I was very pleased with the Barbarian faction; after all, Barbarians are synonymous with a time crunch at the start.

So, is the Barbarian faction really a time crunch at the start? Actually, it's one of the fastest factions in terms of combat.

Inferno, on the other hand, is one of the slowest. Although it's easier with Calhoon, of course; the choice of hero is absolutely correct – Marik and Fiona would have failed much faster.

Added 1 minute ago

We shouldn't force players to play with a chess timer yet. But for the case when both opponents agree to play with it, we need to specify a default value.

If both agree, what prevents them from agreeing on the numbers?

The problem here is that playing in an unfamiliar format is not just about the games themselves, but also about training for future games. And then they might encounter uncompromising opponents who insist on strict adherence to the rules. Therefore, it is recommended to play all games in the format that is announced.