On 111, I scouted a necklace +3+3 behind Magogs, a tomb behind Archers, an external dwelling of Pegasi, a Dragon Fly Hive behind a large horde of Golems, and a refugee camp. It gave 3 Elves. No decent heroes, but Elshar gets Earth.
On 112, I realize one road is blocked; the Pegasus external dwelling, along with a bunch of junk, is guarded by Monks. I did find a Unicorn external dwelling near the castle. The camp gave 4 gr. Basilisks.
On 113, it looks really bad because nothing useful has been scouted at all. Except I took a Dungeon village and saw a stable near it, all right next to the GO. But the GO is not suited for a Mage or Elves at all – either a horde of cor. Cyclops off-road or a pack of Gold Dragons on the road.
On 114, I split up my forces and head towards the external dwelling of Rocs. Luckily, another one was found somewhere deep off-road, and Elves are nearby. So there will be decent stacks, especially since Elshar has shooting, and I have a bowstring +10. The whole question is what the Mage Guild will give...
On 115, I grab the first external dwelling of Rocs and attack the Golems. There are 5*18 of them, with an upgraded stack. A tough fight; I ran down the timer, the Elves used all their arrows, but it still wasn't enough. I lost the Basilisks in this fight, the rest is intact. The first decent Pandora's Box was found, behind Mummies, but quite far. Yes, there was another one, but together with some artifact behind evil blue Monks and far off-road. However, there's nothing for Elshar to do at the start of Week 2 anyway, so I run to the Mummies, even though it's far.
On 116, I took the second village on Pegasi. Also Dungeon, which is good. I build a chain to capture the second external dwelling. The Dungeons each have a portal with Rocs.
On 117, I took a mini Medusa dwelling, an external dwelling of Rocs, a max-sized Crypt, a helmet +3. I strided some resources, planted a Castle. At the start of Week 2, I'll have to spend a few days gathering and upgrading troops, finishing the Mage Guild and the Whirlpool. Saved here.
On 121, from the stable I split towards the Pandora's Box; there are already 50+ Mummies, so there's something valuable there. I'm slowly buying troops, broke a couple of Medusa dwellings.
On 122, I grab the Pandora's Box. It has Elves... Meanwhile, the Mage Guild gives Town Portal, Death Ripple, and Fly. It's going to be tough with the GO... I split to learn magic.
On 123, I place the Whirlpool, approach the GO. Elshar loses a lot of MP, but I need to finish some things at the respawn, buy more troops for the cleanup.
On 124, I buy everything out, take the Dragon Fly Hive – 4 Wyverns, at least some cleanup. I attack the Gold Dragons with 22 gr. Unicorns, 9 Dwarves, 50 gr. Centaurs, 4 Wyverns, Gremlins, and Gargoyles from the Tower hero. I cast Shield on the Rocs, then Death Ripple. I barely get out with 14 Rocs, with about 70 Grands in ambush and a few Pegasi for distraction. After breaking into the center, I easily kill a hundred Wyverns for a Pandora's Box giving experience and a useless hero, then another set of monsters for a box with experience and Shackles of War. I see a Dragon Utopia, but have nothing to take it with.
On 125, another hundred Wyverns for another experience box and a mini Dragon Fly Hive; I free another hero behind Thunderbirds, this one is decent, with Logistics and Pathfinding, but without Earth (Air, Fire). I run further – and there it is, a useful artifact, the 5th-level magic hat!
On 126, I take the hat, another small Dragon Fly Hive, and an experience box. I grab the central Tower, place a look-out post. A huge untouched treasure zone with many Dragon Utopias opens up. Several Dragon Fly Hives, but they aren't very convenient. Many boxes, but almost all of them, as it will turn out later, contain experience. I capture the Sphere of Earth and a prison with another powerful Mage behind a horde of Unicorns.
On 127, I grab the Boots of Speed, as well as the Titan's Cuirass behind a mountain ridge, which is closer to the opp (like stealing it). I portal to a Dungeon for double mana and a stable.
On 131, I gather troops and dive into the first Dragon Utopia. I lose the cleanup, it rewards me royally – Sword +5 all stats and the Tome of Earth. Now any Dragon Utopia will fall without losses, which I proceed to do. It rewards me royally again – Helm +6 all stats, Necklace +3 all stats, Angel Wings, and Cape of Speed. The Shield +4 all stats lies not far from my village; I grab the "tanks" right next to it, as well as two Dragon Fly Hives, totaling 20 Wyverns. Only the Cuirass is left for the Alliance... The Black Dragons at the opp's are the only thing worrying me – with my army, getting hit by Armageddon would be disastrous, as they could all die... Although the Rocs have over 2.5k health, it's still scary, so I need to build up Gold Dragons for the first turn; thankfully, I'll have as much Gold as I want, and Crystals can be traded on the market by selling artifacts. Saved again here.
On 132, I grab the Tome of Air, a Dragon Utopia with the Tome of Fire and Sentinel's Shield, 3 Dragon Fly Hives – totaling 40 Wyverns.
On 133, I grab another Dragon Utopia – and there it is, the Black Orb! Additionally, I bought the Cuirass +1 all stats from the artifact market. Then my opponent arrived. Dimer looked quite dangerous, CS 27 and some Black Dragons in his army. If he casts Armageddon with Sorcery... 40 Wyverns might not hold.
On 134, Dimer grabs a Pandora's Box behind Angels and a Sword +6; I take the last useless Dragon Utopia in the center and sit in the capital.
On 135, Dimer approaches. I place Gold Dragons, attack – one Gold Dragon and 36 Wyverns (4 Ciele lost on Archers for a Shield +4 all stats). I have the Black Orb and the Tome of Fire. I cast Armageddon, the Wyverns hold, Dimer dies.
Thank you for the game!
Осень-Зима 2013-14.