New spells.

The Hive pushes the enemy back on the initiative scale.

Not just back, but way back. And it has a very high initiative, especially for a high-level hero. Therefore, it stops even quite initiative-rich units. Moreover, you can place several of them. And the fact that it deals little damage is even good if you are playing as a Necromancer or have resurrection. The computer rarely attacks the Hive. I wouldn't tolerate this nuisance near my troops. But it doesn't have to be placed near the enemy. Let it waste the turn of archers or expose its melee units to attack. And for the Elf, I usually load it with a Magic Dart, Slow, or Haste spell. Right now, I'm playing through the 5th campaign of the original game in version 3.0. I've upgraded Faidaen with Chaos, Empathy, and Magic Attraction. Already in the 3rd mission, the damage of Slow is over 600 without the help of druids. And when the druids open their channel, it's just terrible. I was taking out 15 Blood Cyclops at a time. The prison with Talanar was guarded by 250 Blood Cyclops. It's a pity that I haven't received Rain of Arrows yet. I hope to get it by the 5th campaign.