[shatner]

I don't have access to the game right now but my (admittedly shaky) recollection is that I had about 11 provinces (mostly waste land and mountain provinces... there isn't a farmland within six moves of my capitol) when the war started in earnest around the beginning of year 2... I think.

I had two expansion forces, one led by my prophet (40ish goblin archers, 60ish goblin soldiers, 20ish shield indies) and one led by an experienced Shuten-doji (slightly smaller but with kappas and a couple of o-bakemono instead of indies). Unfortunately my site-searching squad (an E3 sorcerer, an F3 sorcerer, a D3 sorcerer and an A1/E1/N3 Kitsune hero) were killed when a Mariginon force proved surprisingly successful against my PD 10 plus the aforementioned Shuten-doji's force (though the Kitsune was able to sneak away).

Shortly thereafter my Celestial General awoke, led a big bad army straight from my capital to Mariginon's capital (almost no one routes with his standard effect nearby, and the Eastern Warriors make great arrow catchers), rescuing my prophet along the way. Mariginon is effectively defeated because, though they have a lot of territory, their god is dead and their capital is solidly in my control. That said, I've found my progress to be slow then and now and I've been surprised at how poorly my forces have (overall) fared against an equivalent Mariginon army.

Any advice as far as troop placement and orders to make an effective ant mob? I just get the feeling that I'm doing something fundamentally flawed in my troop commitment; the little buggers seem like they could be performing better. Or is Marignon an effective foil for the bakemono hordes? This is distinct from my money troubles and is my main concern (different maps and different scales could get me more money, but poor army layout will haunt me no matter what).

Thanks.