[Ironhawk]

Oh. I dunno about base-game Marverni, I only play CB. But there, I found the nation quite playable. They have extremly strong mages which are not cap only which is a huge advantage. Said mages are strong in both earth and astral which makes them extremely versatile on the battlefield. Earth gives you Blade Wind for killing masses of troops and Gifts from Heaven for killing blocks of heavy troops. And the astral gives you all the SC-slaying and transportation spells.

As for the troops being weak - they may be lacking in armor but they really arent that weak. Plus the prevalent earth magic of Marverni can be used to buff your troops a lot. Strength of Giants, Legions of Steel, etc. In this way, you can take a 10gp Marverni soldier without armor, and buff him to be equal or better than an elite solider of another nation.