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Here's what I tried with LA Pythium:

Awake Prince of Death, Dom 10, E4D5,
Order 3, Sloth 3, Heat 1, Misfortune 2, Growth 0, Magic 1

Heat and Sloth are for Hydras. Neutral growth is for blood hunting. You could try a Dom9 PoD instead, with Growth 1.

E4D5 gives you hammers, early site searching, and a little reinvigoration for your Hydras, plus all the benefits of pretty good death for the late game.

Hydras or the PoD will kill everything except undead. Use H2S1 priests and 8 H1S1 theurgs in communions for killing undead with Banshment. Use Milites and Comitats for catching arrows with their tower shields. Use the Guard Commander order, plus Hold x 5/Attack Rear on the commanders, and strategic commander placement, to keep your tower shields from getting poisoned. Indy commanders with shields are best because archers continue to target your tower shields even after they have retreated past your hydras.

Holdx5, Attack Rear is critical (and place the commanders at the very top or bottom). Commanders on 'Stay behind troops' will end up in the poison cloud. That's okay for them if they've got a ring, but the tower shields will die.

Early research goals:
Const 2 (PoD gear), Thaum 1 (communion), Evo 2 (arcane probing), Const 4 (rods, more PoD gear, and path boosters),
Alt-4 (body ethereal, luck, quickness).

Turn 1:
Tax at 150, Patrol, research with the PoD.
Hire a Serpent Acolyte, 4 Milites.
Don't hire Hydras yet, to save upkeep.
Prophet scout.

Turn 2:
Forge a Hide Shield.
Tax at 150, Patrol.
Hire a Serpent Acolyte, 4 Milites.
Don't hire Hydras yet, to save upkeep.
Preach with prophet.
Attack with PoD and one skelly archer chaff.

Turn 3:
Alchemise 2 S to N and forge a Serpent Ring.
Move an Acolyte with Shield to PoD.
Search with PoD, recruit an indy commander with a shield.
Tax at 150, Patrol.
Hire 5 Hydras, 110 Gold D1 or N1 mage, Comitats.
Preach with prophet.

Turn 4:
PoD wields Shield, continues attacks.
Centurion wields Serpent Ring just in case.
Start hiring Theurgs, or the 110 Gold mages.
Don't use the Comitats, they can patrol, expand into weak indies or handle barbarian invasions if the PoD is busy.
Attack with 5 Hydras and Milites, prophet and Centurion.

Hydras in the center on hold and attack. Centurion in the top left on hold x 5, attack rear. Milities at the top right on Guard Commander. The Milites will run away from the enemy to the Centurion, the indies will follow and be killed. Archers will fire at range at the Milites.

Turns 5 and up:

Build another squad of 5 Hydras, then a cheap castle with temple and lab. Continue taking provinces with the PoD, and searching for earth/death sites. Make gear for the PoD as it becomes available, and have him craft a hammer as soon as you have enough earth. Cast Arcane Probing at Evo 2.

You've got 2 armies of 5 Hydras, 1 army of Comitats, and 1 PoD to expand or fight a war with.

At Const 4 hire some Revelers to get into blood, and make Earth boots with your PoD so he can stop wasting his time site searching. Revelers without blood can all research at your second castle, so that your dominion is only negatively impacted in one province. Revelers with blood should make thorns armour for better hunting and toads.

What you do next depends on who your neighbors are and your state of war. Don't forget to build lots of Serpent Priests and Theurgs for Banishment communions if Ermor is on the map.

Your Theurgs can also cast Body Ethereal and Luck on your hydras if you give them a serpent ring. Forge lots.