I thought these are cipher WIP shots because Dravens century shots looked - well, diffrent. Probably it's only the fullbright trees and the lack of fog that makes them look diffrent. However, what you said about cipher (alpha z-order, stencil shadows) sounds really good. I am not sure if I'd start to use an other tool than blitz only for these purposes considering the fact that even today you can release games without proper shadows (eg. GTA san andreas), because it would take me a year or two to reach the point where I currently am with blitz.
Anyway, good luck!
Anyway, good luck!