[Kobal2]

MA Ulm will always be challenging to play as, but Iron Blizzard spam is fairly staple. It costs almost no fatigue to cast and does some sick damage. Armour piercing blade wind ? Yes please :]

Depending on whether you're playing vanilla Dominions or with the CBM, I would also consider adding a few Iron Angels to the mix. Once they're properly geared up regular giants probably can't do much to them, and while of course Ashdod has some sick SC material of its own, the AI doesn't know thing one about gearing them, nevermind using them well.

Besides that, an important thing to understand about Dominions is that you really don't have to fight battles to win, or even to oppose those huge armies. Nor do you really need huge armies of your own. When you get right down to it it's not a game about battles, it's a game about territory control.

A huge army costs a lot to build and upkeep, but it can still only take one province a turn. Meanwhile, a thug costs about one turn's worth of gems and can take one province a turn. So can a handful of Smiths hiding behind 10 plate infantries. As long as you take more from him than he takes from you, you win in the long run. And if one of your raiding parties or thug gets crushed by the aforementioned huge giant armies, who cares ? You'll have a new one next turn.

Eventually you'll have to kill off his huge armies to finish him off - but there's no need to be hasty about it. Only fight when you are sure to win. If you aren't, move away and strike somewhere else. Be flexible, give more than you take and endeavour to make the assured win situation happen.

Barring colossal and spectacular mishaps, once you're taking in more gems and gold than he is, it's only a matter of time before you win. Even more so against the AI, because you're most certainly using that gold and those gems smarter.