IMHO,
@Dony regular LR would have done better.
About the tournament, I think 3 big issues need to be addressed. Some other may be addressed too, but with a lesser priority.
1)
squad size formula isn't good. This needs to be clear. There is no way around by tweaking it. This formula just needs to be dropped, and something else needs to be found. This is also true in the spire, by the way.
2)
the difficulty growth is too steep. IMHO you shouldn't face numerical superiority before province 15 on the first round. This gives those with several phoenixes a too big advantage over us without.
And the squad size growth is too steep too. a week's production on the battlefield isn't reasonable. This gives those with several brown bears a too big advantage.
3)
the tournaments really need to be different from one week to the next in a foreseeable way. This is one of the pleasant things, helps build a fellowship's cooperation and gives people a sense of achievement.
other issues :
- mana and orcs shouldn't be demanded in the "next" chapter. At least +2 chapters to give players some time to build up production.
- proportions between gold/tools/orcs/mana/ tradable resources needs to be reviewed.
- quite often, when you finish your fight (more so when you cater i think), you don't get or at least don't see the rewards.