[Verjigorm]

Burden of Time only affects certain things, and forces you to change strategies. It is quite expensive, at 70 death gems which means that the likelihood that you can Dispel it successfully is good. However, if he has a large enough gem income he will just replace it.

The question then becomes, what do I need to do to counter BoT without actually getting rid of the enchantment?

Can I cast Gift of Health?

Can I switch to demons or undead or another long-lived summonable?

Can I make Elixirs of Life or Boots of Youth?

Can I make some Barrels of Air, use spies to locate his caster (probably his pretender) and then destroy him?

If he's using a Master Lich/Lich you have to preach dominion out of his capitol, which adds a lot of overhead to the mission and makes other solutions look better.

BoT doesn't win the game. Everyone ages. Everyone dies--even R'lyeh (eventually... Looking at the chart their crappiest units have 500 years before old age). Even units under the caster's control. Not all nations are affected by it equally It simply shifts you away from recruited units and into summoned ones for the most part with exceptions for some nations.

Solutions by nation...

Abysia has old units, lots of them. Fortunately, they're a blood nation, so they can use boots. Since most of their old mages (Anathemant dragons excepted) come from the capitol, all that is necessary is to keep one blood mage crafting Boots of Youth each turn and all old mages will be protected as soon as they appear. Of course, since Abysians have short life spans, it will be necessary to change over to primarily blood economy earlier if it was planned to milk their strong troops for a longer time.

Hopefully Agartha has been working their strong magic in Enchantment and will be able to start putting up troops and mages made of stone. Death mages have some protection against the ravages of age.

C'tis is a death/nature nation.

Jotes have long lifespans.

Monkeys can summon long-lived mage commanders and sacred units.

Shinuyama has ample supplies of demonic and necromantic units.

Ashdod is quite long-lived as a race. Might put a hurt on some of the Talmai Elders, but... they could probably use a little kick in the rear.

As for me, I only have two provinces remaining and will not survive much longer regardless of the Burden of Time.