[FarAway Pretender]

Yeah, the Longbowmen rock. I'd also encourage you to use the "Song of Rejuvenation" or whatever it's called frequently--your lower-level spellcasters can restore Fatigue from your higher-level guys. Think of them as the "Energizer bunnies" of spellcasting!!

For myself, I sure do love the "Swarm" spell, but there's no need to grab for it until the early middle-game. Alteration in general isn't bad for Nature mages. I've only played Man a couple times, but I enjoyed them. Bards are also very handy ways to make your enemy concentrate Unrest-reducing armies one province further away from your borders than he might otherwise. Once an army is clustered there to police, it's often easier to move it towards some other enemy, although that depends a lot on the layout of the map...