Posts from [REPORTS] Reports from the 7th online HOMM3 tournament '08.

Group 4

Neoandy (red, swamp, Tazar, Tazar) def RetroFM (blue, Fortress, Valeska, Gunar) 2SM4D(3), 141

Thanks for the game!

Thanks for the game. Ignore.

Neoandy (red, Castle, Valeska, Valeska) def Pit - in sake of LM (blue, Rampart, Kyrre, Kyrre) 2SM4D(3), 211

Start with building archers, but there are only 20 of them. I have Tazar, I wanted to put him in the shooters, but the resource struggle required Valeska's bonuses, who stayed in the main army after all, even though towards the end of the game Tazar was much more needed. 2 paths, one to the GO, and one to the Town Portal with mages. Farming a huge respawn on the first native week and building Cavaliers in the castle. Plan for week 2 - Angels in the castle, since there is an external dwelling for them. The secondary town turned out to be Dungeon and I already regret having colored the external dwelling of pikemen. With Dungeon, scouting reveals corners of 2 Dragon Utopias in other caves. The generator was somehow crooked and it turned out that at the exit of the teleport to the underground Dungeon along the road, there was its own exit from a cave into the swamp, the path through which led to another Dungeon, whose respawn my hero was farming off-road. In total, having lost one Cavalier due to the terrain against Obsidian Gargoyles, I have 7 Angels by week 3 +2 Angels from the Griffin Conservatory. The swamp terrain, scanned by scouting, shines like treasure, there wasn't even a dead Gnoll. My heroes barely manage to scout a whole 6 Dragon Utopias!
I can't resist and at the start of week 3 with stats 5-7 I dive into the first - a level 2 or level 3 (I don't remember). I come out with only 9 Angels, while 100+ Pikemen, 8 Champions, and the rest of the crew all perished there - reward is a Shield +4 all, Fire book, and money for a new population of Angels. The thought of Armageddon on such a massive stack of Angels was just delightful. I wait out the end of the week, luckily I had Expert Pathfinding and I look for Dragon Fly Hives, to have a second attacking stack for the Dragon Utopia. In week 4, with better stats and 13 Angels, I break into 2 max-level Utopias. Meanwhile, I see the opponent in the cave grabbing +2 Speed and moving toward the Utopia. I send a scout there, who steals the artifact +3 Morale/Luck from right under Kyrre's nose, who had just taken it from the second Utopia's guardians. I finish off the 4th Utopia and now have almost the entire Angelic Alliance set except for the Sandals of the Saint, the Air, Fire, and Earth spell books. However, my expert skills were Air and Water - Earth magic wasn't offered even once all game. But I managed to use Town Portal somehow. It was late, and we decided to fight - I didn't want to waste time on 2 more Utopias (though 2-3 days would've been plenty) and I didn't even upgrade the Archers, since I also had the Thunder Helmet and Titan's Cuirass + the Whirlpool in the Dungeon. The opponent also had 2 Dungeons, but my Bolt could only do 900 damage. We met in battle - and it started - I use Expertise and mass Haste - I chop a bit, but there's just a sea of troops. The survivors from among the shooting Medusas, Basilisks, and Giants break through and take out a couple of Angels. I think - well, time to boom, or else Armageddon won't be in my favor - the mouse played me a trick - double-clicked and I cast Land Mines :smile11:. The Angels get hit by a Bolt - also Magic Power 16 and with Sorcery, but the shooter's element was probably Air. Round 3 - hehe - Recanter's Cloak :(. Bolt on the Elves, but still a decent amount of meatshields, and I only have 4 Angels and a few Archers - I surrender - need to upgrade. I set up chains for supply from external dwellings and Dungeons, take 2 Pandora's Boxes on the native resp for 25k Gold out of boredom by the end of the week - that's where the money was. But after the Utopias, gold was no issue. Kyrre herself, without waiting for a new population, came with a meat shield from 2 Dungeons (Basilisks and Medusas), unnoticeably removed the Recanter's Cloak, and attacks. But this time I have 8 Archers. They shot a Chain Lightning, which served as the signal for the slaughter. I still wanted to show off Armageddon and cast Anti-Magic on the Archers, completely forgetting that without the Earth skill the desired effect wouldn't be there. I get messed up by Chain Lightning again. Well, at that point Valeska's patience finally ran out - she also massacred almost all of blue's troops with Chain Lightning, while the Archangels hit the Harpies. Anyway, because of the late hour, we both messed up at the end, but with such Utopias I think with proper play from both sides - the result wouldn't have changed.

Thanks for the game!

The games have been added to the table up to this point.

TaKo (Blue, Tower, Valya, Turis) def Kiril-Zavoevatel (Red, Piriedam Tower, Piriedam) 2SM4D(3), 115
We used all the restarts... In the end, I managed to generate a small respawn point - but Turis is in the tavern, and there are 3 nests (pikemen, archers, griffins) - which inspires optimistic thoughts. All the nests were immediately captured, a Necropolis was taken, but in the end, since the opponent, among other things, got a bad respawn point (after all the restarts), he lost on turn 115 on neutral creatures...

TaKo win.

Thanks for the game!

Neoandy (red, Castle, Valessa, Valessa) def Pit - in sake of LM (blue, Rampart, Kyrie, Kyrie) 2SM4D(3), 211

Confirmed.
There were two paths - one immediately ran into a block of Dread Knights guarding a telescope and an Imp cache, the other led to a secondary town. The only passage through the wasteland over grass also turned out to be blocked - 20-49 Evil Eyes and strongly resembled a dead end. Therefore, I had to go to the secondary town through 19 Medusas. The secondary town turned out to be a Dungeon; I spent the entire first week on its territory. There were no gems on the map; I managed to get Unicorns with a Castle on day 7 by a miracle, trading all resources at two markets. I bought out Medusas from an external dwelling and the Portal of Summoning.
At the start of the second week, new problems - little money, no wood for upgrading Elves. Managed to claim a couple of treasure chests, take a crypt; Kyrie buys out in the capital, takes Unicorns and breaks through the Evil Eyes. There turned out to be quite a few resources near the castle; I managed to buy an army, break through the Dread Knights, and take another Dungeon.
Third week - I find the Conservatory; it turned out to be minimal and was taken without problems, although attacking anything bigger was dangerous - the army only had Unicorns, Elves, and Medusas... Kyrie has expert Earth Magic, but no Slow - that spell couldn't be found until the end of the game, even though I built 3 Mage Guilds, visited a dozen Chapels, and collected about 15 scrolls... Next, I found a Shield +6 and a Crown +4, visited the Arena. Found and captured external dwellings for Elves and Centaurs.
I only managed to get into the Treasury by the start of week 4. Exchanging all resources for gold, I gathered an army to assault Dragon Utopias. Found and took 2 of them, which gave decent stat boosts, an Air Spellbook, and the Cloak of Displacement. A large army advantage allowed me to win the first battle on turn 145, but a catastrophic mistake followed - instead of moving towards the red capital or dispersing with fast units to occupy the town on turn 147, I positioned all my forces near my own capital, and as a result, I was short on movement... Although even with the growth, Valessa was beatable - but when all I had left were Medusas and Harpies, the anti-morale effect on both stacks did not allow them to retreat...
I'm glad that even with such an unfortunate setup, I managed to put up a fight and had chances to win until the very end.
Thank you for an extremely interesting game.

Decontaminator (red, swamp, Tazar, Lacus, resource) def NumOne (blue, Castle, Turis, Turis, resource) 2sm4d(3) 144
No rests as far as I recall. Lizardmen not built. Roads are slow, with blocks on them. Building flies. Lacus broke through the blocks, a gnoll external dwelling is visible. Decided to take a rest later if needed.
On 113, both mines were taken, 2 gnoll external dwellings, Lacus got Expert Tactics and received Archery - whatever, decided not to take a rest, it seemed I would soon get to my native secondary. Especially since ГО is on Teleport - there's time.
On 117, 1-4, 6 in Citadel, Marketplace and Fly upgrade. Lizardmen external dwelling taken, passage to the Conflux secondary broken through. Lacus has Expert Tactics and Archery.
On 127, Mage Guild, Blacksmith, +1000, Castle at home. +1000 at Dungeon secondary, +1000, 1-4 at Conflux secondary (I made a mistake, wanted to build it first, but noticed too late there wasn't enough gold). Chain Mail +4 Attack taken, Crypt without Vampires, External Marketplace (helped a lot all game). Lacus is Expert Logistics, Basic Wisdom.
On 134, Lacus captures the Bow +5% and takes the maximum bonus bank :smile20:
On 135, max Griffin Conservatory. Lacus is Expert Wisdom, Advanced Air.
On 136, Lacus broke into the treasure zone, took a Hive for 4 Waspworts, Expert Air. Turis appears through the adjacent secondary.
On 137, Lacus takes another Hive for 6 Waspworts, captures the Shackles, and scatters home. Good that he planned a chain to home and removed the Shackles before scattering))). Turis, after killing a couple of horses, turned back home.
On 141, didn't forget about the red rush, but forgot to put on the Shackles(((. Lacus 12-6-4-4 (40 mana) Expert Tactics, Archery, Wisdom, Logistics and Air, 70 Lizard Warriors, 4 Angels, 15 Waspworts, 16 Griffin Veterans, 3 Behemoths, 1+1 Griffin Flies, Tent - Turis Expert Leadership, Tactics, Attack, Wisdom, Advanced Air, 14-8-4-5 (5 mana) 14 Griffins, 8 Monks, 52+1+1 Pikemen, 6 Angels and 11 Marksmen. Turis, killing 3 Angels, 8 Waspworts, loses 5 Angels, 7 Monks, 11 Marksmen and 14 Griffins, buys back.
On 142, Lacus, spitting on herself for not using the Shackles, ran to the previously scouted Griffin Conservatory.
On 143, taking the Conservatory for 2 Angels, upgrading, and buying out the Behemoths and remaining troops, Lacus runs back from where Turis came.
On 144, Turis dies in the maximum Dragon Utopia.
From week 3, a glitch occurred - Turis's Tactics stopped working:eek:
Thanks for the game and the experience.

TaKo (Blue, Tower, Valya, Turis) def Kiril-Zavoevatel (Red, Piriedam Tower, Piriedam) 2SM4D(3), 115

I NEED HELP!!! Neutrals and monsters surrounded me from all sides. BUT that still doesn't excuse it; even if I had developed, TaKo would have crushed me. She developed very well and turned out to be much, MUCH stronger than me.
THANK YOU!! for the game!

Decontaminator (red, swamp, Tazar, Lacus, resource) def NumOne (blue, Castle, Turis, Turis, resource) 2sm4d(3) 144
Confirmed.
A strange map, a strange game. :) Thanks for the experience!

nazio (blue, Castle, Valeska, Gunnar) def StickyFingaz (red, Rampart, Ivor, Ivor) 2sm4d(3) 136
Before this, we tried to start a game but couldn't – we used all the restarts and decided to start without any restarts next time...
In the end, Valeska came to me with only 4 archers, and the buildings weren't constructed, but Gunnar appeared in the tavern, and it immediately became easier to think :) ... on the first turn, we placed units in the castle and revealed a portal of glory! and 2 creatures... one simple, one strong... on the 3rd week, I upgraded Gunnar with enhancements, took the minimum consul, and with 3 angels and all the meat, I went through the adjacent secondary path to Ivor, and on the same day, I met him... while I was thinking about how to manage it so that he wouldn't run away, the opponent surrendered and left the game... Thanks for the game.

Nagan-4 (red, Dungeon, Shakti, Shakti) def Lost Paradise (blue, Rampart, Ivor, Ivor), 2sm4d(3), 125.

The layout turned out lousy, only a harpy dwelling, a tiny respawn right in the center. But Shakti with Troglodytes immediately left the respawn and took a secondary — Castle. There was more gold there, which allowed building Manticores with a castle by 117. On 121 a hive with 8 Wyverns was broken, on 123 Ivor pops up on my respawn.
The battle.
Shakti (6,3,1,3). 11 spell points, has Haste.
8 Wyverns, 6 Manticores, 21 Beholders, 5 Medusas, 127+1+1 upgraded Troglodyte.
Ivor (2,6,2,1).
36 upgraded Elves, 5 Unicorns, 27 Centaurs, 4 single Centaurs.

With Tactics, I managed to get closer, then successfully cast Haste on the Troglodytes and they smashed into the Unicorns. The single Centaurs didn't have time to deploy; the Wyverns still reached the Elves on turn 2, so the losses were minor.
Shakti was already a Logistitian; on 125, attack on the blue capital.
Shakti — 8 Wyverns, a Manticore, 12 Medusas, 12 Beholders, 12+12 Harpies, around a hundred Troglodytes.
The opponent didn't have enough gold to buy everything from the castle, so the siege was easy.

Thanks for the game!

nazio (blue, Castle, Valeska, Gunnar) def StickyFingaz (red, Rampart, Ivor, Ivor) 2sm4d(3) 136
I confirm.
At the beginning of the game, due to inexperience, I immediately lost 32 centaurs. Exploring the respawn point (a small one) slowed down; all chests contained 1000 resources, and I thought about giving up. After the first week, only unicorns appeared in the castle. In the second week, almost nothing changed. In the third week, I started to develop slowly, but then I saw Gunnar. I rushed home (I didn't have much money; engaging in battles with neutrals and paying ransom at home would leave me with no money to buy troops), but the fast-moving Gunnar caught me halfway.
Thanks for the game!

Nagan-4 (red, Dungeon, Shakti, Shakti) def Lost Paradise (blue, Rampart, Ivor, Ivor)
Thanks for the game!

Confirmed.
Ivor has few elves, but he has a stash not far from his town. As usual, he wanted to upgrade the elves and then start a massive cleanup, but for that, he needed wood, and I got lost trying to find the lumber mill near my town – first, I sent one scout and he ended up in a dead end, then another, and near the castle, there were 2 more piles of gold guarded by gnolls, and I also had to take care of them, as the town turned out to be poor. Instead of doing all that right away, Ivor decided to attack with a group of skeletons... In the end, Ivor ran upwards with dark elves and ran into 20-49 dogs, but he didn't attack them. They were guarding, as it turned out later, the passage to his main secondary town. Luckily, he didn't go for it – it would have taken a very long time. Then he went down, there were dwarves, a crypt, chests (much better), a passage to the Dungeon along the road (I immediately realized that the game wouldn't be long, since red was on top), and there was also a teleport. I left everything else for now and went to the teleport. It turned out that this teleport is a 3-day journey from my town to the red player's town. I realized that I should have placed a guard closer to the elves earlier, but it doesn't seem critical yet. Shakti's attack. At the beginning of the battle, I talked to my mom on the phone :D and messed up with the unicorns – I could have just waited; Shakti has a magic power of 1, and the haste spell lasts for 1 turn, but I immediately placed the unicorn on top, not close to the elves – I thought I was protecting against the fat wyverns and manticores and even calculated the speed, taking into account the possible haste of the troglodytes (for some reason, I got 8 :confused:). It turned out to be 9, and the troglodyte successfully attacked the unicorns. In general, it was probably a loss anyway, as 8 wyverns were dominating, but... what happened, happened.
Thanks for the game.

Dubrovin Pavel (Blue, Rampart, Kirr, Tamika) def Dreamcatcher (Red, Dungeon, Shakti, Shakti), 1.3.3. As part of the 7th online tournament. In the first week, Tamika came in second, and I started developing her. There were only 7 Elves, and one path was blocked by 10-19 Monks guarding the Naga Bank and the Ore Mine. The other path led to the Citadel's respawn point and was also guarded by double protection (Fanatics and 20-49 Wood Elves), so I went to secure resources. I obtained Tactics, Earth Magic, Air Magic, and Logistics, but the expected Necromancy remained Basic until level 11. I placed Unicorns in the Castle. Two Confluxes were spotted at the respawn point, but it would take about 5 days to reach them. In the second week, I secured a secondary Citadel, but I couldn't place Dragons because there were only 4 Crystals in the expected deposits, which was the minimum, and even after combining everything, I was still short 2. In the third week, I secured the Capital, a minimal Naga Bank, and Dream surrendered. Thank you for the game!

Pavel(517) (blue, Rampart, Kir, Kir) def Lider1 (red, Fortress, Tazar, Tazar) 145

He made a very successful move and disrupted the entire chain!)))

Thanks for the game!

Pavel(517) (blue, Rampart, Kyrre, Kyrre) def Lider1 (red, Fortress, Tazar, Tazar) 2sm4d(3) 145

VERY luckily rushed out and broke the whole chain )))

Thanks for the game !!!

We started without rests. On the first 1-6, native secondary skill, broke.

On the second hydras in the castle, +1000 in each. In the secondary wyverns. Two medusa dwellings taken.

On the third external dwelling of hydras, didn't take it earlier because it was guarded by a horde of gold golems, and there wasn't enough money to buy troops. Sword +3 to attack, shield +4 to defense. Guard to the barbarian secondary broken through, but not captured. 1 beehive taken. Bron with 7 peasies in the tavern.

On the 4th I beat the guard at the next respawn, another native secondary skill!!, through it you can pass to the opponent, but I decide not to rush, take the external dwelling of peasies, nagabank, arena, and get into the treasury. I take 2 more beehives, one maximum. I see a Dragon Utopia standing - I head to it, next to it a little book of air behind a horde of gr. vamps. OK! Great! I'm alive! I anticipate an easy victory. Reinforcements are also bought, and rush to the main hero, I plan to drop them in the second castle of hydras (maybe with the castle ;)).
Tazar is one!!! square short of the Dragon Utopia, well I think I'll haste, awesome! there's a scout hero standing nearby with troops. Tazar: Expert defense, tactics!, offense, resistance, and most importantly air with the intention to cast second, after mass slow., primary earth. And then of course Kyrre runs out!!! Oh damn! He gives Tazar a thrashing, the second scout hero, and the scout hero with the army.

Well that's basically it. When you attacked, I was in a state of shock, couldn't even believe it was actually happening.

Thanks for the game!

PS: It had a sobering effect on me!!!

And you didn't break any chains, but you caught my main hero, that's for sure. He shouldn't have been standing there on haste...