Analyzing Anything and Everything

"Their Jungler entered Bot Jungle," Sonya made another timely report. She has been doing this regularly ever since the game started.

Every time Vanishing showed up somewhere, Sonya made sure to report the event. And, if Vanishing hasn't shown up anywhere for longer than 20 seconds, then Sonya reported as much as well. This might've seemed excessive, but it was a necessary part of the anti-Vanishing counterplan.

[Better safe than sorry.] Sonya thought. [The others might forget about her if I don't mention her regularly, at least that's what Cato insists. Honestly, I'm still 50-50 on all of this.]

VanishingFlower was supposedly an elusive phantom with the ability to erase herself from people's minds, or so the previous scrimmage implied. It was an absurd idea, honestly.

[No competitive player who's worth his salt would ever forget about the existence of an enemy player, especially not the Jungler.] That was Sonya's firm stance on the matter.

With that said, as a hyper-defensive player, it was in her nature to prepare for anything, no matter how unlikely it seemed. That's why she went along with Cato's counterplan and subjected herself to this rather tedious job.

[If by any chance Vanishing really does possess the ability to slip out of people's minds, then I'll gladly shut it down.] Sonya asserted. [With that said, this is really a rather demanding job. I sort of understand what can make Vanishing so "forgettable".]

There was something very off about the way Vanishing played Jungler. Her rotations across jungle camps seemed to follow the meta by the book, which was surprisingly well done. However, on the ganking front, things were weird. Namely, there was an absolute absence of any ganks despite the fact that Vanishing was playing an assassin.

[She also doesn't apply that much pressure on lanes, at least not in any obvious way.] Sonya knotted her brows. [If not for my reports, then I think nobody would have ever retreated because of Vanishing's rotations. It's a little curious.]

In a sense, Sonya's reports felt almost unnecessary. Even without them, Vanishing never seemed interested in ganking any lane thus far.

[That's extremely odd for an assassin. Kills are supposed to be her bread and butter.]

Yet, Vanishing ignored such conventions. She focused on farming camps as methodically as possible, but nothing more.

[I can somewhat imagine why certain players would stop paying attention to her at some point.] Sonya thought. [She doesn't apply much pressure and wards rarely spot her. Basically, her "presence" is very weak all around.]

In fact, Sonya had to go out of her way to beef up the wards around Mid in order to have an actual chance of ever seeing Vanishing's movements. In addition, Cato and William lent her a hand and spread extra wards throughout the jungle, all for the purpose of keeping track of this one phantom.

[Honestly, I suspect we wasted too much gold on this.] Sonya sighed. [But, data is invaluable. If extra wards can help us keep better track of Vanishing, then I say they're worth it. Except, I see it's not always enough…]

More than 20 seconds have passed since the last time Sonya saw the phantom entering Bot Jungle. Yet, despite the numerous wards there, not a single one of them has caught another glimpse of the elusive assassin. So, it was time to make an empty report. Sigh.

"I haven't seen their Jungler for a while now," Sonya said. "She was last seen entering Bot Jungle."

It was a rather uninformative report, arguably even a pointless one. Its main purpose was to remind the team that Vanishing existed and that Bot should probably be a little more careful right now.

Nonetheless, Sonya made sure to report even uneventful things like this. It was necessary for her to maintain this consistent routine to make sure she won't start neglecting the job.

[The moment I start slacking - it'll be game over. I won't be able to get back on track.] Sonya thought.[ I already find myself questioning whether all of this is really neccessary, so...]

Seriously, there was nothing remarkable about Vanishing's actions thus far. As a result, it was becoming increasingly harder to stay motivated about this job.

[No, stop thinking like that!] Sonya shook her head. [This is exactly the "trap", isn't it? If I start taking her too lightly, then it'll be over. I'll lose sight of her.]

The longer this went on, the harder Sonya had to wrestle with her own brain to maintain the motivation for this routine. It was quite an exhausting experience, and funnily enough, the one responsible for causing the trouble didn't even have to lift a finger to make any of this happen. Thus far, Vanishing was just minding her own business in a very passive manner, yet her mere existence caused Sonya so much trouble.

[It's not like I have all the time in the world for this. I have my own problems to deal with, too.] Sonya ranted as she unleashed Whirlwind on the new minion wave that arrived. [I have a lane to farm, and I have to position myself correctly against the Sorcerer. Seriously, I almost have my hands full with just this.]

In order to safely cast her Whirlwind, Sonya first had to carefully position herself far enough from the Sorcerer's reach. And, after she cast the spell, Sonya had to adjust her position yet again, to make sure she was outside the sniping range of Repelling Force.

[I should be fine here.] Sonya nodded to herself and resumed her side job of monitoring the jungle. [So, where did Vanishing disappear to? I feel like I haven't seen her for a very long time now.]

Sonya scanned the map from top to bottom again, but there were no signs of the phantom anywhere. At this rate, Sonya might end up delivering a second empty report in a row.

[Tch, what a waste of my attention span.] Sonya shook her head. [All I have to report right now is that Vanishing is still missing. And, considering how much time has passed since we've seen her, this report is pretty much useless.]

At this point, Vanishing could be literally anywhere on the map. The wards have failed to reveal the girl during all this time, so it meant Vanishing could've easily rotated to any part of the map by now. As such, there was nothing to really report here.

Nonetheless, it was Sonya's job to monitor Vanishing, so she made sure to deliver the regular report in a timely fashion.

"I haven't seen their Jungler for quite some time now," Sonya reported. "She might've recalled at some point, but we can't be sure. She was last seen in Bot Jungle, but considering how much time has passed, she could be anywhere right now."

That was the extent of what Sonya could report about the current state of affairs. In short, she had no idea where Vanishing was or whether that forgettable Jungler was planning to cause trouble anytime soon.

[Now, back to focusing on the lane.] Sonya shifted her eyes from the mini-map to the lane in front of her. She had no choice but to keep going back and forth between the two ever since the game started.

Fortunately, Sonya was an Aeromancer, so things were a little easier for her in that regard. As far as the lane situation was concerned, Sonya simply had to cast Whirlwind and then distance herself away from the scene.

In fact, this was one of the major considerations for picking Aeromancer for this game. Sonya had already discussed this topic with Cato a week ago, and they agreed that Aeromancer was one of the best classes to pick whenever Sonya had to work part-time as Vanishing's supervisor.

All the Aeromancer had to do on the lane was to summon a whirlwind that continuously drained the minions' HP. Right after placing it, Sonya was free to retreat as far as it was necessary.

With that said, she couldn't retreat too far from the area, because it was necessary to supplement her Whirlwind with additional attacks in order to fully wipe out the enemy squad. Therefore, Sonya retreated far enough to be outside the enemy's immediate attack range and then waited for the minions to approach.

As usual, Beat unleashed her Dimensional Collapse on the minion wave, making her black Magia Orb implode. This created a mini black hole that sucked in all the enemies in the area.

Beat could've further assaulted the minions with Repelling Force, but she opted to not do so. Instead, she used basic attacks to finish off what was left of the minions.

As a result, it took her a while to finish off the minion wave, and during this time the majority of her army perished as well. From this position, she couldn't really push much.

[It's curious that Beat is playing so passively against me.] Sonya thought. [Most opponents get irritated by my defense and start playing more aggressively as time goes on. And, Beat is definitely a player who leans more toward aggression, and yet...]

Based on the available data, Beat was a flexible player who could play both offense and defense, but she definitely leaned more toward offense. Therefore, it was rather bizarre to see her take such a passive approach against Sonya.

[Maybe she thinks my defense has no openings for her to exploit. If so, I'm flattered.]

A defense that blocked all incoming attacks was great. However, a defense that discouraged all attacks from ever coming in the first place was even greater. Preventing attacks from happening was that much better than deflecting them as they came.

As such, Sonya's turtly playstyle always strived toward that kind of "discouraging" defense, the type that made attackers give up before even trying.

Admittedly, it wasn't often that Sonya actually ran into situations where her opponent submitted to this psychological pressure. However, it seemed that Beat successfully fell prey to it.

[This is an unexpected outcome but a very welcome one.] Sonya thought. [It gives me more leeway to analyze the rest of the map without worrying too much about the lane situation.]

Keeping track of Mid Lane and Vanishing were just two of the many things that Sonya was preoccupied with. The game as a whole was much larger than these two specific subjects. For one, it was imperative to know what was going on in the other lanes.

As such, Sonya was naturally well aware of the situation in Bot as well, where Cato and Matthew were fending off the ex-StormBlitz duo, Chessmaster and Gunz. This pair was formidable enough to give even William and Ronald a run for their money, but Cato and Matthew had been fending off the threat very well so far.

[It's unfortunate that I don't have the luxury to analyze their plays in detail right now.] Sonya thought.[ It looks like many interesting tactics take place there on a regular basis, but I have no choice but to miss out on the details. A shame.]

Cato was the Leopards' shot-caller in all but name, so the battle in Bot was a direct clash between the teams' shot-callers. As such, it was bound to be a complicated battlefield with many layers of tactics. It was something Sonya was very interested in deconstructing, but unfortunately, she didn't have the time for it at the moment.

As such, all she knew was that Cato and Matthew were somehow holding their ground without any apparent trouble. They successfully stifled the enemy's progression, which was a huge achievement.

[But, then there's also Top Lane where the situation is very different.] Sonya naturally paid very close attention to Top because it featured a never-before-seen opponent: EnduringPhoenix.

[It seems that everybody came to a silent agreement that we'll call him 'Phoenix' and not 'Enduring'.] Sonya thought. [It's a little off-putting considering we call their Jungler 'Vanishing' and not 'Flower'...]

Small inconsistencies like that drew her crazy sometimes.

[But, I get it. 'Phoenix' is much easier to say and it's not as generic as 'Flower', so that's why it stuck. Yes, I get it, but that doesn't change the fact it's mildly irritating.]

With that said, there was nothing to be done about it at this point. The majority vote chose the name "Phoenix", therefore Sonya had no choice but to follow the decision.

[I don't know what part of him resembles a "phoenix", but he is sure "enduring" very well in the lane.]

Phoenix was an unexpected addition to Stratus' lineup. Unlike the other aggressive players the team was packing, Phoenix was the epitome of a defensive player. So much, so that his playstyle reminded Sonya of her own.

[He's doing a good job sacrificing a bit of farm in exchange for safety. I understand why they subbed him in only now.]

To deal with Ronald's aggression in Top, it was necessary to either bring somebody who was just as strong or somebody who could deflect the aggression with strong defense. But, unfortunately for Stratus, InformationBlackhole was a balanced player who didn't specialize enough at either task, therefore they subbed him for somebody who was very good at defense.

[And, he's doing a good job so far.] Sonya thought. [Even though Ronald overall maintains lane control, he can't seem to push forward. That's a very well-executed defense.]

In the last game, most of the action started off in Top. Ronald and William got multiple kills there, which enabled the Leopards to start pushing toward victory.

Alas, the brothers didn't have the same luck in this game. Phoenix completely sealed off the lane, denying William any gank opportunities.

In fact, as it stood, all three lanes were currently frozen due to somebody employing airtight defense on every lane. In short, the teams were stuck in a deadlock, one that only a Jungler's intervention could resolve.

Of course, William was very much aware of the fact, therefore he tried to gank various lanes on multiple occasions. Alas, none of the lane opponents ever gave him a good opening to strike.

On the other hand, the enemy Jungler was lying low the entire time. She didn't lift a finger to help resolve the deadlock even though that should have been in her team's best interests.

[And, even if she tries, I'll make sure she fails.] Sonya asserted. [The moment she makes a move - I'll know. Speaking of which, I have to make another report. It nearly slipped my mind.]

"I still haven't seen their Jungler ever since she entered Bot Jungle," Sonya reported for the third time in a row. "She probably slipped into Top Jungle by now. We ran out of 2 wards there, so we need to refresh them."

"Noted," William responded. As the Jungler, he had the most freedom to travel to the indicated spots in order to replenish the wards there, so he promised to do so in the near future.

[Good, that's it for the report.] Sonya nodded in satisfaction. [Now, I've bought myself another 20 or so seconds to analyze other more interesting things. ]

Keeping track of Vanishing was quickly becoming a chore, for there was no interesting information anywhere to be had there. The girl only farmed camps without doing anything that stood out. Even as the game was in a deadlock, the girl didn't bother to lift a finger to change anything about the situation. It was pure amateurism.

Nonetheless, this amateur had a history of delivering unexpected ganks in previous games, therefore some degree of caution was still necessary for now. Thus, Sonya continued dividing her attention between Vanishing, the lane, and the rest of the map.

It was a juggling act, but one that Sonya found easy enough at the moment. After all, both Vanishing and Mid Lane didn't require much attention, seeing as they were both very uneventful so far.

Or, at least, that's what Sonya thought. Little did she realize that she only had so much free time thanks to Beat's negligence. The situation will change drastically if Beat suddenly decides to take better care of the lane…