Posts from Sylvan vs. Necropolis

Okay, guys, I need advice from experts on both the undead and the sylvan factions. We're having an "in-house" Heroes of Might and Magic 5: Tribes of the East (TotE) tournament at our club (St. Petersburg) soon. There will be 4 players. The map is "Ascension to Power," and the difficulty is Veteran. The factions are:
1. Sylvan (me)
2. Necropolis
3. Orc
4. Order
+ 2 random factions.
I've been playing Heroes for years, but I still have one problem: how to "counter" Necropolis... no matter what I try, it doesn't work. They overwhelm me with early-game rushes, killing my units with zero losses, and they just crush me. All of this happens through the use of Banshee's Wail. Spies have revealed that the Necropolis player will be using the hero Deirdre. This doesn't make things any easier. I feel like the game will probably go to levels 22-25+, which means it will be a long game. I'll take out the Orc (or Order, whichever is closer) in the early third week; that player isn't a big threat. I assume the Necropolis player will take out Order (or Orc) around the same time, because that player is somewhat better than me, and significantly better than Order and Orc, plus I've observed this player before (I'm not talking about the AI; they'll be defeated by any of us).
So, here's the thing. I'm 75% sure that during our match, he will be holed up in his castle. That's where the problem starts.
Upgrades for the final battle:
Nymphs
Wind Riders
Archers
Elder Druids
War Unicorns (I'm probably wrong about this one)
Ancient Ents
Crystal Dragons.
Hero: Wing
Hero development (what I'll aim for, knowing I can't max everything):
Magic (3) - Bless, Protection, Righteous Might.
Leadership (3) - Sun Blessing, Veil of Discord, Elf Blessing (priority).
Attack (3) - Berserk, Tactics (expert), Frenzy.
Logistics (3) - Find Path, March.
And defense as much as possible.

Artifacts: I'll try to focus on the hero. 2 rings with +30% and a staff with -20%, giving a total bonus of 50%. Since there are 6 locations with "red" artifacts on the map, I should be able to find them. The only problem will be finding a +10% ring; if I don't find it, I'll take the Sarrukh's Iss to reduce spell costs by half. An amulet with +1 damage (again, if I find it), a horseshoe (there's always one, even several), and the rest on morale, defense, and attack.

Battle scenario (briefly):

1. Wing casts buffs + antimagic (hopefully I get it) + dispels. I probably won't have time to cast a rain spell.
The Ents move towards the door and wait for the catapult to destroy it.
The Unicorns stand and try to protect the support units from other debuffs.
The Dragons fly and destroy the most crowded area.
The Archers target the Liches for maximum damage.
The Druids use lightning to target the Ghosts.
The rest wait for the second wave (if there's no teleport).
2. If there's a teleport: we send the Ents, Wind Riders, and Unicorns behind the enemy lines - the rest continue to attack as before.
The Ents target the Vampires and anything else nearby.
The Unicorn tries to stun the Zombies or Messengers. If that doesn't work, it tries to attack the Skeletons.
The Wind Riders attack the Dragons.
The Dragons try to use Prism to "eat" the Ghosts, Skeletons, and Zombies.
Wing casts a rain spell with all his might.

That's it; it seems like we have the advantage...

If everything were so perfect, I wouldn't be posting on the forum. I'm missing something, I've forgotten something, or I'm just wrong about something. In short, I need your help. Share any ideas, don't hesitate, let's discuss everything.
Thank you in advance.

Yes, it's foolish to attack him with Wing in the castle; he'll simply crush you in open ground. Try to ambush him somehow.

Wing doesn't need defense; the first hit at level 25 will kill him outright. It's better to focus on leadership and speed aura.

You need to try to secure territory strictly to the north, where the archer dwellings and dancers are located near the castle; this is a huge bonus.

If you're using light magic, why Rain?

Two rings for initiative and a staff don't give a +50 advantage; these initiative bonuses are NOT cumulative.

Elder Druids are better; their spellcasting will be as good as Necromancers'.

If I have time, I'll rush on low difficulty; it's level 15, and I can take him down, but he's not a pushover either; he's improving his logistics. Speed aura... I hadn't thought of that, as within the castle territory, there's a +4 speed bonus, and "death's stride." Yeah, I'm clearing out the entire north by the middle of the second week, and only 5-6 level archmages remain. And if I've already placed everyone there, I need to destroy them, deal maximum damage. After all, a deadshot at 22+ is no joke. No, they do stack. The wand gives -20% to the enemy, and two rings, one at +20% and the other at +10%... I think they stacked somehow when I was equipping and unequipping, checking by clicking the right mouse button on the creatures... I probably just made a mistake... =[ No, it won't work with druids... and do you know why? Because I'm counting on them. Three lightning strikes... they'll severely damage the specters, with no chance of a miss.

Regarding artifacts, of course, 2 rings and a staff are better than one ring; the bonus will be higher, but the initiative won't be increased by 50%, but less! There's a more complex formula involved, something related to multiplication. But still, Winghael isn't designed for taking castles; I usually rely heavily on Blade Dancers and Unicorns. Besides, towers are unpleasant. Regarding Druids, the Elder Channel is still considered overpowered, right? It's true that Specters are a problem.

I suggest you try to find the Holy Word just in case – maybe your opponent won't think of using the Ring... and if you do find it, it's better to take the Elder Druids (after all), but if the main goal is to get rid of the Specters, try to confuse them with Ents instead of running straight to the gates... or will he catch up?

What worries me more is... what to do with 800 zombies, 100 Messengers, and 300 vampires... let's say 400 Sylvan units attack the vampires... and then 200 liches bury me... or 1500 skeletons...
Then specters, as a result of the Ents' miscalculation, will reach the archers... and then you can safely wrap yourself in a sheet and head towards the Necropolis... should I put unicorns against specters...? we've already tried that... missss...

Well, if the Necromancer has 3 castles and turns all creatures from all three castles into undead, it will certainly give them a huge advantage. It's necessary to prevent this from happening. Disrupt their economy, and capture their castles yourself. 300 vampires for the Necromancer and only 400 archers for the Elves – that's absurd.

No, I calculated that based on the Necropolis having 2 castles while I have 1... the Necropolis can "convert everything to its advantage"... all creatures from any other castle will be converted into undead... and besides, it doesn't lose anything in battles with neutral creatures (especially black dragons).

And since the specters will also destroy the druids, there will probably be at least 150 of them left? And there will be about 350 specters, or even more if the opponent brings armies from other castles. In any case, to defeat them, you need to risk someone and attack – you can use ents or unicorns.

I usually deal with ghosts like this:
I add them to the list of enemies and shoot them with arrows. The probability of reducing their numbers is quite high.

Only skilled archers can guarantee that at least one of two shots will hit, and under the effect of spells, enemy specters will disappear very quickly.

You could try focusing on Blood Dragons, Dragons, and Vampires first, then start dealing with Skeletons, Ghosts, and Liches, and at some point, use the Enchanted Arrow of Vengeance to unleash a rain of arrows. The downside to this strategy is that the Vengeance skill seems to be only useful for making the triple Vengeance attack a rain of arrows. However, completely eliminating Dragons, Blood Dragons, and Vampires might be worth it? I haven't tested this yet; it's just one of those crazy ideas, and it might be very foolish.

The risk of failure is also high; attacking ghosts means going all-in...
Anyway, the game is tomorrow, I hope I'll have luck against the second Sylvan faction... otherwise, I'll just keep building alt armies and attack them one by one.

Personally, when I fight specters, I always prepare in advance so that at least one shot hits (I'll attack with entangling spells – there's a chance to confuse them, or I'll attack with unicorns – their counterattack won't hurt them much), but there's always a chance of missing, however, three misses in a row don't happen – unless the specters haven't moved. And archmages have two shots = against a spellcasting enemy, may they rest in peace. Plus, if luck hasn't been reduced yet, a lucky shot against a spellcasting enemy is possible – anything is possible!!

it's possible to miss three times in a row, but not four.