[Tuidjy]

Coincidentally, being second in a game means exactly nothing. If you are Ulm,
and start next to my Pythium, you can be second by just saying "I'll be your
forge *****, no need for your big bad Lord of Fertily to fertilize me". There
is one spot that matters in Dominions. And it is not number two.

By the way, your Arco example was messed up big time. I call shenanigans. I ran
it myself, except that I forgot to assume that the Arco player is playing to
lose. I still kept your assumption that his lab burned on turn four, and kept on
burning so that he could not even research Body Ethereal. Hey, it is possible,
and more likely that MA Ulm putting up a fight that does not involve grabbing
its own knees.

First, allow me to note that my arco army was ready on turn 6, seven turns before
Ulm was, and that the elephants were used in conquest, as opposed to the
battleaxe infantry that is about the worst choice against indies. So I send them
to visit Ulm's capital, as opposed to make Ulm's troops actually move, for which
we know they are particularly unsuited. Of course, your scenario also assumed
that. It is not as if Ulm would have a chance if their smiths had to chase Arco
around as if it collected lands that did not happen to have PD 40.

Then, I actually bothered positioning and scripting Arco's forces. I did not
replace the hypaspists with something more useful for my tactics, but I still
placed 10 of them in such a way that they will draw the PD's attention, and I
ordered them to guard a commander in the upper right corner. Now if the Arco
player had a clue, these would be hoplites - heavier armour, cheaper, and mobing
slowlier, all of which are pluses in this case.

Remember, kids. PD is stupid, and cannot be scripted, so you can abuse it any
way you want. You know how fast it moves, and you know it will go for the
closest target. Thus, I positioned 10 of my elephants so that they would come
up on the infantry slowly chasing the hyps from below, and wipe them out on
contact. Using hold and attack closest, I made sure it happened as far away from
the front as possible.

The rest of the hyps and elephants were on guard commander in the bottom
rear corner. My commanders (mages which I was using as grunts, because I needed
grunts for this retarded army composition)

What happened: PD fired at the shielded infantry, and killed one, which was
lucky. Because I did not want to play unfairly, the real arbalesters were
scripted at fire large monsters. Because I did not want to lose, I did not
have elephants anywhere but in the corners, so they missed. The poor smiths,
not having any targets, proceeded to waste fatigue.

Turn 2 some arbalests fired. They did nothing. The smiths wasted some fatigue.

Turn 3 some arbalests fired, don't ask me to explain how. A smith burned a hyp.

Turn 4 lotsa arbalests fired. Two hyps died, three elephants were scratched.
Some of the pd stopped chasing my commanders' bodygaurds, and tickled some
elephants. The elephants hit the PD, killed half, and failed to rout the rest.

Turn 5 the unrouted PD keeps chasing the hyps. The 10 elephants killed
practically all of them. Some arbalests fired in that melee, to no effect. The
smiths are still firing from way too far away, doing zip.

Turn 6, my bottom row commander retreats, his bodyguards (10 hyps, 15 elephants)
attack. The 10 elephants from the top row waste time finishing off the remaining
PD. The smiths are falling asleep.

Turn 7, the PD arbalesters nail the bottom rear commander as they shoot at his
bodyguards (6 of them remain, and are still drawing fire) The commanders dead,
the bodyguards attack.

Turn 9, the 10 elephants hit the chainmail infantry. Bad luck, they barely reach
them.

Turn 11, the 3 remaining elephants rout. The infantry is nearly halved. The 15
elephants, having outdistanced the 10 hyps hit the PD arbalesters, without
having suffered any damage. The real albalesters are shooting at the melee on
the top row. At this point, Arco has three commanders left, huddling behind the
10 hyps. I am getting scared the battleaxe infantry will hit them from behind
and rout Arco.

Turn 12, the 6 bodyguards on the top row rout 30 of Ulm's infantry. The 15
elephants in Ulm's rear wipe out the arbalesters, PD or not. Ulm routs.
Too damn many smiths wave woken up, shame.

Result: disaster for Ulm. Arco loses 8 elephants, and 7 infantry. They also
lose 3 mages, which would have fared better, had they been grunt commanders.
only 6 smiths die. Could have been better.

Now, as homework, please run the same scenario with body ethereal and luck
tossed in, and with the right kind of infantry and commanders for Arco.
Or use Caelum, and Arrow Fend... Or toss in the SC that my Caelum always had.