Posts from Michurinsk. June 25-27.

I'm already in Moscow, staying with a friend. Just one last push. Everything is going according to plan.

Getting ready to go!

The generous oxygen is taking everyone in his smoke-filled car – 3 seats are occupied by guests from Novosibirsk, and the respectable co-chairman of the Heroes League is vying for the 4th seat, along with some other comrades :)

Excuse me for the impertinent question: why is it smoke-filled? Where did the car get this reputation?

Now, to the point: tremble, Michurinsk, the formidable warrior-heroes are coming! Here are a couple of photos of them when they still looked decent; I don't think anyone will be horrified that their photo has been posted.


I don't know if it's necessary to introduce anyone here; I think everyone already knows everyone by sight?

Added 2 minutes later

2PReDS:
We found your phone. It's in safe hands! We're ready to return it for a reward (2 cans of Baltika No. 0) :)
After yesterday, I concluded that Baltika No. 0 would suit you better :D (there's a photo!)

Kostya, please transfer the photos from those gatherings to Oxy's laptop! Because on my camera, 90% of the shots are of arm wrestling, and in unflattering angles (I was sitting too close).:D

The anniversary tournament has begun! The arrival of guests took place in the evening and night of the previous day, so the party lasted all night, with a surge of adrenaline each time new guests arrived. It's hard to single out anything special; for example, I really enjoyed the morning choral performance with guitar accompaniment of songs by the band "Zhuki." I think AlexGreat would die of envy because it was great, although someone was slightly off-key. In the morning, the participants were ready to start the battles, which took place. Decontaminator (Castle) – Van (Inferno), SoD, 8MM6; Dirty Player (Inferno) – Lexa (Castle); SoD, 8MM6; Cannabis (Inferno) – Scorp (Conflux), SoD, 8XM12; Dust – Dimen; Mizrael (Conflux) – Tema (Castle, Kreg Hek), SoD, 8MM6; Oxygen (Inferno, Marius) – Nagan-4 (Dungeon, Shakti), WT, Jebus. I think the participants will write a much better description of the games after the champ than I can. It's somewhat surprising to see only one WT match between Oxygen and Nagan. One has never played WT and Jebus, the other hardly plays HoMM3 at all. They weren't playing for the tournament; they were just having fun. In general, WT might be difficult to gain traction in Michurinsk. Two people considered such a mix of styles a sin and didn't even show up, the computers strongly refused to support the network, and there were other glitches. It's clear that the problem is with the old computers, but it's easier on SoD. Nevertheless, I hope that after the tournament, the number of forum members will increase by 5-10 people. A separate thank you for the gifts; the bottle of vodka with a silver coin inside is amazing, as is the set of handmade candies, and the balm is also great; thank you, we will use it. And the gift from the Siberians is generally chic; it's a pity to use it. In the evening, we are going to the beach.

P.S. Eric, we need to figure out how we will coordinate, because my phone is with the Siberians, and I will buy the ticket at the last minute and won't be able to tell you the train number.

In the worst case, Dima, you've been to the club before; you know how to find it, on Kommunisticheskaya Street; you can take a taxi if you arrive at the Michurinsk-Uralsky station; it's not far to walk. BUT I will try to meet you in person. We're waiting.

Now, to the point: tremble, Michurinsk, the formidable warrior-heroes are coming! Here are a couple of photos of them when they are still in decent shape,

2 Slonysh. Such falcons always look not just decent, but also dashing! Thank you for the photos. Today, I will try to post photos from the event.

...
In the worst-case scenario, Dima, you've been to the club before, you know how to find it, it's on Kommunisticheskaya Street, you can take a taxi if you arrive at the Michurinsk-Uralsky station – it's not far to walk.
BUT I will try to meet you in person.
We're waiting.
...

I'm afraid the club doesn't open at night.
I ran to buy a ticket during lunch, and it turned out there's a gap in the schedule between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM. So, I arrive at Michurinsk-Uralsky at 5:21 AM, train number 077, carriage 12. Since your schedule is tight, if you can't meet me, I won't miss the hotel.

P.S. Just so you know, a newlywed returned from his honeymoon in our department – don't get too caught up in the congratulations in this heat.:cool:

DID YOU BUY THE MEAT?

I'm afraid the club won't be open tonight.
I ran out at lunchtime to get a ticket, and there was a gap in the schedule between 3:00 PM and 9:00 PM. So, I'll arrive in Michurinsk, Ural, at 5:21 AM, train 077, car 12. Since you have a busy schedule, if you don't meet me, I won't miss the hotel.

I went to meet Dima. The results: Mizrael 1-0, Cannabis - Scorp 1-0, the rest are postponed, about 3 weeks have passed.

Added 9 hours 4 minutes ago
Finally, the last participants arrived - PReDS and Vic, so everyone is here.

The second round is currently being played. In the first round, I'll note Decontaminator's good victory over Van. Flash and Doberman, as well as Lexa and Dirty, are just finishing the first round, and it's almost over.

Round 2. Alexgrid replaced Scorp in the tournament. Vic will replace Stinger later.
Dust (c, Necropolis, Galtran) def Stinger (k, Inferno, Marius), VT.
PReDS (k, Stronghold, Gurnisson) - Mizrael (c, Castle, Kaitlin, ?), SoD, Chaos patch;
Alexgrid (k, Castle, Kaitlin, Loins) - Tema (c, Dungeon, Shakti), SoD, Chaos patch;
Vic - Van
Decontaminator - Cannabis

Dimen, Doberman, Flash, Lexa, Dirty - I'll only draw lots for them.

Unfortunately, the weather is too good, and the participants (and the organizer) are in too festive a mood, so we'll play as much as we can in 3 days.

Added 1 hour 47 minutes ago
Results of the played matches.

Round 1.
1. Decontaminator (k, Stronghold, Kreg Hack) def Van (c, Inferno, Peer), SoD, 8MM6, 133.
2. Cannabis (k, Inferno, Peer, Kirr) def Scorp (c, Conflux, Moner), SoD, 8MM6.
3. Tema (c, Stronghold, Kreg Hack) def Mizrael (k, Conflux, Moner, Gunnar), SoD, 8MM6.
4. Dust (c, Castle, Kaitlin, Das) – Dimen (k, Stronghold, Kreg Hack), SoD, 8MM6.
5. Dirty Player (k, Inferno, Octavia, Nimus) – Lexa (c, Castle, Valeska, Peer), SoD, 8MM6.
6. Flash (k, Fortress, Bron) draw Doberman (c, Castle, Kaitlin, Dessa), SoD, 8MM6, Chaos patch.
7. Stinger technical draw PReDS.

Lexa and Dirty, as well as Dust and Dimen, are in a deep endgame; the games are interesting, it's a pity to interrupt them, but they're finishing them anyway, and then they'll start the second round.

Unfortunately, PReDS only arrived this morning, and he was given a draw with Stinger, but Tema didn't object.

Round 2.
Vic replaced Stinger, and Scorp was replaced by Alexgrid. Since the main thing was that players from the same city didn't meet each other, and there was no downtime, there was a slight shift in the rounds. So, Vic is actually playing in the 3rd round for Stinger.
1. Dust (c, Necropolis, Galtran) def Stinger (k, Inferno, Marius), VT.
2. Tema (c, Dungeon, Shakti) def Alexgrid (c, Castle, Valeska, Loins), SoD, 6LM10.
3. PReDS (k, Stronghold, Gurnisson) – Mizrael (c, Castle, Kaitlin), SoD, 8MM6, Chaos patch.
4. Decontaminator (k, Fortress, Vistan) – Cannabis (c, Rampart, Kirr), SoD, 8MM6, Chaos patch.
5. Wic (k, Castle) – Van (c, Rampart).

Two more pairs are just starting the second round.

Tema, Vic - are playing in the 3rd round.

Added 10 hours 35 minutes ago
Great matches were played today. Lexa finally won against Dirty with a final castle assault. The rest were postponed.
Then there was a barbecue, swimming in the river, and everyone got along. Let someone say that the festival was a failure. :rolleyes:

A complete report will be available sometime on Monday; tomorrow, the second round will be completed, and the third round will begin.

...
Great matches today. Lyokha finally won against Derty with a final castle assault. The rest were postponed.
Then there was barbecue, swimming in the river, and general camaraderie. Let anyone say that the festival was a failure. :rolleyes:

A full report will be available sometime on Monday; tomorrow, the second round will conclude, and the third round will begin.

Shameless lie:mad:, I won against Mizrael with a score of 136 - Mikha messed something up with the transfers on 134, and as a result, despite the blue color, his Torrosar defended in the stronghold against my Gurnisson with only 12 mana, having 9 attack power.

Something like

PReDS (red, barbarian, Gurnisson, Gurnisson) def Mizrael (blue, castle, Kaitlin, Torrosar), 136, 6LM10.

Chaos patch, 200%.

Guys, that was something else :) What kind of tournament was that? :) We were drinking, partying, swimming, and playing poker. We completely forgot about sleep. On Thursday night, we were drinking with Eric, Mizrael, and Scorp. Since the last two turned out to be teetotalers :), the two bottles of vodka (after a proper beer warm-up) were mostly consumed with Eric. And when Muscovites and Siberians showed up in the morning with a bunch of beer, I started to have vague doubts about whether it was a good idea to play in the tournament the next day. :) And so it happened - at 10 am, my lifeless body collapsed in the hotel. Thanks to the kind maid who helped me get to the room. :)
Thus, on Thursday night, the main question was decided - would I play in the tournament? :) Alcohol won. The next two days were spent playing Heroes, hanging out by the river, and playing poker at night. Everything was great, fun, and very friendly. Except for Scorp's constant threats to beat everyone up. :)
Special thanks to Oxy and Dust for the guitar. It's been a while since I had so much fun screaming along to the guitar. :)
I'll get to Cheboksary tomorrow, maybe I'll remember something else. Thanks to everyone!

Wic (red, Fortress, Bron, Alkin) def Artem (blue, Stronghold, Crag) @ 8mm6a, 133

In the early game, I started building a couple of Castle-Swamp combinations, but for some reason, my opponent chose Barbarians instead of the remaining three options.

On turn 111, the tavern offered Alkin, Cilia, and Grinya. There were two paths available, a hidden spot for a Wyvern, and some gold. Alkin immediately received a log artifact. Let's play.

By the end of the week, I cleared my starting area and two adjacent zones. I spotted a Companion, but Alagar was guarding it, so I decided it wasn't worth attacking him.

From turn 1 to 6, I built up my castle, focusing on increasing the number of Gnolls. At night, Art stationed himself at the base to increase the number of Basilisks. On turn 117, I had a tough battle against 80 Golems, with a Wyvern stack hidden nearby. The Lizards quickly ran out of arrows, so I had to finish them off with the rest of my troops. I lost the Wyvern, a Basilisk, and 5 Lizards.

The only downside is that the path to the center is blocked by a one-way exit. But I scouted the entrance.

On turn 121, I have two good attack stacks: 10 Wyverns and 20 Basilisks.

I took a home resource (2), killed the Companion, and there were two more resources nearby: 1 and 4. In the last one, I took some heavy losses, losing almost all of my Basilisks.

On turn 131, I'm heading towards the center, and along the way, I take another resource (3). There are 20 Vampires in the Pandemonium.

I block one of the exits, jump through, and there's another one-way exit. It's the same one I've been observing since the first week, where my opponent has been lurking. I block the extra exit, jump out, kill a weak unit, and run towards my opponent's main base. I'm doing well – I got an experience log, boots, and gloves.

Seeing 10 Angels, my opponent surrendered.

Thanks for the game!

Well, I'm home now:( And Oxy's spaceship, after dropping me off in Podolsk, sped off further north.

Here's a brief summary from my perspective:
I barely recognized Vik, who got a haircut like Collin's.
I received a prize from Eric Stinger for the most beautiful game, in the form of Che Burashka. I was afraid they would make me play Heroes, but after talking to people upon arrival, I calmed down and even honestly played one game, because it was against Mizrael, and on Chaos.
Then I played another game with Dust in the second round on Hot Spot. During the festivities, Oxygen invented a cocktail called "Sex with Stinger," the recipe of which is classified, and they will only serve it to those who ask with Artem's permission at future Heroes gatherings (Stinger himself, by the way, didn't try it, and he shouldn't).
Kostya (Dirty), who said the terrible phrase "I'm thinking of quitting Heroes" on the day of my arrival, admitted on the way from Michurinsk that it's not quite time yet.
By the river, there was an attempt to have a discussion about AK, but the wise Sanal said, "Who wants vodka?" - and everyone calmed down, realizing that there are more interesting things. We just congratulated Mizrael.

In short, I can't tell everything, so I'll summarize it in one word (although Pasha might censor it).

AWESOME!

P.S. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos.

P.S. I'm looking forward to seeing the photos.

I'm already pressuring Alexgrid's regular photographer to upload everything as soon as possible.

There's so much to write about. Just a quick rundown…

The weather was amazing. If even one of those "…delightful evenings in Russia…" had been wasted in a club, I wouldn't have forgiven myself.

What amazing people the Siberians are, how easy and pleasant it is to communicate with them, as if you've known them for years.

Oxygen. Oh, how he plays the guitar and how he sings. The audience sat there with their mouths open.

Doberman. This guy knows how to enjoy life, that's for sure.

The "Sex with a Stinger" cocktail. The recipe was born from the collective unconscious creativity. You could easily use this mixture to burn through tank armor.

A blitz chess game with Dirty. He beat me, after I had won 4-5 games, and then lost about a dozen in a row. Alas, youth prevails.

Mizrael, Scorp, PReDS… as always, they provided great company and created a friendly atmosphere.

A gift from Ketch. The Siberians waited until the last moment and then presented me with a branded mug from my classmate. Now I know what I'll always drink my beer from and remember my friend. Thank you, I'm touched.

As always, I chatted with Vik and Stinger, and there was plenty to talk about. The positives far outweigh the negatives.

Shashlik (grilled meat). About fifteen Heroes fans talked to their heart's content on a variety of topics; it's not often that such a group of Heroes fans gets together.
Regarding the dispute about the Artifact Key, Sanal found a really great solution. I suggest we continue to respond to everyone who wants to argue about this topic on the forum in this way.

Saying goodbye to the guests. The last one to leave was Decontaminator. We raced in the car to catch the Elista bus, but we made it in time.

P.S. I was told so many kind words that I have no doubt I did everything right.
Thank you, guys, for coming.

To Nagan: Respect and only exclamation marks!!! I read it and was incredibly envious!!!!! Well done, guys!!! I really wanted to join your summer madness, but the renovation and, most importantly and annoyingly, the car being in the service waiting for a necessary part, didn't allow it... Oh well, from Saratov to Michurinsk isn't that many kilometers, especially by car and in the summer... I can only hope that these events will become a tradition and next summer, if not in Michurinsk, then in some other city, all the "heroes-obsessed" guys can get together :smile02: Guys, you're awesome!!!!

We're eagerly awaiting the photos.
I forgot to write a huge thank you to Eric-Naganu and you, Raduga :) "My first dissertation on apple tree seedlings" - that's something else. :) Seriously, Eric, your patience is something to be envied. If I were in your place, I would have killed half of the "relaxing" people (starting with myself). Thanks again for the gathering.

If I were in your place, I would have killed half of the "relaxing" players (starting with myself).

Indeed, Eric's valiant attempt to sleep under the "Battery" was quite something. :D

I'd also like to share some oxygen-fueled impressions from the mega-tournament: How it all began: A call on ICQ: "So, are we going?" -(Me) "I've got some issues, let's do it tomorrow morning." "No way, tomorrow's out of the question! :smile19: :smile13: :smile14: :smile03:" ... And just like that, all the issues were instantly resolved. We arrived at the club, where Eric and Alexander (Dobryak, also known as Dober) were still sober, along with the admin, waiting for the guests/us. There was also Oxy, constantly coming and going from Moscow, plus the assembled team from Siberia, and Stinger, who was basically held hostage :), After calling them, we decided to drop off the luggage at Eric's apartment, which was easy to find using GPS, and then explore the sights of Michurinsk... the monuments, the fountains, and most of all :smile54: the bench at the foot of the waterfall in the park :smile12:. In the evening, Eric finally decided to show us his secret spot where we had planned to play football/hang out at the beach/do some doping/have a barbecue/go to the river, etc. As we walked past the field, we were already mentally dividing ourselves into teams and trying on our cleats. A little further on... there was water, i.e., a river :smile26:. The decision was made: only those with a water sign in their zodiac would go swimming - Dober and I (water sign :smile12:) were the lucky ones. On the way out of the beach, we just made it to a store that was closing, and the lights were already being turned off. We entered a "teleport" that took us all over the city for 50 rubles :), and ended up at... well, you guessed it, his place, where there was a feast... a feast... a feast, and finally, we connected with the guys from Moscow. In the early morning, we were told to go there... or not go there... go here instead... and then we met up. An hour later, Sanal arrived... we met up and continued. The next morning, everyone was in fighting mode :smile26:. We sat down at the computers, and after a brief discussion about versions and templates, we started playing. But the thermometer outside, and even the computers, seemed to be saying the same thing: "You guys should be at the river," but we stubbornly resisted/or rather, not everyone resisted. And that's exactly what happened. After lunch at the club, we even managed to play a few more games. Alexei (Dust) had a great game, defeating Slip and Stinger. My game against Mikhail (Cannabis) was next. Everyone was just waiting for me to give up after I lost three psychic units, but I said, "Let's continue." Five minutes later, the conversation turned to the river, and I joined the expedition... At night, there was a poker game with the locals :) and two non-local champions. The neighbors were very happy with us :smile04:, so they didn't even come over in the morning. They just met Eric at the bus stop and wished him well - they were very happy for us. The morning of the second day, Eric walks in: "So, who wants to play in the tournament? :smile12:" The rest of us were relaxing and joining the rest of the group for a barbecue by the river, where Preds and Vik, along with the local crowd, had already arrived... and there was honey and beer flowing :smile54:. On the way back from the river, we decided to take a dip :D. That's what a great group of people can do to you. The third day was a mix of packing up and relaxing, depending on who you were. IVAN, KONSTANTIN, ALEXEI, SANAL - Well done :smile12: for managing to break away and join this cultural extravaganza :smile12:. THANK YOU ALL FOR SUCH AN AMAZING TIME!!! Welcome back anytime :smile13:. P.S. Eric was great as always, meeting and accommodating everyone :smile41: ;) /That's enough for now, or I'll want to go back today/

I'd like to add my two cents.
It all started with a get-together at a pub in Moscow, after which PReDS demonstrated amazing logistical skills navigating the Moscow metro, and Stinger made a heroic decision to travel to Michurinsk, having only 100 rubles with him.

The next day, I had a lot of work to do, plus, to prevent my car from turning into a "gas van," we decided to leave at 6 PM. Moscow traffic had other plans, and we only left at nine. We arrived without any incidents, listening to a mix of Leningrad's music and children's songs (this wasn't "Sex with Stinger" :)).

Upon arriving, we made a couple of clumsy attempts to get to the train station so that the guys from Siberia could buy some town portal scrolls for their journey back to Novosibirsk. After an unsuccessful attempt to buy tickets, we finally decided to get down to business – buy beer and relax.

At the apartment, we were greeted by Eric, Scorp with Mizrael, and Dober's friend. There was beer, a little poker, a guitar, and Eric trying to get some sleep. The next day was the tournament. Well, enough has already been written about the games, except that no one mentioned Stinger's know-how – upgrading demons to level 112 on the campaign map, which forced a surrender and the subsequent "papal move" © – sleeping in two chairs right in the club.

Then there were kebabs with swimming, a lot more poker, etc., etc., but much has already been written about this – I won't repeat myself.

A big thank you to Eric for his hospitality; everything was great!
Dust, Dyrty (© Eric), Van, Sanal – well done for coming despite the distances.

And finally, a few photos: