[Ironhawk]

Originally posted by LintMan:
Mages are a plus but not critical.

I disagree with this. With the Mystic and the Astrologer (!!) Arco has access to some very powerful mages. They should not be "a plus" to any arco strategy but an integral part of it. Additionally as was noted in some other arco threads, the Mystic acts almost as a mini rainbow-mage so you should be able to get your gem supply up fast.

Additionally, about elephants: they are *very* effective and the army quite fast with the 4/1 hypaptist/ele combo. Be very careful when using them in Groups of less than 4 tho (like after losing a few on a campaing). Particularly against other players they may not have enough crunch power to get the troops they are attacking to break. And if they end a turn in the middle of a stack of heavy inf or other powerful troop without routing them you can expect to lose the little you have left.