Echoes of the Void

On the 4th week of the 4th month, I finished off the last Necromancer, thus eliminating all active AI players. Screenshots of the hero and army are attached. I played all the important battles only with Alaric, and Light was quite sufficient, although the altars still hint at Darkness and Summoning. But that's not a problem...
I also dealt with the mages without any problems, buying up the Necromancer upgrade to 88 Phantom Dragons. I also wandered around the map a bit, looking for the Dragon and Necromancer sets. I didn't find or buy the Staff of the Underworld and the Dragon Scale Armor. Was that intentional?

As a result, when I reached Naadir, he had ~150 Phantom Dragons and other hordes of undead. I had to change my strategy a bit and buy the upgrade, mercilessly converting all my own troops into undead. In the end, Naadir is a challenging but manageable fight - antimagic on the troops, the Ring of Sin, Divine Retribution, and Holy Word work wonders. But then, unfortunately, I hit a snag.

After the battle, I had 100+ dragons left, which I managed to save thanks to a strong defense, +7 protection from the Sphinx, and relentless vigilance (thanks, Sir Thomas), 20 Phantoms, and a few Zombies. I was happy.

But I shouldn't have been.
The battle starts with a Shadow who has TRIPLE the number of my troops! I assume the calculation was as follows: Naadir was supposed to be defeated in a hardcore way, leaving only one and a half Paladins. And then a cowboy duel, supported by the fact that the clone has no Charge. But if the troops are preserved, it is impossible to defeat him.
There is no save before the cutscene after defeating Naadir, so you can't get rid of the troops. This can be understood: it's closing a loophole that existed in "Armageddon's Blade".

~
Overall impressions of the map - I'm delighted. Huge thanks to the author.

I haven't played in a long time, saving every day and every week. It reminded me of Heroes 3, where the first and second weeks are crucial. And more than ever, you realize the value of Peasants and Militia. It's not just a beer belly, but also +1 gold. Especially when Ellaina comes to the tavern, which doubles the income. Thanks to her, I was able to build a Tower and a Stronghold in the shortest possible time.

Special effects, arenas, cutscenes, and scripts are amazing. The battle with Naadir is a masterpiece in itself - there are custom mines on the battlefield. I'm going to study how to create Entangling Roots on the battlefield through the map.