[PvK]

I've had good successes with EA (SP & MP) and MA Agartha (SP) without using very many Umbrals. A wall of Rhuax Pact Magma Children can be devastating, of course - the tricky part is keeping your other troops from getting incinerated. Enough trogs en masse can also ruin armies. The low fighting skills from being one-eyed is perhaps the biggest disadvantage, but it's not by any means unsurmountable. Giving magic items which don't even require hitting to the giants, can give you good thugs without needing any blessing. High hitpoints, ok armor plus Legions of Steel is of course quite tough early on, as well. As I've mentioned on other threads, Agartha also gains a great deal on overall balance if it starts out near an independent ocean.