head to head
vs
Heroes of Might and Magic IVvsVandal Hearts II
Heroes of Might and Magic IV leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Vandal Hearts II leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Heroes of Might and Magic IVVandal Hearts II
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 2
Vandal Hearts II leans harder on execution: Simultaneous-turn combat has no twitch input
Reads3 vs 3
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 3
Heroes of Might and Magic IV leans harder on variance: combat rolls and map resources random
Optimization8 vs 8
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.