Newbie question: Best army buff paths/schools?

[MaxWilson]

Maybe I'll have to give Destruction another shot. I'm still only playing against the AI (and occasionally myself), trying to get a handle on tactics. Last time I tried Destruction it was as a possible counter to E9N9 Niefel Jarls, but I could never make my Svartalfs actually hit the Jarls so I went with Iron Bane instead, which worked pretty well. Still, the nice thing about buffs, as opposed to maluses like Destruction, is that it's really easy to cast them on your whole army with only a single caster. I might try Destruction + Strength of Giants, but I doubt I'd drop Strength of Giants out completely unless facing something much more heavily armored than Abyssians, like Wraith Lords or Niefel Jarls.

Fog Warriors sounds cool, although the A5 requirement is steep since Storm Power only works in a storm (requires gems). Summon Earthpower/Phoenix Power are great since they effectively boost your E/F power by 1 for everyone in your whole army, but Summor Storm Power/Water Power seem much more specialized. Do most people just get A/W boosts from items? And thanks for the pointers to the Nature buffs.

-Max