When Lu Shen played his first Preparation followed by Fan of Knives,
the National Luck Arena Livestream was filled with merciless mockery from foreign netizens:
"Playing removal on an empty board? Are you sure he's not just removing nothing?"
"Two cards played, zero effect demonstrated."
"Exactly! Not only was there no change on the board, but no mana crystals were consumed either."
"Perhaps the demise of the Young Dragonhawk made the Xia Kingdom player realize there was no hope of winning after suffering a blow, so he started playing cards wildly like a madman!"
"I told you the Xia Kingdom player's first win was a fluke. The second round hasn't even been long, and he's already revealing his true colors!"
When Lu Shen played his second set of Preparation followed by Fan of Knives,
the foreign netizens' mockery in the National Luck Arena Livestream grew even more rampant.
"One, two, three, four, let's do it again?"
"Hahaha, what is the Xia Kingdom player doing? Is he performing a hand vanishing act?"
"He probably knows he can't win, so he's just messing around."
"Foolish Xia Kingdom player, just a meaningless struggle. Little does he know that such actions are truly laughable."
"A series of operations that look flashy but are utterly useless, truly like a clown in a circus."
"LOL, the Xia Kingdom player's moves are truly entertaining."
When Lu Shen flipped the coin and played Edwin VanCleef,
there was a brief blank period in the National Luck Arena Livestream's comments.
No one could have predicted it.
Someone could actually summon a 12/12 behemoth onto the board on the second turn.
A few seconds later, the livestream's comments exploded:
"What did I see? I can't believe my eyes!"
"Oh my god, are you sure this thing is a minion that can be summoned on turn two?"
"Who can tell me what kind of sorcery this Xia Kingdom player used to summon a minion with the same stats as Deathwing on turn two?"
"Edwin VanCleef? A mere 3-cost minion actually has the same stats as a 10-cost minion like Deathwing!"
"Is this a bug? Even for a Legendary card, a 3-cost minion absolutely cannot be this powerful!"
"Similarly, low-cost Legendary cards, such as the 2-cost Millhouse Manastorm, only have 4/4 stats, and the 3-cost Mukla only has 5/5 stats, and these two minions also come with certain negative effects."
"Since a 12/12 minion can be summoned for 3 mana, why would a Ramp Druid even bother ramping mana? The Druid works so hard to ramp mana, yet his minions are not as strong as the Rogue's minions without ramping."
...
Amidst the exclamations and cries of injustice from a group of ignorant foreign netizens,
many intelligent Xia Kingdom netizens gradually understood the purpose of Lu Shen's series of actions this turn.
In the Xia Kingdom National Conference Room.
The bigwigs were deep in thought, not quite understanding why a minion that was originally 2/2 suddenly became 12/12.
Suddenly, an old man broke the silence in the conference room:
"I understand now, it's Edwin VanCleef's 'Combo' effect."
"What 'Combo' effect?"
"Look at the skill description of the Edwin VanCleef minion card."
"For each other card you've played this turn before playing this, gain +2/+2."
"So that's it, so that's it! I was wondering why Lu Shen would play Fan of Knives on an empty board."
"The mystery is solved. Lu Shen was trying to play as many cards as possible to prepare for Edwin VanCleef's 'Combo' effect."
"Good job, kid! This synergy between the cards is truly amazing."
"With a 12/12 minion on the board on turn two, there's no way to lose!"
"Earlier, I saw a comment that said, 'Next, this match is about to enter garbage time.' That statement is absolutely correct, ah hahahahaha!"
...
On the National Luck Arena.
Looking at the 12/12 Edwin VanCleef on the opposite side, Sada Kojiro was dumbfounded.
As luck would have it,
when it was his turn, he drew a Deathwing.
Deathwing, minion card, 10 mana, 12/12.
"Battlecry: Destroy all other minions and discard your hand."
Looking at the Deathwing in his hand, which also had 12/12 stats,
Sada Kojiro couldn't help but fall into deep self-doubt:
"They're both 12/12, so why does playing Deathwing require 10 mana crystals, while Edwin VanCleef only requires 3 mana crystals?"
"They're both 12/12, so why does playing Deathwing require discarding all cards in hand, while Edwin VanCleef has no negative effects?"
"They're both 12/12, so why is my Deathwing stuck in my hand, while the opponent's Edwin VanCleef is already on the board?"
"A 12/12 minion on the board on turn two, I'm a Druid, how am I supposed to deal with that?!"
Looking at the 3 mana crystals he could use this turn,
Sada Kojiro felt a little helpless, but he hadn't lost his fighting spirit.
"What if I take 12 damage to the face?"
"This turn, I'll use Wild Growth to ramp mana, and next turn I'll have 5 mana crystals."
"I have a Claw Druid in hand, so I can choose the 'Taunt' form to block Edwin VanCleef's attack."
"The Ramp Druid deck has many high-quality Taunt minions."
"As long as I can stall for a few turns with Taunt minions,"
"in the late game, the Ramp Druid is invincible."
After a period of self-brainwashing, Sada Kojiro regained his confidence.
After playing Wild Growth, he started his traditional performance again.
"You cannot stop the power of nature."
...
After enduring Sada Kojiro's constant bombardment of "threat" emotes and his despicable act of burning the rope maliciously,
it was finally Lu Shen's third turn.
Draw a card!
A spell card joined his hand.
Conceal, spell card, 1 mana.
"Give all friendly minions Stealth until your next turn."
Heh heh, not bad!
Stealth means invincibility.
With this card, he wouldn't have to worry about Big Van being silenced by the opponent.
Lu Shen first used his hero power, Dagger Mastery, to equip a 1/2 dagger.
"Let's go."
The Rogue leaped high and attacked the Druid, dealing 1 damage to the Druid.
"You are all worthless scum!"
Immediately after, the 12-attack Big Van kicked him in the face.
"Boom!"
After taking heavy damage, the Druid's health instantly dropped to 17.
Finally, Lu Shen played the spell card Conceal.
A hazy mist covered Edwin VanCleef, putting him in "Stealth" mode.
(Stealth: Cannot be targeted by enemies until this character deals damage.)