Tactics for the Swamp (Fortress).

It's interesting how to (not) use the main weakness of the swamp – its low attack. After all, you still have to kill neutral creatures, and increased patience won't get you very far (meaning, I can't seem to do it). Even Tazr, to get a more or less noticeable 30% damage reduction, has to reach level 20, and I don't even consider 15% in battle, because the damage range is much larger.
And a request to the experts: please comment on the following:

You can buy a built Hydra and immediately defend yourself (a maxed-out Crypt and a 15th-level Gnomish Mine can be taken by a level 1 mage without mana and without any tricks).

Not only because you can take Gnomish Mines with one Hydra.

??
The Hydra kills 3 creatures in a stack, and each stack deals 35 damage, x5 = goodbye, Hydra.

On the topic: the best thing about this game is the soundtrack, and also its low price. I've always been bothered by the fact that you can't use the units of the second hero in the tavern – they significantly strengthen the army; I can't figure out a tactic against neutral forces that vastly outnumber you (it's easy and without losses at a Castle/Rampart/Dungeon/Tower/easy, and somewhat manageable at a War Camp/Infirmary); and the damn terrain – it further weakens enemy units. In my opinion, the ridiculously increased defense at the expense of attack only works in treasure rooms.

I'll add: the gaze of a group of Gorgons doesn't work according to simple statistics, but according to Murphy's Law, i.e., 90% of the time it's not in our favor. For neutral creatures, 10% means 50%+, but for me (several times – a small sample, but still), I sometimes had to hit 6-10 times for it to work. After that, I'll never rely on it, and if I don't rely on it, what's the point of spending precious money/resources/mana?
Maybe we really need to calculate the "Ethereal Phase" (x, y, z - coordinates) before each battle?