Triple-Fly Combo

"Last game, Varus was flexed to support, so the viewers didn't get to enjoy Shy putting his hands to work against a short-range champion. This game, they've finally got their wish. What a treat," Miller said from the commentary desk.

"Honestly, Sion is actually very good at surviving pressure. Apart from TheShy playing Ashe, I really can't think of anyone who could pull off this kind of suppression," PYL added.

"But as Sion gains levels, his waveclear will improve, and Ashe will have a hard time continuously hitting the tower. Sion has Teleport and his ultimate, so he can spend his health to force the wave in, then use his ultimate and Teleport to get back to lane. That way, Ashe won't get any extra Plating gold," Miller said.

"But so far, Ashe is already ten CS ahead and has taken almost two layers of Plating. It feels like Sion had better be able to withstand the pressure later," PYL said.

"Oh? Judging by IG's movements, they probably aren't going for the Dragon. They're giving up the First Dragon outright, and that's the right choice. At five minutes, Ziggs just can't match Miss Fortune's damage," Miller said.

"Nocturne is taking this opportunity to ward the top-side jungle on Red Side. They're doing an excellent job protecting TheShy! It looks like their plan this game really is to break through in the top lane," PYL said.

"Right. His teammates are taking the drake, and Flandre knows Nocturne is on the top side, so he can only retreat under his tower for now. TheShy gets another chance to hit the tower a few times," Miller said.

"But there's another problem, isn't there? Anyone's Legend will take drakes very quickly this game, and it feels like they'll have more promising teamfights in the mid and late game," PYL added.

"Right, so we'll have to see just how big an advantage TheShy can create. Feels like it's been a long time since we've seen IG put all their chips on one player like this," Miller said with a laugh.

At seven minutes and fifty seconds, Jarvan IV came to the area above the Void Grubs to check on them before they spawned.

"Combo, activate!" Lin Heng shouted, sounding a little theatrical.

Nocturne immediately activated his ultimate. Miller was a little surprised by the sudden ultimate and raised his voice in commentary.

"Nocturne's used his ultimate! Is he targeting Taliyah in mid? It doesn't look like he's in range.

"Twisted Fate has used his ultimate too. Nocturne's target is Jarvan IV—he's flying straight at him! Jarvan IV knows Twisted Fate has his ultimate too, so he doesn't choose to fight. He's playing this carefully: he waits until Nocturne lands before using EQ to cross the red buff wall.

"But Twisted Fate has landed by the red buff too. What? Shen landed with Twisted Fate! He used his ultimate on Twisted Fate while he was flying in.

"Twisted Fate stuns Jarvan IV with a gold card. Shen pulls his Q through for damage, and it's pretty good—he bought a Long Sword. After the gold card wears off, Jarvan IV uses Flash toward his own mid lane, crossing the red buff wall again. But Nocturne is already waiting for him on this side. Nocturne lands his Q for damage and attaches his E. Taliyah finally arrives, but can she save Jarvan IV here?

"Shen goes straight in with E-Flash and taunts Jarvan IV again. Nocturne's E procs its fear, and Shen ultimately takes the kill with an auto attack.

"Feels like they could have given that one to Twisted Fate or Nocturne. Jarvan IV had used all his abilities, so he was as good as dead. They did commit three ultimates, after all. Shouldn't one of the carries have gotten the kill?"

PYL sounded a little puzzled. "Why did it look like Nocturne and Twisted Fate both stopped attacking to give Shen the kill?"

"Why? Because Shen's the only frontliner? That doesn't really make sense," Miller said, confused.

"Still, using those global ultimates to lock down Jarvan IV was a genuinely clever play. Three people appeared right in his face in an instant. Honestly, if they'd used that combo to gank Taliyah in mid, she would have died too," PYL said.

"Right. The main thing is, even though Shen has Spellbook—Unsealed Spellbook—he bought a Long Sword, and with his Q, his damage is pretty high. I don't know what item he's building. I can't quite figure it out. A support building Titanic Hydra wouldn't be very useful, would it?" Miller said, puzzled.

IG didn't know their play had sparked so much discussion, but they really had discussed it and decided to give Lin Heng the kill.

Afterward, Nocturne took three Void Grubs. Although Void Grubs were pretty weak in this version, having three of them still sped up tower-taking.

IG chose not to contest the second drake either. But by eleven minutes, with Nocturne and Lin Heng's Shen protecting him, TheShy's Ashe had almost taken the first tower single-handedly.

What was more, Ashe had never left top lane that game and had completed her quest very early, so she had already reached an outrageous level eleven.

But because Flandre had played almost entirely without fighting back, there had been no solo kill.

"Ashe's build this game is also the most standard route. She'll probably go Phantom Dancer after finishing Kraken Slayer," Miller said.

"Ashe really is having a great time this game. She took a tier-one tower in top lane by herself, so her economy is excellent, and her level is very high too," PYL said.

"The main thing is, Tarzan really seems a little scared after getting caught by that combo last time. He's been almost overly cautious in his own jungle. Whenever Twisted Fate and Nocturne disappear from their lanes, he very carefully moves back toward his own tower," Miller said with a somewhat helpless laugh as he watched Jarvan IV play.

"There really isn't anything he can do about that. Look at Anyone's Legend: everyone, including their AD carry Miss Fortune, has a pair of Mercury's Treads now. IG has way too much crowd control for catching people out..."

Before PYL could finish, Miller saw the Enchanted Crystal Arrow on the screen and immediately shouted:

"Oh? TheShy's fired his arrow! Nocturne's turned out the lights! Who's that arrow headed for? Anyone's Legend can't see it right now! It's Taliyah in mid—the arrow hits! As soon as Nocturne used his ultimate, Taliyah started moving under her tower, and she walked straight into the arrow. Twisted Fate steps forward and follows up with a gold card to extend the crowd control. Nocturne's flying in! And he has Shen's ultimate on him!"

"Here comes the combo! Nocturne and Shen land almost together. Shen taunts her, and with Nocturne and Twisted Fate's damage, they instantly kill Taliyah. She didn't get a single ability off!

"This is a Taliyah with thirty tenacity from Ironspike Whip, and she was still crowd-controlled to death! Ashe's arrow from half a map away, plus the gold card and Shen's taunt—even Nocturne's fear hadn't gone off before she was burst down. Shen's three-hit burst combined with Nocturne's passive on landing is fierce. That damage!"

PYL picked up where Miller left off.

"That combo is really creative. Either Twisted Fate or Nocturne can bring Shen straight into the fight. That's two or even three people going in at once. Their ability to catch someone out is just too strong. Who on Anyone's Legend would dare push a lane alone? You'd be pushing, and suddenly three people would appear in your face."

"The main thing is, with the gank happening mid, there isn't much they can do in bot lane either. Ziggs just uses his ultimate to clear the wave and leaves, so they can't even push their wave in. IG are playing this composition a little too well, aren't they?"

"This hardly looks like the coordination you'd expect from a rebuilt team, does it?"