[Bowlingballhead]

I don't know I want to weigh in on whether death magic is strongest. I'll grant this - Burden of Time against an enemy that's not prepared to dispell it can be a game ender.

Ashen empire is definitely not unbeatable. Frankly, I think C'tis's Tomb Kings setting may be stronger. Sure, Ashen Empire has an almost unlimited number of undead, but they're so very, very, very weak - and it's a tremendous pain in the butt for Ashen Empire to branch out into any other form of magic, or even to research much.

Then too, your borders are weak. At least other races can buy up provincial defense and know it'll weed out spies, slow down invasions, and weaken incoming armies. Ashen Empire doesn't have the cash flow. When everybody's dead, they're not paying taxes.