Late-game Town Enhancement.

There's also the war cry ability on the Outcast unit. With a base speed of 5, it can add another 4 (tactics, speed aura, blue boots, war cry on the Outcast unit), effectively giving it 9 on the first turn. So, if there aren't too many obstacles, everyone will reach the last row.

And how often does an Orc take the Outcast unit? Especially in the late game, when units from Darkness or Chaos might arrive? And can you always find a specific war cry in one or two of your native castles? I would estimate the probability of this combination to be no more than 10%, because you need to get lucky with the war cry and have to give up something really useful. Therefore, it's easier to ignore this option, especially since taking tactics for the Town Guard doesn't guarantee 100% success. And that's why, in general, I consider the hero's turn AFTER the units' turn.
If you're actually expecting this specific scenario from a familiar opponent, it means that without the gnome's boots, Darkness with Slow becomes more appealing than Chaos. The upgrades will be completely different, as will the artifacts.

You really need a lot of Cyclops, for example, from the dragon set; otherwise, some kents and goblins with claws can contribute much more.

Let's look at the damage numbers. Consider the damage increases (yes, you can buy goblins from heroes, get them as perks, but upgrades have a greater effect on Cyclops) with Battle Fury and claws:
for goblins = 25 * 3.5 = 87.5 (for kents, due to the range penalty, it's even less)
for Cyclops = 1 * 52 * 2.4 (approximately) = 127.2. And this is regularly against a group of enemies and without retaliation.

And what about the stack's survivability? Again, for shamans, even at level 1 of Wrath?
for goblins = 25 * 7 = 175 (225 with Resistance, which often simply doesn't fit into the upgrade path, or with a ring)
for Cyclops = 225 * 2.3 (approximately) = 517.5
The math shows that the stack power will only equalize at a ratio of 100:1. That's quite exotic.