Spring 2014 season. Online ranked games (reports, discussions).

Everything was redesigned, and the result was simply terrible. There wasn't a single hiding spot in sight, and the path was blocked by Steel Golems guarding a teleport in just a couple of turns. There were few resources.

In the end, the Grand Palace really made the difference. My opponent would take one city and then retreat, attacking heroes from the chain and so on. I, on the other hand, had a tough time. Without the Sphere of the Earth, I managed to boost my Marksman to 1100+ attack, but that didn't save me. While I was struggling to reclaim my cities, my opponent used the Grand Palace to clear out hive after hive and farmed 70+ upgraded Ducks. I couldn't do anything with my weak stacks under Anti-Magic. I could have taken the Sphere of Air and found a Cloak of Disruption or something that prevents casting spells of level 3 or higher (Light Bolt would have dealt 1.5-1.7k damage), but without the Grand Palace or Dungeon, I couldn't execute that plan.
Thanks for the game!
P.S. Oh yeah, I forgot. It was epic when my main hero took everything he could carry on the first day and wandered alone for two weeks, replenishing his armies in villages and hiding spots (Gnolls), crossed half the map, reached the top, and gave the computer a hard time by fighting on two fronts.