[Humakty]

Armored elephants + high morale inf(can't remember their name)(put them in the same group) = mush mush your evil foes.( add att rear cavalrymen to get rid of crossbows)
Apart from this early'strategy', can't see anything you could do magically, but I don't play LA arco much.
Expand rapidly, and find yourself powerfull allies, so you have some time to recruit many of your random mages, hopefully some of them will be usefull.
Maybe you could try to go the communion way, but it will cost you many many pounds of gold.