind? Panagutan mo to! Ikaw nagsimula nito!" Rachel began nagging at Kite. "Kapag tayo talaga natalo, Fishball!"
"The hell, Fishball naman pangalan ko ngayon?!" Kite thought. He rolled his eyes then said, "Of course. Just relax."
Kite then clicked on Rubick.
"Why Rubick?" Leo asked.
"Because I don't want anyone stealing what's ours," Kite shrugged which made everyone speechless. What a simple answer.
The enemy team banned Lion.
At this sight, Kite couldn't help but chuckle. He's got a feeling that one of his traps worked.
After that, Kite banned Slardar.
Leo wanted to ask why Slardar, but he refrained after remembering what Kite has said earlier.
'He might give me another stupid answer. Well, I can't do much here so I'll just trust him.'
Then the enemy team banned Ursa. Although they won earlier, it seems that they were still wary of Leo.
Next, Kite banned Tiny.
Leo wasn't surprised at this. Because he saw that the Tiny's constant disruption on the earlier game provided a drastic impact.
Then the enemy team banned Pugna.
This made Kite's brows rise. "Oh, it seems that either they're planning to go full physical, or full magic. Well, it benefits me too so... I guess I have to thank them, hahaha!"
Lastly, he's banned Anti-mage.
After this, Leo couldn't help but ask why.
Kite answered, "When they banned Pugna, it's either they're planning to go full physical, or full magical. Whateve the case, Pugna is a hindrance for them. After banning Anti-mage, it's like we're encouraging them to go for a magical lineup. At least at this point, we can make countermeasures as we already know what they're planning."
Leo nodded his head after Kite's explanation.
Lastly, the enemy team banned IO.
Kite couldn't help but exclaim, "Hahaha! It looks like they saw that some of my bans has the purpose of protecting our carry from being jumped at. They're probably thinking I'm drafting a carry-centered lineup."
"Aren't you?" Rachel asked.
"Well, it's natural to focus on the carry in every game. However, you do remember that I played mid at your game, right? So either way, we are not being held up by losing a carry-centered lineup," Kite replied.
After this, the first picking phase.
Kite decided to first pick Faceless Void.
"Why first pick Faceless Void? I thought you are not playing carry? Don't tell me that you're going to play mid Void?" Leo asked.
"Who told you that the first pick was for me?" Kite asked.
"Isn't it? I thought this was the reason you picked Dire. To have the chance to first pick your Invoker."
"Uhmm, no it isn't. I picked this to remove one of their picking chance."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Leo asked, confused.
"Who do you think is best paired with Void?" Kite asked him.
Leo was about to answer when Rachel beat him. "Invoker or Ancient Apparition?"
Kite nodded to Rachel then back to Leo, "Yup. Although there are other heroes, I'm more inclined to the Ancient Apparition. They probably won't let us have that pair as their combo in the early game to late game is fantastic. They'll probably pick it for their team. Afterwards, they'll have to make some adjustments to their plan."
As soon as Kite said this, the enemy team picked Ancient Apparition.
Kite smiled at them and then shrugged.
After some time, the enemy team finally picked the second hero...Dark Seer.
'Ooh! Wombo combo?'
Everyone thought.
Kite contemplated for a while then picked Jakiro.
'If they want some combo, we'll have them too.'
The second banning phase started.
Kite banned Invoker.
This made everyone confused. They altogether exclaimed.
"Why?!"
Kite laughed at them then said, "Don't worry guys! Invoker isn't the only hero that I can use! Wag nga kayong ganyan! Para kayong namatayan eh."
"Siyempre, pera namin nakataya eh," someone muttered.
This made them laugh.
"Don't worry. I'm only leading them around the nose. You'll see soon," Kite assured them.
"Okay."
They all submitted.
The enemy team banned Sniper.
'Well, that's expected. Doesn't want someone hitting them from afar while being trapped in a Chronosphere.'
Then the second picking phase began.
The radiant team picked Elder Titan.
"They're really into some combos, aren't they? Do they plan to defeat us in a flashy way? I'll admit that it's one of the best way to completely crush your opponents. It doesn't just display their fluent coordination, it will also make their opponents hesitant to group up," Kite observed.
Kite picked Nyx Assasin.
'Now I've dropped one of flag. Will they trigger it?'
"It's time for their carry," Kite commented.
"How are you sure that they'll be picking their carry and not their midlaner?" Rachel asked.
"Because, a man like Jeremy isn't that kind of guy. He'll probably have his hero as the last pick or thr fourth pick. Well, he's probably waiting for us to pick your hero so he can counter it. To destroy you more vividly," Kite expressed his judgment. "He probably thought that we'll have Void as our carry. So he's only waiting for our mid."
"You mean he isn't our carry?" someone on his team asked.
"Nope. He's offlane. We'll have him rush aghs for a better chance of winning teamfights," Kite admitted.
The Radiant team finally picked their carry.
Sven.
"That's good. Considering Sven's resiliency as a strength hero with high armor, and flashfarming ability, he can definitely outfarm our 'carry' Faceless Void and won't be easily burst in the early combo of Macropyre and Chrono. Plus, with us being unable to pick Ancient Apparition, they probably thought that they've won the drafting," Kite explained.
"They haven't, right? Please tell me these are all within your control," Rachel pleades. Her facing showing the determination to not lose again.
"Haha. Of course. It's still within my calculation. Sven is good at clearing waves. They really need this considering they are mainly focused on high-cooldown skills. They need time to get themselves ready for a fight. Thus, they need someone to clear the creepwaves and stop the push. Although DK is also good for this, his Dragon form isn't always on, so Sven should be their best choice," Kite said as he pushed with his finger in between his eyes for his imaginary eyeglasses. "Now, we'll be picking our real carry. Someone who can ignore those defenses and has high damage while shooting from afar."
"You mean..." Leo seemed to realize something.
Kite smiled then said to him, "You're right. I hope that you can use Drow Ranger?"
Leo seemed hesitant but then later shook his head. "Of course, I can. Anything for a win."
Kite smiled at this then picked Drow Ranger.
The enemy didn't seem to be expecting this. For when the third banning phase started, they took their time before finally banning.
Lina.
Kite looked at Rachel who was surprised by the enemy banning her hero. She probably didn't expect the other team to think of her Lina as a threat.
Kite knew that they probably just banned Lina because they wanted to make their enemy uncomfortable as much as they can. But Kite didn't say this, instead, he encouraged her.
"Seems like Jeremy had a hard time with you," Kite jokingly said to Rachel.
"Hmmmp." Rachel just snorted at his remarks, but she still can't hide the joy of finally being recognized.
Kite didn't want to ruin this, so he proceeded to make their last ban.
Huskarr.
Compared to other midlaners, Huskarr is a very hard hero to deal with, both in Dota 1 and Dota 2. With his easy mechanics and fast power spike, it's easier for the a team to snowball with him as a midlaner. Specially if the other person as a moderate to good control in Armlet toggle.
That's why he banned this hero. His passive would greatly hinder the effect of Macropyre. Although Drow could take him out, she cannot hit both carries at the same time. Besides, diving is Huskarr's specialty. And DR's strength, which is her passive, are also her unfathomable weakness when closed upon by the enemy.
Besides, Kite more or less know that after he's picked his hero, considering Jeremy's personality, he'll probably walk into the trap that he's been setting right from the start.
The 3rd and last picking phase finally came.
Kite has thought about it so he didn't need to waste much time. He hovered his mouse over the hero then clicked it.
Tinker.
A hero that has a deadly burst which could be repeated indefinitely in a short period of time. He has high mobility when Boots of Travel and dagger is acquired. And he definitely synergizes with the Chronosphere. Bursting disabled enemies to death is easy as pie for even with only a Dagon in his arsenal.
Though he's very item reliant, he's very good at flash farming creepwaves and stacked camps while pushing all the lanes. This also greatly makes up for their need of wave-clearing heroes while waiting for Chronosphere and Jakiro's skills to cooldown.
After picking this hero, Kite pretty much knew what will come next.
After banning AM and picking Nyx Assasin, they could pretty much use any intelligence hero except for OD, which is more like suicide with his high mana pool against Nyx's Mana Burn.
Jeremy would've want a more aggressive hero to showcase his strength more effectively. Thus, the probability of him picking other 'supposedly' counters such as Zeus, etc., is almost zero. Hence, Kite knew what he'll be picking the most common counter for Tinker.
The radiant—or more appropriately, Jeremy, picked the hero that would counter Tinker.
Storm Spirit.
Kite grinned at this as he said to his team, "Just as I expected. Now go to your seats."
After everyone was seated, he said to Rachel, "I'm sorry but you'll have to use Jakiro, a support for now."
"No, it's okay. Actually, I've been playing supports when I started Dota 2. It isn't new to me," Rachel shrugged at his apology.
Seeing that his worry is unnecessary, he faced his computer then shouted just loud enough for their team to hear, "Now everyone, I'm going to make the calls, okay?"
They nodded.
"But of course, that doesn't mean that you'll have to wait for me every time. You'll have to consider the situations. If you think that you needed to do something, then do it. I am trusting your judgment on this."
"Of course."
They chorused.
"Now, I'll be asking you one more thing..." Kite formed a fist with his hand then said, "Let's crush them and win!"
"Yes!"
"Now, how would you like to try my Express Delivery Sheepstick?" Kite mumbled as he picked his hero for the game.
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