I became disillusioned with the Barbarian-Castle combo in SOD. Played today. Built 1-7 in the castle and bought up normally, but only because the respawn had 3 Dwarf Cottages, 1 max and 2 at 20. Can't break into the neighboring respawns — on one side a horde of Lizard Warriors, on the other a horde of Gogs, the third exit leads into a swamp with no road. With Barbarian warriors, ranged block-losses (or should I take Tyras?). Went into the Treasury at 124, but to maintain even a moderate pace, you need to get lucky with both gold and leveling. Building the 7th level is expensive. If you also have the Castle, it's outright evil. The swamp, for its part, still has more gold lying around at the respawn.