A hardcore player would demand such rules for themselves.

You're exaggerating; no one would want to create such a reputation. But the line between the letter and the spirit of the rules is also blurry: can I take a scroll or a mine past a moved guard to progress (I don't need them myself)?, once, a long time ago, I decided to level up Vidomina (I was playing without skeletons, but I had mastered the Necropolis faction) - my opponent demanded a restart - was he wrong?
Therefore, it's _easier_ to only follow the letter of the rules, and if an opponent took those 7 Orcs, you can always claim it was an accidental click when taking an auto-battle. An obviously illogical action is quite forgivable.