[Sir_Dr_D]

It works better then you'd think. Usually you don't lose either the commander or any of the decoy troops. Being that far back, it makes it hard for any archers to hit, and your other troops end up intercepting any melee troops that chase the decoys. The technique tends to draw archers forward within easy reach of your melee troops. Of course you don't want to use this trick with a high value commander like a mage.