Effect of the butterfly

This is what the power of habit means: you got Sandro, who was still quite "green," and immediately switched to him, even though you could have continued and completed the game perfectly well with a hero who had initial stats of 65/65/65/65 and a decent army of 1500+ phoenixes and 2000+ wizards! And how many months, if it's not a secret, did you "level up" Sandro to make him so "cool"? ;)
P.S. Oh, yes, you mentioned that you were playing with WoG! Well, it significantly changes the gameplay, the balance of power, and allows you to win much faster, especially with specifically selected options.