I have to admit that i like battles between armies and mages more . When i play SP i always take Impossible AIs and try to beat them with national troops only . Normally i fail but it is fun
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Unfortunately vs. a VQ any national army expect fliers ( mainly Caelum ) is obsolete on turn 8-10 already .
Vs. a VQ there are many counters though like earlygame dust to dust etc. .
But vs. a well equipped AQ and the like there aren't many counters .
The Problem with SCs is that they are too cheap . An AQ costs 50 Airgems + about 50 gems for Equipment , about the same for most other SCs . If you invest those 100 gems into troops those troops can't beat the SC . 30 Devils are e.g. 210 Blood thats of similiar value as 100 gems but even they can't beat a well equipped AQ/ID/AD... .
Getting the right Mages to beat the SC is also difficult and some Nations lack them even completely .
If the SCs would cost 200-400% more then they wouldn't be such an issue maybe . An AQ for 200 Airgems e.g. would still be summoned and be great but then a bit more in line with the costs of other stuff .