I hadn't quote the Hard mode thing, I haven't yet played any game at this mode so it's not useful to continue this exchange. In Normal mode I have some arguments but not sure they can apply to Hard mode.
Anyway a more general comment, I quote two things:
- This forum has some keys like resurrection, inquisitor, Time Back, and more. Fine but the game isn't about having zero loss.
- Often (anywhere, any game, any forum) people answer only from an end of game point of view and forget quote the point. A typical example is Pain Mirror, someone quote it but forget mention that it's for the end of game, before it won't be your best attack spell. The end of game point of view is where is possibly the record, like best stats and so on, but it's not the whole real game.
I know people here know it but forget mention it too often, no zero lost isn't the single strategy/tactic and from far. And no end game isn't the only point of the game and in fact a small part of the whole game.
I feel your two answers (Ryastar & Razorflame), felt a bit in the problem, no the game isn't only its end game and no the game isn't that simple, it's not even that there is only one best solution, is the game is lacking so much of depth that there's just one solution to a problem, even just from a character management point of view?
In Normal mode, no, the game keep all its depth and diversity. It's possible that the hard mode isn't well done and in this mode there's only one good character management and one good global tactic looking for zero lost.
That said the game has probably few little flaws in term of some too significant unbalance, I quoted few, Time Back, Griffin/Demon, Inquisitor. Should really all army should include Inquisitor and Griffon/Demon. No for the sake of the game even if it's extremely efficient. Look at Time Back in a same way, give it a break and look at alternatives. But well this thread isn't the place for that, because of its restriction to Hard mode.