Ulm vs New Era

[Sandman]

Ulmish infantry is good. They've got extra hitpoints (which NE has as well), amongst the best equipment of any standard infantry, and still only cost 10 gold. Their magic resistance is a nasty problem though.

Sages are a good buy for Ulm. Even at full drain, they're much better than smiths at researching. And Ulm is probably the best nation for lightless latern forging, assuming they can rustle up some fire gems.

Drain immunity gives a whopping 120-point bonus; as well as the extra magic resistance and spell fatigue on non-smiths.

As already mentioned, Ulm gets a hefty resource bonus in its castles.

Ulmish smiths are solid, dependable mages that don't leave a hole in your budget, and they can cheaply forge their own equipment - earth boots and girdles of strength, mostly. Combined with earth power, and they're pretty formidable. Earth magic by itself is versatile enough to keep you going, anyway.