[Fantomen]

I´ve used it many times in SP. It wont ruin your provinces if you have 3 growth. I also think you could live with having it dispelled as long as you´ve had it up long enough to get a respectable horde of manikins.

I´m leaning towards a good scales strategy with this nation, the troops seem exellent with or without bless. Perhaps your transformation trick from MA oceania could be used partially to lower upkeep? You´d be swimming in money.

Is awake SC neccessary? I´d say no, better to go dormant for great scales, minor bless and magic diversity and Carrion woods as soon as he wakes up.

I tried a dormant master lich o3p2h2g3m2d2 dom5 s4d6n6

The centaurs get 3 regen and so does the dryad commanders due to nature magic. The death blessing makes black centaurs good against thugs.

A thing I´m using is Black dryad "thugs" with reinvig items/shield and mandragora/manikin bodyguards spamming tunes of growth/fear/dancing death on the front lines. Works great in synergy with the quickened sleep vines (from quick roots). Script something like blessing/quick roots/barkskin/tune of X/tune of X/spells. Also doable with normal dryads w rod of the leper king. The disease isn´t too much of a problem with recup+regen.

Forty harpies can patrol for 200% tax and is affordable on turn one. Huge income boost. Can be used in many provinces and also great when blood hunting.

Both the Minotaur commanders and dryads make ok frontline thugs I think

Tune of growth+trampling is nice too.

I have yet to play this nation in MP so take with a grain of salt.