[AreaOfEffect]

I've played extensively with Utgard in this respect. I find that taking two Skratti casting Quicken and one size 2 astral mage casting body ethereal twice works very effectively. Unfortunately this is best with Utgard as they have cheep mages with reliable access to astral. You could try your luck with Vaetti hags as one in four are astral. You'd have better luck with the Gygjas though. Use a few militia set to body guard and placed up front to screen arrow fire.

As for gear, I wouldn't ignore two-handed items for the purpose of expansion. Even the thorn staff can be useful as it allows you to parry most attacks and raises your defense by 5. There isn't many appealing choices against missile fire aside from the body ethereal.