Summoning vs Forging

[Ironhawk]

Nice analysis, Tuidjy! I agree on almost all points.

The only thing I do differently is forts. I believe that a strong offense is the best defense

[Huzurdaddi]

So what are the archers for? Do you use archers since they will stay where you put them?

[Tuidjy]

Yup, the archers stay in place for 12 turns, and the crossbowmen for even longer.
Furthermore, do not sneer at 300 archers with Flame Arrows and Wind Guide.
Enemy chaffe just evaporates. In the game I mentioned, I broke a 600+ army
on turn two, using mostly archers and Shadow Blasts. If the enemies had not been
three quarters jaguar warriors, they may have broken after the first salvo. As
it were, I lost half my archers to enemy spells. Still, a good castle produces
50 archers per turn, but only one sauromancer.

But of course, there are spells like Arrow Fend that neuter the archers. They
still stay and fire, though, and die much slower... the mages do the real job,
the archers are there to prevent the enemy from targeting the mages.

Oh, and a strong offense is worse than a strong offense plus a strong defense. ;-)