However, I don't know how those who say it's "like on recruit" played. I got stuck on the dragons right before the very first portal. (
12 of them, 3 stacks, they attack multiple targets with their breath, and there's nowhere to hide from them. They wipe out all my tiny stacks (even though up until that point, I played carefully, without any losses) with their speed of 9 and initiative of 14.