Турниры HeroesWorld Cup & World Cup - 2012

01/08/2012 OUTLAW (blue, Dungeon, Shakti, Shakti) def. R55Max (red, Castle, Waleska, Brokhild), 8XM8, 1-4-3
We stalled for a long time after Max got his 112, mostly traveling along slow routes. The distribution here was simply excellent for this build. There are no hidden spots, but even without them, everything worked out well. After testing this build before the game, I concluded that rushing from the starting area to other zones is not necessary; instead, it's better to calmly and methodically clear the explored areas. That's what I did for about 1.5 weeks. The Miner leveled up perfectly. Earth experience was gained quickly, and in the Shrine, I learned Slow and destroyed 2 Cons (level 3), while simultaneously leveling up Das, who later became a Soothsayer, as I also maxed out his Earth skill. In the first zone, the generator gave me a Fire Tome (which turned out to be a relic, and my opponent had the Wings :(). For the sake of the skill, I even refused Air and later caught Fire in the last slot. Moving sequentially through the zones, I collected valuable items; there were very few profitable objects, which is typical for this build. At the end of the 3rd week, I painted the Conflict village and hid Angels there. In the Portal of Summoning, I was kindly given an Angel of level 137 (although a Troll could have appeared), and at level 141, I also received an Angel. Towards the end of the 3rd week, I reached a zone where I could potentially encounter the red player; there, I captured a +10 Cuirass. Then, for a day, I had to chase Brokhild, and, regretting the resources spent on trading for a possible truce, I lost Das with 3 Angels, who had 30+ Archers, 3 Horses, and a group of enemy Skeletons with him, and learned that my opponent had a Crimson Sphere. But the experience log allowed me to catch up to Brokhild, and superior stats and resources decided the battle, in which the red player didn't have enough money for a truce.
Thank you for the game!!!
P.S.:
My impressions of this build are mixed – on one hand, the idea is very appealing, but the tiny size of the zones and the dense concentration of creatures guarding the passages create very negative feelings. Our game is a perfect example of this – the red player got a great distribution of creatures, and the blue player had an excellent starting position.

In the first 3 days, I explored the starting area and a neighboring desert with a diameter of 500 moves, which I completely cleared. After that, it became absurd. In one direction, underground, from the desert, there was a block of 50+ Thunderbirds, and the second passage through the Lizardmen led to the Portal. In general, with 4 Knights and Spears, I didn't attack the Lizardmen, otherwise, I could have lost everything (I didn't have a hero with Tactics), and on the other side, there could have been Archers again. I started skipping turns until level 121 (I simply gathered all the heroes in front of the Monolith and stood there).

When I killed the Lizardmen on the other side of the teleport, it turned out to be a little worse than I expected – a block of 1-4 Archdevils or 20-49 Mages guarded the dungeon (which also didn't inspire much optimism, considering that I didn't have Tactics or Haste). There wasn't much money either, but luckily, I had placed 1000 on my first and second heroes with +350. I thought about giving up, but I decided to play.

Until level 126, I just stood and smoked near the teleport, and finally, I accumulated enough money for Horses and Spears – I attacked them, losing 2 Horses and some Spears, and 1 Knight. In the dungeon, I got Sandro, level 5, and immediately sent him to the Fathers, hoping to level up a bit and, after capturing the Wings, control the blue player, gather a bunch of Skeletons, and fight with the Orb that I found.

In general, I started playing from level 127, with 2 Horses, 20 Marksmen, 30 Spears, and 6 Knights; I even placed a Citadel in the castle :D

I only started gaining momentum in the 3rd week. I found a quest, Sandro without magic, and the only Well was near my starting castle, so I rushed there at level 135, hoping that after the quest and the Well, I would break the Cons, gain Earth experience along the way, and while Brokhild gathers a couple of Hives, transfers the army, and Sandro flies around the map with the Wings.

But when Brokhild moved away from the road into the depths, behind the last Hive and a box, Shakti appeared, and I had to hide in the dark and skip 2 days, distracting him with one hero, hoping that Shakti would move lower, and Brokhild would rush out and transfer the army to Sandro in 2 turns. In general, no matter how I hid, Shakti, with his experience log, didn't let me make this crucial move.

Thanks for the game.