Interportal - autumn 2011 The battle of sites - autumn 2011

Neoandy (red, Fortress, Dragon, Gunnison) def Decontaminator (blue, Fortress, Merista, Brissa), Anarchy, 134

We each took 3 restarts. We got swamp vs swamp. I have a Gnoll specialist with 2 stacks, and 2 heroes without lizards and flies. Decided not to take the last restart, even though swamp on Anarchy is not very promising. Let the opponent restart then, and I'll have a restart in reserve, or we'll at least start evenly. We started.
111 - 5 heroes, 1 road, placed flies. Army of 59 Gnolls and 3 flies.
113 - the game almost ended. I break through to the underground, and there are 10-19 Bone Dragons guarding an artifact right next to the road. Thought I wouldn't get through. Clavius went to clear a respawn with 2 Vivas, but the tent was left in a completely different place, and Dragon went to the underground crossroads. The army was replenished with as many as 8 lizards. Meanwhile, Blue's Brissa already has boots, and Alkin has 19 lizards and 65 Gnolls.
114 - prospects are bleak, practically no one to fight with. But I went down to the underground near the Inferno village, uncovered the map, and there were 2 external dwellings of Efreets (a batch of Harpy Hags and a horde of Marks in the guards). Well, not bad. The plan is clear. Need to take the first one at any cost. No hints of major artifacts for Anarchy.
115 - I build Inferno, position myself so that on 116 I can bring 2 Efreets and capture the first external dwelling.
116 - +2 Efreets. Dragon positioned himself near the mini-Gnoll dwelling, aiming for the second external dwelling.
117 - another +2 Efreets, and they go into the Citadel. I didn't build a Castle at home, to be able to buy them. Meanwhile, Blue has scouted atomic prospects. 3 Griffin Conservatories, a Library, 2 Nag banks, 2 Pandora's Boxes, a +6 Shield, and a Dragon Utopia. And a Hive there too. + A swamp village was taken.
121 - We switch to Septienna. Still a Necromancer, and maybe she'll get Diplomacy. GM2. Meanwhile, Blue drops 2 Griffin Conservatories for 6 Angels. With Mass Slow and Mass Haste, Brissa crushes them without difficulty. And here the decisive thing was not to miscalculate the further movement. There was a road down to another zone and up from Inferno. But up above the guards were fatter and a Pandora's Box was visible. And we need to do something. If I had gone down, I would most likely have been crushed by Blue.
122 - Septienna starts clearing a treasure chest for 15 Sultans, and reveals a Cartographer!
123 - Brissa is not asleep, already level 13, with Expert Air, Earth, Intelligence, plus Advanced Logistics for the boots, and Basic Armorer. For me, everything is very sluggish. No Logistics, no MP bonuses. I accelerate every turn, dismissing the skeletons obtained in battles. I opened the Cartographer, took the mini-Hive. A plan of action is taking shape from a couple more Hives, Pandoras, 2 external dwellings of Green Dragons, and +2 Speed.
124 - Blue gets another +3 Angels, a second Dragon Utopia is revealed. Just fat. And I only have 11 ducks with my own starters :) And very slow movement.
125 - The borders of the underground map for Blue turned out to be very lucky for me; just 1-2 more cells and my location would have been known. If Brissa had turned in the right direction at that moment, or at least scouted there with a scout first, then with the main hero - it all could have ended badly. On this turn, I was setting up a chain almost for looting a Hive within reach and +2 Speed, freed from prison by Gunnison at level 10. But I had to take risks.
126 - In a Pandora's Box, I get 35 Battle Dwarves, which is good cannon fodder for the scouted Dragon Utopia (the one Blue saw from the map on the first week), but I immediately have to take them into battle against Mighty Gorgons for the Pandora's Box, for safety, where they were successfully sacrificed. I capture the Green Dragon external dwelling, and oh lucky moment - zero-level Damacon gets into the chain to take the second external dwelling - but he has Advanced Offense. Behind the Gold Golems there turns out to be an empty Pandora's Box (level 2, but in Anarchy it's sometimes the most important). Gunnison does his job, stealing the Cape of Speed after shaking down the Hive and the Pandora's Box for Fanatics. But he can't pass the troops back. Brissa, seeing a Library ahead, ran to take it before the scout's scout aimed at that zone. Otherwise she could have caught us.
127 - everything is passed back along the chain, Damacon hits the Pits for the Green Dragon external dwelling and oh miracle! He gets Diplomacy at level 2!!! How much time was lost since the first week. If only there was some experience monument on the respawn...
131 - Well, now things became more fun - there is already an army, and ahead are 2 Nag banks for money, Septienna has Vision and Scholar. Here Kalida also got Diplomacy. But Damacon is the main hero. I blundered at the end of the turn and blocked the passage to the Inferno village with Damacon, and he only has his last move left - if he takes it, he won't be able to sit, but I needed to buy the spell book and, more importantly, replenish mana. Especially since Septienna is right behind him also without mana. Well, nothing, we set up a tavern and send the scout ahead.
132 - We take the Nag bank, it became a pity to spend money on Pinocchio. We reach the Library and join 85 Silver Pegasi! The scout takes the second Nag bank. Blue is already moving into this zone, visiting another Library and Griffin Conservatory along the way.
133 - Join: 32 Liches, 16 Cyclopes, and 18 Brown Bears ask for 28K - we take the third Dragon Utopia with a Sentinel's Shield, +3 All, and a Fire spell book (and Damacon had refused it earlier). Brissa with a mega movement just runs straight to me, breaks through 100+ Evil Eyes and devours a Pandora's Box for experience, becoming already level 19 with 11 Angels and 400+ mana.
134 - Join of 18 Bears, and the plan was either to slip away to another zone to the Library and more Brown Bears, or to give Brissa a fight, considering the advantage in fodder. But in magic, there is nothing. I had the idea to attack with Gunnison using Mass Haste and Basic Tactics, but he is literally 1 cell short due to a stupid useless move the previous day. And here the scout picks up a Town Portal scroll with the previously joined Cyclopes, and now Gunnison buys the spell book, learns Haste, and reaches Brissa. Too bad he can't visit the Library along the way. Well, nothing. 8-16 vs 12-12 with Mass Haste and +2 Speed should decide it. True, only 20 mana :), but that's all that's needed, although Berserker in the arsenal and Armageddon wouldn't have hurt.

Damacon was good with the Advanced artifact that prevents negative morale for the mixed army, but Damacon himself, even with +4 morale artifacts, had negative morale. I remove the Liches from the army, with Expert Ranged Combat, get +2 morale, which triggered once at the right moment, +3(5) Luck, which never triggered, and I attack. The 1+23 Efreets immediately focus on the Angels, but the Armorer holds the hit well. The Pegasi following don't really reinforce the pressure. Only 2 out of 11 Angels fell. Now the task was for the Bears with 13 speed to also strike. For this, 16 Cyclopes simply kill 1 fly, and the ducks, hoping for Luck (nothing else could be done), hit for 300-500 damage against a stack of 30 flies. Luck didn't come, but morale did! And the Bears leave only 4 Angels. Then immediately came Mass Slow and the running of the Blue army, first to the top right corner, and then on Mass Haste (?) to the top left, to get away from the Bears as the opponent later explained. But of course, there was no point in running anymore. Mass Haste in round 2 and Slow on the Angels in the third, and the artifacts started dropping from Brissa.

Too bad this victory won't affect the team score anymore, however, in case of a tie with any of the foreigners, every victory will count. Therefore, no draws - we play all remaining games for the maximum result. And at least for the experience for ourselves!