Posts from Qualifying round in Dnipro, 2011.

"I have no right to keep silent about this event.

When Petya wrote about the qualifier in Dnipro, I immediately decided to go (since it's only 300 km). I'll say right away that the event was very heartfelt. I arrived at midnight, the navigator couldn't find the right house :) I had to call Petya, but he was 50 meters from the call location. At the apartment, Kostya (Medium) was waiting; we chatted a bit and went to sleep. At 6:20, after oversleeping a little, I rushed to the station to meet Vovchik and Psishe; Romanych (Zhavdet) was supposed to be there too. The station turned out to be nearby. Everyone gathered. And we Town Portal'd to the apartment. There was still an hour and a half before the games started. The guys decided to go get some beer)) But apparently there was no reconnaissance; we spent an hour looking for God knows where, but the kiosk was right next to the house :D We had some beer with fish. (I specifically caught it for the qualifier, 11 hours on the ice at minus 18) Honestly, seeing the satisfied Heroes players and their gratitude more than compensated for the suffering of catching it :)

At 10:00 we were at the club. The admins there were great; they set up our accounts to also have rights to install whatever we wanted. We installed everything everyone needed and started playing (I, for example, streamed all my games — thanks to everyone who watched. Personally, viewers give me extra morale and make me play better).

First game with Petya. I played somewhat uncertainly; maybe the loud music in the club prevented me from getting properly focused (the game was unfinished), but I was in some kind of stupor at the beginning. But already on 123, when control "kicked in" somehow, I became interested in the game!

We finished at 21:00 (by the way, playing at the club with internet costs 5 dollars from 9 AM to 9 PM — a super cheap price). We went to the apartment (10 minutes on foot). We got a pile of beer and food. The evening was spent debating SoD and WoG) And eating fish with beer and salo (I also brought some homemade stuff for people to try).

Overall, little by little, the WoG team seemed to be presenting more reasonable arguments. Eventually, at 2 AM, Romanych suggested playing TK3 3 vs 3)) Couldn't set up a Wi-Fi LAN; we played all-random on my laptop.
We got Tower/Castle, opponents got Swamp/Dungeon. In short, it was unclear until 4 AM. Kostyan and Roma were already asleep. But in the end, the Titans prayed and we won.
Everyone went to sleep saying, "Forget it, tomorrow at 11:00 we go play."
But I woke up at 7:52, blasted Tsoi throughout the apartment — everyone got up — and by 9:20 or so we were at the club. We played. To avoid dragging things out, it was decided to do the draw without our game with Petya. (Since he couldn't come early that day. Actually, Petya's act of not canceling the qualifier was a feat. Because he had surgery on his leg the day before the Heroes players arrived. A recurrence of a football injury.) I was drawn to play against Andrey (Ribelius), who said "only SoD" :D I had to convince him for 40 minutes to play WoG without "everything" (experience bank, tax, etc.) + all-random so that, as he put it, "I couldn't use knowledge of which town is cooler in WoG."
It seemed to me the game would be easy because on 111 on Jebus Cross for Tower I had Brogh in Boots + Pira and Clavius. I saw external dwellings of 2x and 3 Gremlins. But Andrey surprised me; I would even say scared me.
I went to the center on 122. Collected everything I could there. And he came out on 131 with stats around 30 and 13 Ancient Behemoths. It was scary when there were 20 seconds left on the SoD timer, but I needed to take the Dragon Utopia with Neela and break Brogh from his starting position, buy at home, and at the same time move Neela away so that Gervulf wouldn't reach her — I managed it on the last second. In the end, the week helped a bit, but full control and several strong heroes allowed me to pull ahead in stats. (The first Dragon Utopias gave 3 books of Air and two Gladiuses :D ) But I believed that variance is variance, and it should give back) In the end, I didn't find that All 6, but took everything else. Seeing that I could reach Gervulf, Neela, after breaking, took a Book of Fire and an Orator's Tome. I flew for the Vambraces, which were almost invisible on the snow. Managed to bring them to Brogh. And he reached with them.
Brogh 24-29-34-600 13 Angels 33 Naga Queens 48 Wives 300 Gremlins 20 Mages 15 Master Genies 13 Cavaliers. Offense, Defense, Fire, Earth (all books)
Gervulf 21-24-32-300 10 Angels 17 Ancient Behemoths 22 Birds 22 Wives 50 Orcs 18 Cyclops Kings + small fry. Expert Fire +2 Speed + Elixir

A Berserker flies at me in 4 stacks. Painful. But I don't like a Berserker hitting me back. The Bears with +3 morale look dangerous. But the Berserker doesn't go for them because of the war machines. I decide on Mass Slow (I saw the opponent take the Sphere, understanding the battle would be without resistances). In the second round, Implosion on the Bears for 3500. The opponent, flipping through the book, casts Armageddon accidentally — but it turns out dangerous!! I only have two stacks on the board — 21 Naga Queens and 20+ Wives. He has 6 stacks. But besides the Bears, everything covers the Cyclops. I'm tempted to use Meteor Shower to wipe them all.
And 5 Bears remain on the board against the Nagas and Wives. Andrey casts Anti-Magic on the Bears. He gets the first turn and casts Armageddon the next turn. The tension rises. But unlimited mana leaves no doubt about Brogh's victory. Resurrect 10 Angels => first turn next, Anti-Magic on them and fly away. Then 136 Earth Elementals came. The Barbarian's mana ran out, and victory went to Brogh. Immediately, I started getting congratulatory calls (Papik watched with his wife and daughter; they called and cheered! — it was very nice — thank you!)
In the evening, we went home. We invited Petya. Over pizza, beer, vodka, and other delicacies, the creative debate about SoD/WoG continued. Petya greatly strengthened our team; his arguments seemed particularly reasonable to me.

The 3rd day went smoothly. The music in the club no longer distracted. And the games turned out interesting (at least it seemed so to me).
I decided to scribble an SMS. Not finishing the second MM6 would have been unreasonable. By the way, we finished the SMS half an hour before my account at the club would have expired.
I sold the Conflux for 2000 and bought the color for 600. All restarts were used up, and I got a decent deal. Three Griffin Conservatories at the respawn 2+1+2. I broke into the treasure zone on 116, and there was an All 6 right behind the Snipers — my pulse quickened — needed to grab it quickly and then calm down. Plan: take the 2-unit Griffin Conservatory from there, break immediately, snatch the All 6. At the first external dwelling: Minotaurs with a portal, a Citadel, and +10 Troglodytes.
I note that playing with experience after playing without experience was incredibly pleasant.
By clearing Loaches along a chain, the LW finds two more Griffin Conservatories to add to the first 2-unit one. And having taken the All 6, I make a "quiet" move with the Miner (because there's no way to transport the army back and forth). I attack 38 Mages with 1 Angel. I miraculously survive)) with 17 HP. Klava, meanwhile, takes two Griffin Conservatories and the Naga Bank (4th). Reaches level 8. The money is flowing decently. I upgrade 23 Minotaur Kings. And the Miner cuts through the treasure zone. Finds Boots + resources behind a guard of 53 Minotaur Kings (I thought, how fair — this isn't SoD where Boots are behind Gnolls)). I kill them easily. And I decide to hit the Griffin Observatory without a red rush on 131. Teleport 125 Minotaur Kings, and on the other side are simple Bears. So I do it. On 127, the Miner with one Angel and no artifacts risks camping at the Griffin Observatory. Klava, meanwhile, takes Air boosters and two Wood boxes in the treasure zone; by 131 everything is transported.
I attack the Griffin Observatory with stats all over 20+ Magic Arrow, and no one dies) 86 Troglodytes and 1 Master Genie dealt damage (nice to rotate with experience in familiar lands. Disgusting was the day before, losing hundreds of Troglodytes despite stats of 30). I enter the Conflux town with a reserve. The second Griffin Observatory also died without losses (no Slow, only Fire).

The rest was a formality; we ran around for a week. I took the opponent's respawn Dragon Utopia, and another one in the metro that I saw and spotted a passage from the Conflux. And with full control, it was easy to catch up to the opponent for a formal final battle.

Many had already left by this time. For example, Kostyan. (By the way, he showed a decent game in the third match. Looks like the criticism wasn't in vain, respect! What I like about Kostyan is that when he plays poorly, he just says he's playing poorly, rather than making up morale for Dragons in a Dragon Utopia :D Admitting your weaknesses is the first step on the path to strength.)

We decided to finish two unfinished games over the internet. (For me personally, the results don't matter anymore; 1st-3rd place is already secured.)
We went to the station. Saw off Vova and Kolyan. We hung out at the pot-bellied apartment with some more beer. They left at 22:40. And Kostya (Medium) and I killed a few more hours at the Niagara sports bar. We read the forums on the laptop and watched TK3. With that, we took our leave. Kostya went to the station; I went to the bus station.
Each of the participants contributed something to the event called "The Qualifier in Dnipro." Thank you all for that."

rebellious (red, rampart, Kyrre, Kyrre) def Psyche_7 (blue, Tyris, Alkin), Jebus Cross, 136

On the very first day, two dragon outposts were discovered – one behind a group of King Minotaurs and another behind a crowd of Cyclops; a Pegasus outpost was also taken. Gnome and conservatory with red boots (which influenced the outcome of the game) guarded by Scorpios were also in sight; Heroes 7.
On day 114, a GO was found among a group of Dwarves, and nearby, a Centaur outpost was liberated. Kirre had expert Logistics and Ranged skills, along with basic Tactics. A +3 sword was seized from an army of Combat Gnomes, and the guard protecting an Imp with a cartload of wood from an army of Steel Golems was removed.
On the fifth day, both secondary structures (both unguarded) were captured – the main town and a Tower, located precisely at opposite corners of the map on the northeast and northwest sides. There is massive rotation of weak units – after a group of Griffons, a double prison was opened, and a Throne Room-type conservatory was discovered.
On day 116, I took the Dragon outpost behind Minoans. Kirre crashed into a Tower for a book (from the second guild), and another Dragon outpost was discovered, guarded by an army of Hounds (+ Sphere of Permanence).
On the seventh day, through various means, I rushed to the second Dragon outpost, but many resources around it hindered passage. Erdamon, bought from the city as a fast unit, cleared the area, but Kirre still lacked one square to enter the structure. In the main city – a Castle with horses; in the native secondary structure – a Fort with Elves. Kirre is level 8, stats are 7-9-4-2, expert Tactics, Slow, Ranged, Lightning Bolt, Bless, Healing.
On day 123, the third Dragon outpost was taken, and on day 124 – three Angels. By the end of the week, Kirre was halfway to the GO, with stats 15-14-6-7, + expert Resistance, Wisdom, Advanced Armor, basic Earth + Fire Magic from Pandora without level 5, 32 Grand units, 6 Angels, 5 Dragons, 1+67 Captains, 6 Horses, 19 Silverbacks (in the garrison there were also 45 Gnomes and 9 Dryads), Dragons have been built, and in the secondary structure – a Stronghold with Pegasi and Dryads.
In the new week, I repelled the guard protecting the Amulet of Courage with a teapot, but didn't quite make it in time, blocking the path to it as well. The next day, +15 Vivica from Pandora (behind Acidlings), the guard for the Book of Fire from Pandora was defeated again, but I still couldn’t pick up the artifacts myself. The following day - +4 Chaos Hydras, and I move towards the Dragon Utopia. My opponent has long been in the treasure zone, but his army is weaker. Archangels are not yet available. Weak units found their way to the Tower in the treasure zone and started attacking it. In general, the Sword of Justice was revealed behind a group of Archdevils, and nearby – the Book of Earth behind an army of Vampires. The Dragon Utopia turned out to be disappointing – a black orb and Cyclops breastplate. And from this moment began the final chain of events.
On day 135, Kirre breaks into the treasure zone Tower from her native city, and on the way out, she defeats the guards of paired Pandoras behind a group of Giants, takes the first one – 15 thousand gold, doesn't reach the second one. Decided to take it with Silka, a true sorceress level 20, who appeared in the tavern with stats 4-2-9-8, expert in all magics and expert Scouting. All magic was in the Pandora. At first, I regretted that I didn't choose my mother unit. But in the end, everything worked out well. Kirre headed towards two relics. Christian was also there, waiting for a folder to pick up some loot. But then Alkin, the enemy hero, arrived, killed my janitor, and stayed put – either luring me or his turn ended. His parameters are solid; he has Archangels. I break through the guard with Kirre, Silka and Gemmka collect the artifacts, Gnomes and Dryads couldn’t make it by one square and remained near the weak units. I attack Alkin. He has 2*2 Archangels, a pack of Horses, and a pack of Hydras, 80 Archers, a pack of Crusaders... My 10 Dragons were buried by an explosion and fled with a ransom; Expert Resistance with boots providing 15% did not help. End of turn.
The new day began with an attack on Kirre. I have a main stack of 5 Angels, cover the Archers with Hydras, Horses, and Vivicas, just as blue meteors rain down. I cast Armageddon at 950 and flee with 1 Angel and 3 Vivicas. Alkin is left with 8 Horses and 10 Chaos Hydras. Now, the opponent's main hero has run out of moves. Hints appear that maybe I won't surrender yet :) And I respond, saying maybe it's time for him to surrender :p There were still troops… nearby stood fifty Gnomes and almost twenty Dryads, and all unredeemed ones from the secondary structure. But first, I checked Silka's power, took the teapot and Sword of Justice from the main hero, and with a spell of 22, attacked Alkin with 3 Pegasus units and Gnomes +40 Gnomes with those red boots. Immediately casts Armageddon, killing all the horses. The opponent, seeing that after Armageddon my units survived, doesn’t dare to cast anything himself and sends Hydras forward. This is exactly what was needed. Silka hits again with Lightning Bolt – minus 2 Hydras, and flees because she ran out of mana. She immediately redeems herself in the Tower, returns artifacts to those who need them, and then Kirre puts an end to it. Berserk on the only stack of Hydras, then Slow and running around with successive explosions. Thanks for the game!



And these are the maps :smile26:

Last week, Vova and I finished the game of the 3rd round.

Volodymyr (red, Stronghold) lose Piterius (blue, Conflux), 2sm4d(3), WTfull, 214

This game should ideally be the final. Vova's opponent should have been the winner of my game with Forrest, but since there was no time to finish it during the tournament period, it was decided by a general meeting to draw Vova's opponent from the two of us. It fell to me to play.
On 111 I receive a portion of moral pressure for the final:) - an offer from Vova to surrender, backed by Forrest's remark about the presence of three external dwellings of wolves:rolleyes:. Scout near ГО confirmed the presence of one of them, my opponent also has a scout, the approaches to ГО are visible. I have an external dwelling of fire, a path to the teleport behind a pack of blue monks, and another path to the rocks. Since all the restarts were chosen, hope for a meeting re appeared immediately, on 112 I stand guard at the passage to the Stronghold secondary hero, boosted after stables, but on 113 the army, having fought in the depths of the respawn, ends up at one of the losers in the chain, I discovered this only when the last loser kissed the flank of Moner's horse. No autosaves are given, it's a tournament, everything is logical, we stand:(
114 no passage through rough terrain to the reds, little gold, 115 my own respawn is already cleared, papa is messing around on the rocks, broke through a passage to a super treasure zone, guards showed up there that were so tough that there was simply nothing to catch there before the third week with this lineup. I see that at most psychics are being built in the Citadel, but to implement this plan almost all the losers had to drag themselves over the rocks, and all hope was on the teleport behind the monks for the second, or rather the last respawn, where they could have tossed something.
From 115 to 125 Javdet intensified the psychological pressure, literally after each turn offering me to surrender, things were that dismal not only in my eyes. But still, the second half of the second week instilled certain hopes. Another 2 passages to the treasure zones were broken through, a tier 3 Griffin Conservatory taken, a couple of Dragon Fly Hives, a Dragon Utopia highlighted in one of the treasure zones, a book of fire next to it, the corresponding skill available:). And there were also quite a few Dragon Fly Hives in different parts of the map, i.e. it remained to collect all this before they arrive. Besides, I beat boots of speed from the cyclopes, leveled up Moner's Logistics, Scout, Pathfinding and grabbed Navigation in the last slot instead of Tactics, built thousands in all towns.
131-134 cleared the sandy treasure zone, collected 40 dragons, I stand 1 tile from the Dragon Utopia. Roma later called from the train asking what was in it, but it remained unclaimed then, we saved, went to drink beer, see off the remaining guests. Although Forrest offered to surrender, motivating it by saying that right now Vova is taking three Dragon Utopias, he just ran through that super treasure zone that I highlighted on 115, but only 50-99 wolves were visible and that was in the third week, and the army didn't inspire confidence either, so slight doubts arose about the three external dwellings, we decided to finish playing, and both remaining games:).
The Dragon Utopia turned out to be a mini, it gave a Helm of Thunder and some junk, the book of fire nearby turned out to be a much more valuable artifact.
Further there were two options - clear another treasure zone or try to grab the main force on 137 through a passage by rough terrain. I went with the second option, there were three reasons for this: 1) I still believed in the three wolf external dwellings, Tolik said "seriously", in connection with this, against 200+ wolves in the fourth week after three Dragon Utopias and full buying there is simply nothing to catch; 2) my opponent also had a passage to the last treasure zone, I saw this metro, there was zero activity, i.e. I would still have time; 3) my scout near ГО showed the movements of the losers and it was roughly clear where the red capital was, next to the road a prison on the rocks, it remained to hope that the movement would still be enough at least for the prison, and then either success or Town Portal home and ГО into the treasure zone.
The capital was where I assumed, movement was only enough for the prison and to transfer the army to Calh. Then my Trojan horse celebrates success, and papa attacks from the spot and spends the night in the enemy CITADEL:eek:...
The fourth week and the beginning of the second month I spent collecting dragons from all ends of the map and clearing the last treasure zone. Found an external dwelling of angels, put angels on the secondary hero, even though there was simply little gold, found another mini Dragon Utopia and that's it.
When I was eating the last Dragon Fly Hive in the treasure zone, the reds showed up, but there was nothing to catch there except two libraries.
213 I break through ГО and take the red capital again.
214 Tiras takes both libraries and gets within range. I attack:
Moner 30-21-28-22 (440) off, def, fire
7 angels, 20 psychics, 89 dragons, 16 earth elementals, 16 gold flies, 50+ ice elementals and 50+ air elementals
Tiracsor 38-32-40-26 (520) off, def, air,
1 angel, 3 silver pegasi, 24 dragons, 9 thunderbirds, 27 monks, 35 orcs, 95 wolves
I have Armageddon for 1860, in the first round I cast Anti-Magic on the dragons, everything on wait, Vova summoned imps. I cut down the dragons, hit the imps, Vova with wolves destroys my air elementals, but in the second round I have the first move, Armageddon wiped everyone out.

In the second round I played with KostyaN. Got a great layout, leveled Bron and Tazar, it spawned Dragon Fly Hives, Griffin Conservatories, on 126-127 I took three Dragon Utopias and on 131 I broke through ГО, next to a loser with a powerful army, in the very first round I killed all the strong stacks.

The game of the first round with Tolyan remains. After the tournament we ran around a bit, but again on the save. In any case, the top three are already determined and based on the results of the last game only reshuffles within first to third place are possible.

For now the table looks like this:
place/points(games)/Buchholz

1-2 Piterius, Forrest 2(2)
3 Volodymyr 2(3)/5
4 rebellious 2(3)/3
5 Psyche_7 1(3)/5
6 Medium 1(3)/4
7 Javdet 1(3)/3
8 КостяN 0(3)

Also if Forrest wins the last game, Medium, like Psyche_7, will also have a Buchholz of 5.