The 3rd stage of the annual John Van Caneghem Tournament (2007).

Regarding the ballista... no matter how many times I play Heroes, I don't remember running out of ammunition! Does anyone have a version where ammunition does run out? No!!! So, use this little trick to your advantage!

And no matter how many times I play Heroes :) artifacts are still sold at inflated prices. So, what now – should we just use what's available?
Therefore, your argument is not an argument.

spending several hours on a single turn!!! I wouldn't be able to handle it, even for the sake of victory :)

Well, I might not be able to handle it either. But there was one guy here, I don't know where he went, AmberSoler, and he said that everything depends on the motivation for such a battle. If the reward is worth it, you can spend even more hours on the battle. There is only one question left – why are you all talking about a multi-hour battle when such battles are completed with artifacts in 5 minutes. I, for example, honestly go through a battle that, according to my calculations, will take 18-20 hours. And someone will use an artifact and complete this battle in 5 minutes. The question for the organizers is – how will my rights be protected? I'll risk answering – in no way. And here are my options for solving the problem:
1. this ballista trick needs to be banned (but not from this tournament, I've already spent 4 hours on it)
2. allow everyone who wants to complete such battles with artifacts
3. allow such battles, but prohibit completing them with artifacts, while proving that the organizers are able to distinguish between saves in which an artifact was used and those in which it was not.
There is no fourth option :)