The analysis showed that the one who played simpler won.
Lyokha explored more corners, and along the way, he secretly found a few goodies that I didn't even suspect existed. But they didn't decide the game. I, on the other hand, followed the guides along the roads, couldn't pass by the most lucrative workshops and red towers, and by the finale, I simply brought twice as much "meat" (units).
That was enough, although I did everything else worse. Seeing that I was far ahead in terms of "meat," I took a risk and played the finale with my second hero, who had no mana. This could have ruined everything, but a group of single-unit Djinns managed to cast antimagic on the stack of giants, which was key.