Help! Arcatta 3 The Winding Valley

[Hiro_Antagonist]

Here's what one of my friends sent me about this mission:

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well, after playing that mission a few times, my advice would be not make any iniates at all ever, skip the first turn and make an archmage, then make an apprentice the next turn, get your original apprentice up to the goldmine (he stays there all game), then attack! keeping a couple apprentices around at all times to heal your guys (concentration). By turn 7 I had the northern most city covered and by turn 10 I had all 3 cities covered and no enemy units whatsoever around