DISCUSSIONS on “Rules for online games in HoMM3 and formulas for calculating player rating.”

The issue isn't so much about the lack of retaliation, but rather the sheer number of sprites and the damage they inflict – that's the real problem. At the start, there can be around 50-70 of them, so calculate the total damage they'll deal.

The damage isn't as critical for killing slow-moving units – it implies a complete wipeout. And those same harpies can attack twice in 2 turns due to their return ability.
Let's unban sprites at least in the new season and see what happens.