[HMM IV OFF TOURNAMENT] The fourth stage of the John Van Canigem tournament

Please share your experiences on how you managed to defeat the level 2 hero challenge with 26 Cerberuses and 14 Gargoyles, and with 29 Mages and 66 Gnomes.
Also, I would like to see tactics for fighting Water Elementals without using summons, illusions, or antimagic.