The game dragged on terribly, both in in-game and real time.
At the respawn there were two external orc dwellings. I was desperately short on cash and ended up unable to build bears not only on the first week, but even on the second (I was short 47 gold). I decided not to build them at all:) (built ogres instead :D). I only captured a secondary town in the middle of the second week (dungeon, plus more orcs), and saw in the tavern that my opponent's situation wasn't any better. On day 127 I found a large Griffin Conservatory and a Dragon Utopia, headed toward the treasure zone, having 86 orcs and a bunch of miscellaneous cannon fodder on the third week. In the treasure zone, right at the entrance, there were two external angel dwellings — I took one, but the other was guarded by firebirds and my quest artifact. I rushed further into the treasure zone — it was a nightmare. Nothing there. In the end, I dug up one Dragon Fly Hive with 6 Wyverns at the far end and took a Pandora's Box (20 Crusaders) with a bowstring behind the hydras. Then I went back, easily took a trio of Griffin Conservatories, entered the Dragon Utopia, sacrificing my angels. In the Dragon Utopia, I got the Book of Fire, Armor +1, the Blackshard of the Dead Knight, and most importantly, 30k gold. From a lookout, I spotted Tazar capturing a Rampart; I realized my chances were good. I turned in the quest artifact (15k experience) and took the Cyclops Stockpile. On day 211, I broke through the GO from the pits (foolishly sacrificing a angel in the process). Tazar holed up in his castle, so I didn't attack; I entered the Arena, and my opponent decided to attack, having 30 mana against my 182 :D. His second skill gave him Intelligence plus a mana fountain; in the fight he cast Berserkers, failing a couple of times with them. But the main fail was when I tried to sacrifice the orcs and resurrect 2 angels, but it turned out the other way around :eek: :smile32: — but the Ogre Mages finished the job anyway. There were about 50 orcs and ogres left. My opponent decided not to surrender. I was afraid to attack the castle, so I started recapturing villages; money immediately poured in like a river (each had a 1000-gold tribute). I replenished my mana, transferred the army (forgot part of the army :o ), but in Tazar's main town the army wasn't scary. Mid-battle, a desync happened; we replayed, another desync; started again, I forgot to pick up one angel, but it didn't matter at all. Two Armageddons with the spell effect 3 :D and a win.
Thanks for the time and the game.