Is there a fun style of expert play *other than* no-loss?

[Rhygadon]

So. I love both KB:TL and KB:AP, and I've enjoyed every HOMM game since the beginning (and even played the original KB, though the memories are very dim!). The Disciples series too.

One problem with all these games, though, is that if you're playing "seriously" (i.e. on high difficulty, and aiming for stringent goals like high scores or low completion times) they all collapse into a certain very finicky style of play, and in particular they all wind up requiring an emphasis on no- or nearly-no-loss battles.

This problem is particularly severe in KB, since even if you have plenty of money, replacement units may not be available, and even if they're available, traveling back across several continents to replace them is just *tedious*.

No-loss play is certainly fun, and gives that feeling of utter mastery. But it has at least two disadvantages: First, it's quite slow (more reloading, more scouting for unguarded resources, more extra turns spent delaying the end of a battle to dig up chests, kill small stacks with traps, &c.). Second, it narrows the range of fight experiences, since you never wind up fighting truly overwhelming enemies. The question you have to ask yourself before starting a fight is "can I dominate this opponent so completely that I emerge unscathed," rather than "do I have a chance of winning this fight at all?"

I also have this nagging feeling that no-loss play winds up narrowing the game, since many interesting spells/items/units just don't fit that style of play. (Most obvious are the units with powers triggered by loss of half the stack, but there are plenty of others.) Similarly, some choices (Resurrect, Inquisitor, Paladin, Sacrifice) become dominant almost regardless of your hero and army type.

So my question is: has anyone found a style of *interesting*, *challenging* play that doesn't involve such concern about losses? For example, I'm considering starting a game on Normal difficulty, but completely banning reloads and kiting, and using a chess clock or something to make myself play quickly during combat. Has anyone tried something like this?

Basically, I'm looking for a way to play that won't get me mired in the usual slow perfectionism. Any ideas?