[PvK]

With Ulm's forging bonus, and especially with Iron Faith's weaker researchers (particularly in Drain), I recommend doing the obvious: make a bunch of research bonus items and pile them two per researcher on cheap researchers, such as Revenants. Ideally, you dig up some death gem income and invest in Skull Mentors and Lightless lanterns. That +15 research bonus for about 7 gems and zero gold goes a long way towards catching up on research, and lets you use otherwise-lame researchers, leaving whatever good magicians you might have, to do other work.

Ulm needs to develop some alternate forces, to deal with its opponents' "solutions" to Ulm's heavy armor. Deploy spies and scouts to track what's coming your way, and deploy a counter. Undead mobs are good complements to Ulm, since things like poison, fear, mental attacks, soul attacks, bone grinding, etc., generally have zero effect on them.

Always include cannon fodder with elite units, to soak up enemy attacks so your better, slow-to-build units live a lot longer.

PvK