Posts from Heroes of Might and Magic IV Duel Tournament: "Wisdom and Luck"

Shnurov (barb) lose Havr (nature) 0-1
In the first Barbarian vs. Nature match with the Book of Order, Havr restarted. The second match was almost identical, but without the book. I took a risk and went without magic (914 Berserkers were comforting), but as usual, I chose an offensive formation instead of a defensive one. The Wolves, after using Wait, reached the Tactician and devoured him.

Shnurov (death) lose Havr (life) 0-2
What a game! Just to clarify, I was sober. First, I bought a Chaos Magician and the Book of Chaos for 4000 gold. When I realized they couldn't be equipped together, I was disappointed and went without Immolation. Havr and I had a good laugh.

Shnurov (life) def Havr (nature) 1-2
Havr used up his restarts and had to play with a Nature faction that was not very favorable.
Here's the setup: a choice between the Book of Life and the Book of Order. 700 Archers, 43 Crusaders, 151 Pikemen, 8 Angels.
I chose Life. Despite Havr having a clear advantage in the setup, he fought until the very end and had a real chance to win decisively. But I managed to pull through.

A short break.

UPD:
Shnurov (order) def Havr (nature) 2-2
Havr probably regrets spending those 2 restarts. Again, Nature. This time with the Sleigh of Hands.
Order turned out to be without Forty, but with the Book of Death. 180 Magicians were effectively harassing. The Tactician fell after Dispel and Poison were used. Havr was probably hoping to survive, so when he had the chance, he didn't heal with Greater Healing. Then the Sleigh of Hands and troop reinforcement.
He cowered in the corner in fear - the Tactician had no Combat skills. During the Sleigh of Hands, the Titans and 20+ Nagas received Vampire Touch and Haste. In general, I overwhelmed him. :)

The rematch is in the evening.

UPD2:
The rematch took place the next morning.
The comeback happened!
Shnurov (life) def Havr (barb) 3-2
Another setup. Havr without restarts and magic. I had the Book of Life, 10 Angels, 43 Crusaders, 600 Archers.
Ring of Health and 2 Armor of Faith. 36 Cyclops couldn't break through any of the heroes on the first attack.
Again, the Sleigh of Hands, again everyone in the corner, again picking them off one by one. In the end, I defeated the Tactician. Havr surrendered.

I confirm everything, random was playing as Shnurov :) The restarts were spent perfectly correctly; there were clear losses due to the inconsistent nature of the faction without proper magic and the Barbarians without Berserkers and magic. It was possible to win the third game, but playing Nature against Life with chariots was extremely difficult. In the others, there was no chance even before the battle started.

It would be ideal to play the small final of the upper bracket and the semifinals of the lower bracket before March 10th. But if necessary, due to the holidays, I will extend the deadline.

Zybr
Why should we rush to play against Shnurov before March 10th? I'm afraid of him now; I don't stand a chance against his confidence. ))) In the lower bracket, can the 2 stages be played regardless of our result, or not?

Zybr
Why should we rush to play against Shnurov before March 10th? I'm scared of him now; I don't stand a chance against his confidence. ))) Can the 2 stages in the lower bracket be played regardless of our result, or not?

Only the losers' final is played without your result. In the grand final of the losers' bracket, the loser of your match will compete for 3rd place. :)

Added 5 minutes later
Theoretically, it turns out that both Zybr and Havr could win the tournament. :)

Theoretically, both Bison and Haven could win the tournament. :)

Everyone who is still in the competition can win the tournament. :)

Why should we rush to March 10th with Shnurov? I'm afraid of him now; I don't stand a chance against his enthusiasm ))) Can the 2 stages in the lower bracket be played regardless of our result, or not?

It would be beneficial for you, but it's not the most critical factor. Usually, in such a system, the winner of the upper bracket gets extra time to rest, but right now, it's not a major concern.

Havr (Death) lost AVS Hunter (Order) 0-1
Right from the start, he restarted the game and stubbornly insisted on playing Nature, and in the second game, he actually started playing it. There was a lot of undead, but against mages, the strategy with the Rogue didn't work.

Havr (Life) def AVS Hunter (Death) 1-1
Now it was my turn, but I didn't get any Angels. Rogue, Sled, 20 Champions, 43 Crusaders, a hundred Pikemen, 4 hundred Archers, and almost 8 hundred Peasants. The Crusaders, coming from the Sled, ate the Rogue, and the game was won.

To be continued :)

Continuation:

I wrote detailed reports, but they disappeared due to a logout :(
I'll repeat it lazily :)

Havr (Chaos) lost AVS Hunter (Chaos) 1-2
I played a good game poorly.

Havr (Chaos) def AVS Hunter (Life) 2-2
Both of us had good games. The opponent had a real chance to win, but he didn't resurrect his Rogue after the exchange, and then the Angels died.

Havr (Nature) def AVS Hunter (Nature) 3-2
My horde, led by Manticores and a Druid with the Book of Nature, turned out to be more interesting than the opponent's horde, led by a Gargantua and a Druid without the book :)

Thanks to the opponent for the games! It was fun :)

Dima and I will only be able to play next week. We're busy with work and holidays.

Thanks to my opponent for the games! It was fun :)

I confirm. It was indeed fun.)))

Lower Final of the Upper Bracket

In the first three games, three towns were passed around in a circle. Whatever Shnurov got in the next game went to me, and in the third game Shnurov took my first decent town.

CTPAHHuK (Academy) def Победитель Havr'а (Stronghold) 1-0
Masses of illusions from 60 genies on the opponent's behemoths decided the outcome of the battle. Against a terribly resistant opponent, my army, consisting entirely of spellcasters, had no chance. Shnurov didn't restart the barbarian, meaning he had a spellbook. By chance, it was neither the book of order nor the book of death. Without illusions, I was hopeless. Rock throwers from the other side, with two throws, deprived me of all sorceresses and all immortals on the tactician. This time, the magic of magic triumphed over the heroes of the sword!

CTPAHHuK (Stronghold) def Победитель Havr'а (Necropolis) 2-0
I specifically stocked up on frenzied bulls against a possible hand of death. But they didn't come in that handy. A cyclops throw, a harpy strike, and hypnotized 1000 imps took down Shnurov's heroes. The book of order rules! Hypnosis rules doubly!

CTPAHHuK (Necropolis) lose Победитель Havr'а (Academy) 2-1
I follow the proven path — under the drawn book of chaos, I patch up the wizard. In battle, my tactician catches poison from the mages and reflects the spells from the enemy commander. Thanks to my zealot, he returns the foulness to the opponent. Hope arises in me. I go for a trade — my tactician is a goner anyway, I blast with Armageddon, and immediately my devils, as planned, should finish off the enemy tactician. But they don't get there! Shnurov cunningly dropped oil, and the teleport range decreased from 50 to 25. I struggle, I writhe, I die in convulsions.

The calculating Shnurov continues to act methodically, taking a restart for his nature and breaking my death. Corpses still fall to me, but now Chaos itself is on the other side!

CTPAHHuK (Necropolis) lose Победитель Havr'а (Asylum) 2-2
I have excellent chances. 1.5 thousand imps and 5 knights take down the enemy mage. My necromancer wants to cast Hand of Death on Shnurov's tactician so that the imps finish him off immediately in the second round. No luck — resistance works. Maybe I should have cast Hand of Death on the 3 Megs? They were the only ones to survive at the end of the battle. Well, and 5 efreet. I killed the rest: quite commendable for me!

Praise doesn't help. Hysteria sets in. Now I'm already familiar with the word "comeback". Berries squeeze tightly! I take one restart after another. First, I break nature with the book of order against life. Then I get a barbarian against order. I try to make two tacticians, buy the bow of precision for cyclops and the shield of thought against order magic. Having leveled the heroes as needed, I see that there are no 8000 to buy 2 artifacts. The last restart

CTPAHHuK (Preserve) def Победитель Havr'а (Haven) 3-2
I return to my usual ways, to the first restarted variant. The spirit of doom hovers over my consciousness. I panic, go sour, fade away. In battle, I start to influence Shnurov in every way. In the chat, I threaten, write that he's doomed. And meanwhile, I hypnotize the crusaders and they kill their own tactician! I told you hypnosis rules!!! I saved my point in every sense of the word!

Thank you for the tense, dynamic battle! Good luck in the next bracket :)

Battle recordings:
Through my eyes there 1, there 2 and there 3.
Through Shnurov's eyes, all in one bottle there.

Confirmed.
I lost the last game solely due to being too relaxed. I let the enemy hypnotize my units, even though I had the means to prevent it. It's frustrating. I had a good setup, but I gave it away.
Thanks for the games :)

NRXIA R AK, how is your schedule looking? When are we going to battle?:)

Bread and circuses!

I'll set those values to NRXIA R AK, and then we'll be on the home stretch.