Raising the dead only makes things worse. Their health decreases by 20 percent – and with Dark Elves, a large number of hit points is all they have going for them. They have virtually no defense. I'm not confusing the Phoenix with anything else. I've summoned it myself against other factions. But in the later stages of the game, it's not difficult to deal 1000-1200 damage to it. Although I haven't tried it against Orcs... But the best tactic against Barbarians (in my opinion) is to build creatures of the first and second levels, wait a couple of weeks, and then run as fast as you can towards their castle, before their rage ability is fully developed. I've done this and won. But this is only possible if you know where their castle is.