Pythium: newbish Vestals question

[fahdiz]

I have played a number of demo games as Pythium. In all games I've played, however, I've found that I have a dreadful time keeping my Vestals alive, even though they are blindingly fast.

Last night, for example, I tried a dual-bless strategy with 4-Nature 4-Air, and sent 8 Vestals and 13 Principii under the command of a Battle Deacon to deal with a small indie force just east of my starting province. I put the Vestals on the side (orders Attack Rearmost), the Principii in the middle (Attack Closest) and set the Battle Deacon to Stay Behind Troops, placing him close enough to the Vestals that he could cast Blessing without problems.

Although I don't recall the exact enemy count, they had a handful of archers, a few militia, and some cavalry. The Deacon blessed the Vestals right away. The Principii did their jobs flawlessly, but the Vestals were smoked in seconds by the small cav force as they were trying to get to the enemy commander and his entourage, even after the Vestals went berserk.

I've had similar problems in other Pythium demo games and was wondering what I might try to overcome this problem, or if other people feel that Vestals are too difficult to keep alive for more than one engagement or so.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide - I am more than open to any suggestions, including "what the hell are you doing using a dual-bless strategy on them?" I am totally new to the game, not sure if I'm doing the right things, and willing to learn.