Troops vs magic, what am I doing wrong?

[thejeff]

Huge PD is rarely worth it even against the AI. Maybe at a chokepoint if you want to concentrate on other fronts.

Thugs are the real way to go against the AI. It's not hard to build high end thugs/ low end SCs that essentially can't be killed by normal troops. The AI isn't creative about killing them, so it's worth investing the gems. You know the main paths that nation has, so protect against them and the AI won't surprise you like a human player will.