Posts from About regular and alternative upgrades.

It's my turn to write about the choice between regular and alternative upgrades.

Hunters. Because invisibility and high damage output solve many early battles. Assassins are only strong with their poison attack at a distance, and even that is questionable. So, I choose Hunters for the most part.
Furies. With such high initiative, they will defeat many low-level creatures. Megeras, despite their high maximum damage and immunity to damage reduction, still lose due to their low minimum damage. I choose Furies.
Guardian Minotaurs will be useful for quick battles, and Overseer Minotaurs will be useful against Necromancers. So, they are balanced.
Dark Riders. What could be more important than completely ignoring defense? The ability of Swift Riders is always useless – they could deal more damage with a charge (like Knights). I choose Dark Riders.
Cave Hydras. Survivability is needed, as well as regeneration. Dark Hydras, apart from slightly increased initiative and questionable acid blood, have nothing to boast about. I choose the first option.
Shadow Lords. Let there be at least one ranged unit in the Shadow League. Night Stalkers, despite their simply charming appearance and high stats, are only useful in a few battles. Invisibility is enough for Hunters. I choose Shadow Lords.
Black Dragons are good against Dark Mages, and Red Dragons are good against heroes who rely more on brute force. So, the upgrades are balanced.

Conclusion: 50/50 between the upgrades.

Regarding battles with opponents:
1) 100/0 - Hunters are good for clearing the map, but they won't make much of a difference against a living enemy;
2) 100/0 - A significantly higher initiative is still preferable to slightly higher maximum damage, especially with such a wide range;
3) 100/0 - The second strike more than compensates for all the advantages of captains;
4) 100/0 - See the point above regarding ignoring defense and negligible additional damage;
5) 100/0 - Higher damage and regeneration are preferable to a tiny hit from poison and a slightly higher initiative;
6) 100/0 - See point 1;
7) 50/50 - It depends on the situation here. If the opponent isn't particularly strong in magic, then red is better; otherwise, black is better.

1) 100/0 - Rangers are good at clearing the map, but a living enemy won't be impressed by them;

You say that to cunning players with seven units/pairs of Rangers in their army.

Mistresses of the Shadows. Let there be at least one archer from the Dungeon. These Night Queens, despite their charming appearance and high stats, are only useful in a few battles. Invisibility is enough for the Rangers. I choose the Mistresses.

A lot of time has passed, and I realized that the Night Queens are actually quite good, like more durable invisible units. They are definitely not irreplaceable. The irreplaceable units from the Dungeon are the Megaliths (initiative 14, minimum damage 3, not every Warlock can learn Light magic), Swift Riders ("Random Attack" [or rather, incidental attack] brings very little benefit), and Dark Hydras (so what if they are a little more active? You won't use acid blood very effectively).