Preparing for the "Van Kanegem" tournament.

1. Should I choose a Knight or Barbarian castle for the starting castle in the second stage? Well, I probably won't choose a Knight castle – it's too difficult, but I can choose a Barbarian castle. Although, I would prefer a Sorceress castle – it would be more interesting and original. But I'll do as you suggest. There's another nuance here – you can play as a "power" character, for example, a Barbarian, from any castle. It's just that the map may favor a magic-based game, or it may not.

I completely agree with you; the map determines the playstyle more than the starting castle. In stages 6 and 7 of HoMM 2007, players clearly started with magic races, but they didn't use magic itself. It's just important to remember which "circle" you're playing and choose a castle and map combination accordingly, because you can significantly shift the balance towards melee combat with only one race in stages 4 and 5 if you choose Barbarians. If the map is suitable for a power-based playthrough, but a Sorceress is a good fit thematically, then, in my opinion, let it be a Sorceress, especially in the second stage, where heroes always come with troops, and therefore are themselves a source of an army.

Stage 5: Inferno (Dark Elves)

Stage 10: Fortress (Northern Clans)

In the top five, Inferno and Dwarves are intermediate races, but should Dark Elves be in the melee circle, and the Fortress in the magic circle? Maybe the other way around? Especially since patch 3.1 should be released soon, and people will have time to get used to it. You can confidently play as Orcs in stage 5; a fast start is guaranteed.