FBPP C14

Chapter 14

Player 2: Well done, friends. Now let us, together, build something called a composition.

Did something blow up in their last match? It was just text chat, but Ji-han could feel a strange sense of desperation in it.

Just then, the Blue team’s pick phase ended. Their second pick was Pierre—a support with a shield wall and long reach, making him solid both for initiating and for protecting allies. A safe, balanced choice.

Player 2: Looks like they’re going for a straightforward comp. So, melee friend, what’s your champ pool like?

Ji-han lifted his hand from where his chin had been resting. He’d queued to blow off steam after AkashaPhilban pissed him off, but surprisingly, this one looked like it might turn into a real match.

It had been a long time since he’d seen Platinum players actually analyze comps and coordinate picks. Normally, first pick just banned the OP champs, or else banned whichever pick had left them with bad memories. After that, everyone locked in the one or two champs they were most comfortable with, or whichever pick the enemy hadn’t directly countered.

But with Player 2 steering with a bit of common sense, it felt like a battered old boat suddenly finding direction.

Player 5 (JiniHaniJihani): I can play any melee.
Player 2: Nice. Since Pierre’s got long arms, let’s match it—pull a long-range support so we don’t lose initiation. Player 4, thoughts?
Player 4: Am I picking first?
Player 1: Nah, me first.

Player 1 locked in Gaien, a ranged sub-tank specialized in disruption. With that, their tank line was set.

The enemy, unexpectedly, brought out an ADC for their third pick. With three picks in a row that were “safe,” neither strong nor weak, Player 2 grew suspicious.

Player 2: Too safe. They’re hiding something in sub-tank or melee.
Player 1: Let’s take our ADC first. If our melee pool’s wide, then ADC can be a safe pick.

Ji-han pinched his cheek until it stung, making sure this wasn’t a dream. Convinced it was real, he shoved the beer he’d pulled out after raging at AkashaPhilban back into the fridge.

His gut told him—this was finally going to be a real game.

Player 5 (JiniHaniJihani): What’s the support pool like?
Player 4: I can play anything.

Perfect. If support and melee were both flexible, then any ADC could be handed over, knowing support could keep them alive and melee could carry the damage load. No matter what the enemy picked for sub-tank and melee, as long as their ADC survived, they were already halfway to winning.

Player 3: Then can I go this? I’m really good with her.

The character was Inegro, a purple-haired, purple-lipped woman. She had an innate dodge, allowing her to escape being jumped with a single “one coin” chance. Her targeted ultimate blanketed a wide area in chaos, disrupting enemies within.

Above all, her dodge was insanely strong. With the right item, it could extend to a full five seconds of invulnerability—long enough to slip behind an objective. And because the timing of breaking it was under the player’s control, it made her a wild card.

But her damage was… shaky. Many players used her purely as a support, relying only on that chaos CC.

So when Inegro was picked as ADC, 80% of the team’s damage inevitably shifted onto the melee.

Player 2: Inegro? Uh…
Player 1: Not bad. As long as she watches the map, she can self-survive, and support can step forward.
Player 2: But that forces the melee pick.

High damage in games usually meant only one thing: it was extremely hard to actually land. Unless it was a busted champ blessed by the latest balance patch, high damage meant awkward initiations, shitty skill design, or angles that were hell to pull off.

Player 2: If we pick Inegro here, the enemy could triple-ban melee next round. Think about it.
Player 3: ㅠㅠ Then how about Urs? Time’s almost up.

Urs? Solid damage, had a dodge too, but…

Player 5 (JiniHaniJihani): Just take Inegro. Even with three melee bans, plenty are left.

With the melee’s agreement, Player 3 flickered between Urs and Inegro, before finally locking in Inegro.

BAN: Choose three characters to ban!

Player 2: Let’s cut whatever screws up melee’s damage angles. Or melee friend, any champ that gives you trouble?

The enemy comp was so safe there wasn’t much to counter.

Player 5 (JiniHaniJihani): If we’re not grabbing him immediately, ban Nys. Rest is up to you.

Nys had a “map hack” skill that revealed enemy positions temporarily, and he excelled at grabbing and holding nearby enemies. Usually played as support, he was the ultimate anti-assassin tool and strong enough to serve as a sub-tank too.

Player 2: Okay. Support friend, you decide.

Player 4 banned Nys. Since Inegro could self-survive, they didn’t need him. With unanimous agreement, the ban was locked, and the enemy’s ban popped up. Surprisingly, they banned a support instead of a melee.

“What the hell? Guess they’ve got a decent player over there too.”

Clearly, the enemy had their own Player 2—a leader with strong game sense. Maybe even a smurf from the upper ranks.

With Inegro’s weak damage, melee had to be burst-heavy. They could’ve banned three strong melee and forced weaker ones, but the better option was obvious: target supports that dictated teamfights.

Ban three melee, and six burst picks would still remain. Most of them were trash, sure, but even a trash champ could delete an ADC with good scaling.

So instead, they banned the supports who could collapse the frontline. If support stepped up while trusting Inegro to live, and the melee slipped in just once, even the tanks wouldn’t survive the burst. If Inegro’s ultimate dropped on top of that, the enemy would be helpless, lined up for the scoreboard.

Player 4: They read us.

“This guy’s pretty good too.”

Ji-han’s eyes gleamed. It had been ages since he’d had this much fun with draft.

Player 5 (JiniHaniJihani): They’re coming armed with forced initiation and CC. Next ban: Ashita.

They banned Ashita. In response, the enemy banned a support with an ultimate that could teleport allies across the map.

The picture was clear. The enemy wanted to chase down Inegro no matter what. So they removed any champ that could peel her away—or yank melee back to safety. Their intentions were obvious.

Player 4: Looks like they’re planning a chase-melee plus forced-initiation sub-tank comp.
Player 3: ?? I don’t get it, bros. How do you know?
Player 1: Their sub-tank initiates, their melee dives and cuts Inegro no matter what. Pierre shields the melee, letting him survive. They kill Inegro, make it 4v5, and brawl it out.

Player 4 banned a sub-tank with oppressive initiation, while the enemy banned another support.

Player 4: I’m last pick.

Made sense. This game, the support role was the linchpin.

Weighing two candidates, Ji-han locked in Nasarun, a blond boy.

Player 1: Nasarun’s risky… better to pick Lycris.
Player 4: If not Nasarun, then only Arhen or Terres bring enough damage.
Player 1: What about Olyne?
Player 5 (JiniHaniJihani): Olyne’s awkward against Pierre.

Terres and Arhen would’ve narrowed the already-thin support pool. Terres stored damage received and reflected it later, while Arhen bled enemies at the cost of his own HP—both demanded heavy healing.

Nasarun, by contrast, had no mobility and no dash at all. He needed teammates to set his angles. But if his combo landed, he inflicted true bleed that ignored defense. It stacked up to five times, and his %HP shred skill meant even a Gorunil-buffed main tank was guaranteed dead if caught.

Player 2: Let’s trust him. We live together in this world.
Player 3: He let me play Inegro, so I’m siding with Player 5.
Player 1: Fine…

The enemy picked a fast, dive-heavy melee, as expected. Unusually, their sub-tank was left for last pick.

“Wow, I’ve only seen this in old VGT scrims.”

Player 4: Am I focusing melee?
Player 5 (JiniHaniJihani): No. If they take camps without vision, I’ll call it.

So Player 4 locked in Chaplin, a support who abandoned peel to bring forced initiation and multiple snares, cutting off enemy backup.

The enemy’s last pick was a chaos sub-tank who chained into enemy lines, leaping around like a frog wherever his chains latched.

Draft ended. Countdown began.

Game starts in 10 seconds. Prepare yourselves.

And at last, Ji-han pulled his beer back out. He kicked his desk for good measure.

Because under the image of a freckled red-haired girl on the loading screen was a familiar name—

[AkashaPhilban]

“Ah, for fuck’s sake!!”