[johnarryn]

EA Ermor has access to excellent magical diversity. Your augurs are very strong in death, fire and astral. Some of your other mages provide you with nature, earth and (if I recall) water, meaning you lack access only to air. Your pretender can fill in this gap.

Use your magical diversity early on to aid in site searching - have multipath mages running around searching early on and you will find that by midgame you will have access to many gems and independent mages - I recall in a recent game having Crystal Mages, Wizards, Enchantresses, Gnomes and Adepts of the Silver Order. In the late game, your magical diversity will provide you the muscle and adaptability to win.

In the early game, rely on your excellent national troops. Your Equites of the Sacred Shroud are quite good, particularly with a water blessing (I would not, however, play Ermor as a bless nation). Lizard Auxiliaries are cheap and tough, with low morale being the only setback.

Almost all your troops have very good defense and tower shields, giving them alot of staying power against both bows and melee attacks.

To sum up: In the early game, rely on strong national troops to expand. Midgame your augurs are powerful battle mages who can supplement your nationals. Late game your magical diversity (which you should be developing throughout the game) and access to powerful Astral magic will give you an edge.