Earth and Magic Item strategy?

[Saxon]

I just got a national hero who is a rainbow, all level one. It is right up the alley I want to go, so I will have some fun with him.

Reserach was off to a slow start, but found a library in a strategic location, so lab, temple and fort were all dropped in place. Decent position in the rankings and on the map, so all is shaping up well. I took a Cyclops with earth five and death four. The Lesser fear for the sacred troops is a nice touch, as heavy infantry has to get up close and personal for some time with most enemies. Having the enemy rout a turn earlier is always nice!

I also took order and some magic, as I always find a use for money and research is needed to get the fun toys.

Finally, the Arco leaders tend to have heavy armour, so they are fairly durable to start. If I can boost them up with magic items, I think they are going to do well with this strategy. I have tended to find the gap between SC god and thug commander hard to bridge, perhaps I will learn some tricks.

[Agrajag]

Saxon said:
Having the enemy rout a turn earlier is always nice!

Not always. Often I just want to inflict as many casualties as possible (or kill off everyone), so runnin away can be really annoying. (This is especially true for long-range-summoning-spells, because you don't really care for the summoned units anyway)

[Ironhawk]

Saxon said:
Finally, the Arco leaders tend to have heavy armour, so they are fairly durable to start. If I can boost them up with magic items, I think they are going to do well with this strategy. I have tended to find the gap between SC god and thug commander hard to bridge, perhaps I will learn some tricks.

Arco leaders arent traditionally thought of as "durable". Basically all human commanders, no matter how good they are, are vulnerable to a one-hit-kill. If you want tough commanders that can actually survive a fight, you have to go with Jotunheim giants or Pangea centaurs. Man-Last Of Tuatha and Vanhiem also have glamoured commanders which can work (and buff themselves too). If not those, then perhaps Man (lord warden), Abysia (warlord) or Ulm (black knights).

[Arralen]

Best trinket weapon: "Stinger"
Ulms Black Knights can make good use of "Girdle of Might".
Shambler Chiefs are nice, too, with Black Steel Tower Shield. But do not add BS Full Plate, it's too heavy.