Just got rolled by AI Neifel. What did I do wrong?

[Stryke11]

Thanks for all the replies!

It was the Tyrande map. It was late in the game but I don't know the turn number, sorry. I started the stalemate with about half the provinces, but it seems the map has "better" provinces in the south, where the AI was. Forests, plains, etc, while I was in the wasteland section. My income was about 1000 a turn (profit, with upkeep already taken out), but it went as high as 1500 at one point before I started being worn down.

I am getting my troop numbers by the province reports, so all 500 troops in those armies may not have been all giants (and I know reports are sometimes wrong) but there were definitely 3-4 extremely large armies of mostly giants at any one point.

I think, from what I read above, that I neglected magic big time and that cost me in the long run.

With a W9F9 bless, and needing lots of income and production for Helheim troops, what do you sacrifice for points? Death scales? Misfortune?