[RamsHead]

I like Elite Warriors even more than Slave Warriors. They generally have better stats where it counts, and with a scale cuirass, they are more durable. To minimize loses when using either Slave or Elite Warriors bring along some City Guards or Heavy Infantry. Place the Guards/Infantry at the front of the battlefield and put the Warriors to the far side and back a bit of your center force. If you set it up correctly, your heavier troops will absorb the arrows and initial blows of combat, while the Warriors come in from the side to cut the enemy forces down. I have gotten lucky a few times while doing this and lost none of my units, though most of the time you will lose a couple.

If your pretender doesn't usually take much damage during battles, a Curse shouldn't be much of a problem. To avoid Curses you probably could bring along Elephants (if you found an independent province where you can recruit them) and place them on the front lines. They should be targeted instead of your pretender, unless your pretender has more hp. It is best to simply not bring your pretender into a battle where you think he will be Cursed though. If your Scorpion King does get a bad affliction, you can heal him with a summoned Fairy Queen, but you won't get access to her until far into the game.