[Turin]

I still find the best way to go with s&a is using a waterdragon, lvl 9 water is nice, but not needed. He can take most province right at the start, when you script him to hold or fire*5 and then fire closest. Just don´t go to the usual SC killer provinces (crossbows, lizards, strong barbs and cavalry).

Don´t bother buying regular troops, start hoarding CM´s(prophetize one) and immediately search your provinces with them. Research alteration 3 for body ethereal. Once you get there, burn all your watergems for riverdemons, you should get ~10. Send them out with 2 cm´s(for blessing and bodyethereal) on the remaining provinces, which your dragon couldn´t take. With the bless, body ethereal and luck, those demons will be able to take lvl 9 provinces easily.

From that point on it depends on what sites you find, but try to get a second fort early for masters of the way. Use blood masters as bloodhunters, astral masters for demon summoning,fire ones make decent battlemages and you can use the death ones for spirit summoning.

If you get pressured you can hold of research and spam demons of heavenly fires with your CM´s, which make great raiding parties.