Tactics for playing against Wizards.

...A Mage might not be a bad choice either... I'm sure the Mage will have an easier start and possibly a good Chaos spell (take, for example, the Ice Ring with the Ice Amulet, or the Nazir with the Fireball) or a summoning spell – but this is just a possibility... and I'm sure the Elf will take longer to build up an army than the Mage, as resources like wood aren't needed if there are plenty of gems and sulfur for Mages and Archmages... Nazir will definitely overtake the Elf in the mid-game (somewhere around weeks 6-8), I'm 80% sure (Chaos, Enchantment, Luck).

If the map isn't too scarce in resources, the Elves shouldn't have any problems with building up. The Mage has a faster start – there's no arguing with that, but about Nazir (or another hero from the Academy) overtaking in the mid-game... The Sylvan army will be stronger (with proper development and clearing of neutrals), and there is resistance to magic (against the Academy, I would definitely take the perk in the Luck branch for +15% magic resistance, and with the Unicorn aura, we get 45%). The battle tactics are similar to those used against the Dungeon, except that the Unique units don't necessarily have to rush into attack on the first turn, but can be used to cover the Archers and Druids. The goal is to eliminate most of the enemy army on the first turn and minimize damage from magic.
P.S. If you want, we can try in practice who is "more right":), for example, we can arrange a game through Hamachi or Ubi.com by the weekend.
I've gotten a little rusty at playing, but it can be fixed :)