Woodsmen, eh? That's a tricky one to take down early game. I could give you some advice, if you give me more details on your research and mages.
I'd go with Armor of Achillies/Destruction+Masses of Composite Bows/Horsemen (for charge), with Lightning Bolts, Mind Burns, Sleep, Sailor's Death, False Fetters, Shadow Bolts, Mossbody, etc. It really depends on what you can do with magic.
You can also go with Pikes and Terror Spam. If you're up against Giants, pikes are the quintessential chaff/frontline, thanks to repel.