SoD Championship

Nagan-4 (к, Dungeon, Shakti) def nik312 (с, Castle, Valeska), 8mm6, 144

Generated at the top, big but dreary respawn, no money, on week 1 medusas with citadel. But Shakti has 3 stacks, and the 4th hero came - Galtran. Decided to play by leveling necro.
The respawn made a big circle and returned almost to the castle, there was a teleport, no other exits from the respawn. Manticores with castle on 127, Galtran has nearly 200 skeletons, found an external dwelling of minotaurs.
Only at the beginning of the third managed to get out of the respawn, found an external dwelling of red dragons, on 136 with 400 skeletons broke a big Dragon Utopia, got wings, earth book, hat +6 to all, on 141 - another Dragon Utopia - with fire book and hat with 5th level. Galtran (19,25, 13,13).
On 144 opponent surrendered.

exclamation on 113: "well if I throw away a setup like this..." *laughter*

Valya came with a normal amount of archers, second hero in the tavern - Straker right away... No question, there's necro on HL - we play.

First couple of days Straker collected chests, got 2 levels from 3 chests and advanced necromancy. Valya was busy taking crypts off the path, because there was a block on the path - a pack of swords. On 113 the block was finally broken and what do we see?... 2 external dwellings of archers right by the path...

And right after exiting the zone - a Pandora's box for gremlins. Straker experts necromancy, grabs the Pandora's box, and there.... Well when I saw it, it took my breath away. 330 peasants + an external dwelling of them visible in the same zone. Quickly look at the template, trying to figure out how to get to the necro's computer... In my head the familiar images of Dragon Utopia on the second, max Griffin Conservatory on the first are already spinning...

Two equal passages are visible - behind zombies and behind gremlins. BUT the passage to gremlins is blocked by a stack of snipers. Praying for the generator's mercy - we break through the zombies. Behind them immediately a block on the road to a stack of unicorns. SHIT! Nothing to be done, we break through to the native computer. Time 116, Straker has already advanced earth, but of spells only haste... Not even view anywhere.

116 - suddenly I realize that since the start of the game I haven't found a single pile of ore :eek:. And the mine is far away and blocked... For cavalry I'm missing 1 wood, and for the citadel 5 stone.... Fuck, well at least the cavalry will stand in the fort - I think and I build..... Town Hall.... :mad:

117 - still no ore, Straker ran away from everyone along a huge long road, which supposedly leads to the native computer's castle... He's been running for the second day, skipping a lot of goodies around... No castle in sight. Hoping for slow and mana replenishment, I keep running...
Suddenly I realize that for cavalry I'm missing 300 gold (!) :smile11:
Why the hell did I build Town Hall instead of marketplace? :smile27:
Hopes of breaking through for free on the second crumble like a house of cards.

121-122 - 70+ marksmen is certainly powerful, but when there are neither cavalry nor oil, even 130 chopped skeletons don't save the situation much. Third day I run as Straker along the road, find a mini-Griffin Conservatory, grab expert earth, collecting all scrolls in sight I find view earth. No slow... No computer's castle either.

123 Dad is in such a *hole that it's scary to think how he'll get out of there. Splitting is not an option, the native castle is not much closer to the passages to the center than Straker himself. In the end I give up on the idea of reaching the computer's castle, grab the mini-Griffin Conservatory and run back. Along the way I also leveled necromancy with Tant, started helping a bit with necrification. From view I understand the party is going to hell, because the necro's zone turned out to be right behind the block of snipers.

127 - max Dragon Fly Hive taken, slow still not found, I go at the unicorns with 12 wyverns, 1 angel, 70+ marksmen and 200+ skeletons. I fall short of the unicorns by a couple of cells, decide to break a prison on the way for a pack of psychos..... Was in such a hurry to attack that I didn't even split... Result - 9 psychos 8 mages, the archers get demoralized on the first turn, wyverns don't fly up from below to cover them, mages aren't withdrawn and run straight to the skeleton-archers. Next turn mages immediately cover the archers, incidentally hit the angel, psychos hit the angel and skeletons - angel died. (there was a choice - to test the angel's durability or let both crash into the archers... :smile35: ). From a battle that promised nothing, I end up without 30 marksmen, wyverns, 50+ skeletons and the angel. :smile11:

131 - with a delivery of 5 cavalry I hit the unicorns, leaving 3 cavalry and a wyvern. The now small number of marksmen is taking its toll (no money to buy them from the castle). Behind the unicorns immediately a block of a pack of monks. I spit on it, turn around to grab a far-off Griffin Conservatory visible in the middle of nowhere, and do a bit of necrification on the side.

133-134 - the Griffin Conservatory turns out to be cut off by lava :smile35:, need to go around even more.... But a Dragon Fly Hive is found, wyverns become 15, with eating the wyverns and 2 cavalry the monks fall. First castle in the center taken. Tempo is crap, the town is Tower. Had a faint hope for the necro one. 405 peasants in the castle are already an eyesore. Thank god the Mage Guild finally gave slow. A bunch of Dragon Utopias are visible, which I have absolutely nothing to take with.

135 - leveled mass haste, I spit on everything - go to hit the snipers. Break through, run to the necro...

141 - Never made it to the necro, Galtran is spotted in the tavern with Dragon Utopia stats, my Straker has week 1 stats. (didn't find a single artifact except +4 shield) From view I see that to the necro it's still half a week of running, and on 144, tired of the eternal running along endless roads, I surrender. 0 chance.

Now of course it's clear how it should have been carried. On the first, if you don't screw up and actually build cavalry, give them to Valya, who leveled basic tactics, then the snipers fall on 121. After that, even despite the genius roads, by the end of the week you can reach the necro and on the third with 500+ skeletons everything is done easily and simply... But as it is... Thanks for the game :smile43: