Valorant
During the VCT Americas League, we got to see teams play at their best level to qualify for Masters and Champions. Within the league, most team compositions we got to see consisted of agents like Skye, Killjoy, and Jett. Some agents had a 0% pick rate, like Reyna and Yoru. Meanwhile, in the VCT Pacific League, Paper Rex dominated on the map of Bind against DRX with Reyna. Sentinels did the same against 100 Thieves playing with Yoru in the Americas LCQ. Let’s analyze and break down which agent is ideal as the secondary duelist on Bind.
The unique part about Bind is the two teleporters on the map. Teams can use both to play a rotation strat. This is commonly seen on Bind when the defense has three players anchoring onto B site. As such, taking the teleport from B long into showers would be ideal for planting on A site. Before we get into the agents, we have to first look at the players who mastered the characters of Yoru and Reyna. From Paper Rex, it is their ace flanker Ilya “Something” Petrov. Whereas on the Yoru, it is none other than the starboy from Sentinels Tyson “TenZ” Ngo.
PRX and Reyna
Something is one of the most mechanically gifted Valorant players worldwide. But he wasn't present during Paper Rex’s incredible run during VCT Masters Tokyo due to being unable to secure his Japan visa on time. To understand how good Reyna is, we will be looking at the game where Paper Rex faced off against DRX in the Finals of the VCT Pacific League. It was a thrilling game to watch, and we’ve covered this incredible BO5 in our article about PRX f0rsaken.
Paper Rex plays with quite a hyper-aggressive playing style within Valorant. They don’t believe in playing it slow, instead causing chaos in the best way possible. They embrace chaos and then make the most out of it. This chaos is even caused by the unique team compositions they play on a map. Against DRX their agent of chaos was Something on Reyna.
If you look at Reyna as an agent, you see her ability kit is situational. Without getting a kill, her dismiss and her regeneration won’t activate. This leaves only her leers available at the start of the round. If you look at Paper Rex’s team composition on that map, it consisted of Reyna, Raze, Brimstone, Harbor, and Skye. (Read more about why Skye is one of the best agents in the current meta.)
One might wonder, why have two agents with flashes on the same team composition? The answer lies in how the two flashes differ. Reyna’s leer blinds everyone who is in the line of sight of it while Skye’s flash can be controlled by the agent. This creates a scenario where an opponent seeing these two flashes has to choose where to aim; this dilemma could be seen with Buzz during the first round of the game. With Reyna, Something could mix up his playstyle, playing as the flanker on certain rounds to gain map control, while in the others playing to help his team push onto site. This could be either from A main or Hookah due to Reyna’s flashes.
SEN Tenz and Yoru go together perfectly
On the other side of the world, during the VCT Americas LCQ tournament, we got to see Tenz go berserk. It had been quite a long time since Valorant fans were treated to a show of his skill, being able to clip every single multi-kill and clutch that Tenz perfected. It did seem like Sentinels were going to choke it again by losing to 100T during the LCQ. That’s when they went all in and allowed Tenz to play on Yoru. Yoru is an agent long forgotten by the community. This is due to his ability kit, which consists of abilities aimed at confusing his opponents; be it his clone or his teleport to allow him to go to another part of the map. Many feel this is Yoru’s major downfall, but the performance from Tenz showed how this perspective is flawed.
Taking a look at how Tenz played with Yoru, firstly, one has to acknowledge the player's skill and playstyle. Tenz is known for his aggressive playstyle and insane mechanical aim. Mix that up with an agent like Yoru — who also has flashes in his ability pool — and that’s a cocktail for chaos. Thanks to the way Bind is structured, Yoru can place his teleport in the B-link while trying to take control of showers. Tenz did this during multiple rounds, starting the round by placing his teleport at A link and then moving toward showers, using his clone and flash to get out of the smoke at the entry of showers. Tenz used these two abilities to confuse his opponent, make them fall back or be aggressive, and shoot the clone. After getting the first kill, he would teleport to his team and push onto site with them.
Tenz, on the attack side, had a total of 5 first kills in the game against 100T. Most of these first bloods took place in the showers on Bind. 100T placed two people against Tenz to gain map control, and while this did neutralize his ability to act as the flanker for his team, it also resulted in him putting pressure on B Long.
Finally, let’s take a look at the primary reason Yoru is an ideal secondary duelist, which is his ultimate ability: Dimension Drift. When it’s used correctly, it can allow a player to enter the site and gain information about the entire plant site. This information can be relayed back to the team, who can either execute on said site or rotate using the teleport onto the other site. With the recent patch to Yoru, the other abilities on his kit, such as the flash and clone, can also find a lot of use in the form of a distraction.
Both Yoru and Reyna have certain techniques that can provide a lot of value for their team. It’s worth noting both of these agents have their own niche playstyles. Using the right playstyle will help players find the success they’re looking for as a secondary duelist. On Yoru, you need to flank when needed and use your gatecrash to support your team. With Reyna, you need to make sure to support your team while entering onto the site. And, with both agents after getting their kill players should ideally return to their team to play in sync with their teammates.
