[Xietor]

I really hate playing races with awful pd.

But I like playing the giants with at least a n9 bless. You need good scales though imho, so imprison your pretender.

It has been sometime since i played them, but 3growth and order are pretty much required. Their troops are both expensive, mages have old age, and they are hard to feed.

Because the cold dominion is crucial, the absolute min you should take is dom 6.

Make sure you cast wolven winter before every major fight if in enemy dominion. Supplement your armies liberally with undead and winter wolves to avoid starvation issues.

Your 60 gold commanders can be potent thugs early on with a decent bless.