First Week: "Operation J or Tazik's New Adventures"
I recklessly chose all restarts and ended up in a bit of a tight spot. Roads are slow, no money, the wood mine is permanently blocked. On 113 I'm hesitant to take on 2 crypts with the starting army, I don't have enough money for Wyverns, so without much thought I buy 4 Basilisks, take the mini-crypts and pre-mini-crypts :(. But now I don't have wood for Wyverns, a scout finds a pile behind Troglodytes, I move the chain there, because I might be stuck with Basilisks in the Citadel. However, the next turn another scout finds a pile, I break through the Pikemen instead of the Troglodytes to get a path to the grass. There, near the road, a wood mine and 1 pile miraculously allowed me to place 1-6 in the Citadel +1000, I take a neutral Lizard stack, there's a Griffin Conservatory. The scout picked up the Conflux. Glad that Tazar got and Expert-logged Logistics :).
Second Week: "Tazya Bought Himself New Skates"
I take +1 to All behind the Demons, take the Dungeon, gather some cash, near the Conflux 10+ Rock elementals guard the University and Boots of Speed! I take Griffin Conservatory for a pittance :( (by the way, there were no more Hives or Conservatories on the 3 remaining respawns) and I break into the Conflux, grab the Boots :smile54:. Tazar is now zooming around, "like crazy" :cool:. Below the Conflux, a treasure zone on the rocks is spotted, and at the end of the second week, Blue breaks through a teleport there. To avoid being left behind in progress, I also force a path there and send a scout on Flies. Beat it, collected a decent amount of cash: Hydras in the Castle, upgraded units in the secondary towns, and 10k for a ransom.
Third Week: "Where Are You Going!?"
I enter a completely empty treasure zone, raise the Wyvern count from 9 to 33, take a Griffin Conservatory for 3 Angels. The best artifact in the treasure zone is Shield +4, no Dragon Utopias. I spent almost the whole week there :mad:. Meanwhile, scouting reports that 3 Dragon Utopias have been spotted on the rocks, Blue has painted 2 neutral Horse stacks, but no Blue heroes in sight (1 dead scout doesn't count). I decide at all costs to take those Dragon Utopias first, otherwise things are looking grim.
Fourth Week: "Bloodbath in the Library"
On 142 I check Blue's teleport, it's right next to a Swamp secondary town, bad. But no choice, Tazar moves at full speed from the Conflux towards the first Dragon Utopia, stops next to the teleport. On his turn, Blue flies out from there (literally, he has wings), kills my scout, I notice a decent stack of 17 Champions, but he doesn't attack Tazar, instead flies slightly upward, kills a horde of Grand Elves, and stays the night in the library. Immediately dump all resources into the marketplace, bring up the remaining army, attack:
Neela 8 12 5 8, 17 Champions, 60 Marksmen, 34 Royal Griffins, 16 Monks, 8 Wyverns, 1 Angel, and about a dozen Pikemen + Golden Bow in hand.
Tazar 7 15 5 3, 37 Wyverns, 5 Hydras, 21 Basilisks, 19 upgraded Gorgons, about 70 Lizardmen, 4 Angels, and also a dozen Flies, have Advanced Tactics, both without Mass spells, I only have Advanced Earth.
I lose 31 Wyverns and 4 Angels, Neela retreats with 6 Champions. I take the Swamp town, I don't intend to go for the Castle without flyers, I head towards the Dragon Utopias.
At the end of the week I took a third town, lost all the Basilisks, some junk Gladiators were shoved in.
Fifth Week: "The Hat. Exit"
I take 2 more Dragon Utopias, both are mini, dammit, but one gave a Helm of the Seer :smile23:, the other gave junk. I break into the enemy Swamp town, there I built and upgraded Hydras. On 215 with Dimension Door and Flight, I take the main town.
On 216 I move towards the opponent's last Castle (have View Earth). Neela meets me with Sorcery at 25, army is not great. Immediately cast Anti-Magic on the Hydras, a Lightning Bolt for 1k hits the Gorgons. Next rounds: I cast Anti-Magic on the highest-HP stack, he bolts another. In a few rounds, Neela falls.
Thanks for the game!
P.S. Special thanks to Pasha Dubrovin, who stayed with me until 3 AM, supported me, and helped with advice ;).
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