Haven buildings.

My choice: Mages, Djinns, and Titans. I like to play without losses, or with minimal losses, and with this setup, all troops are ranged, plus we add mass slowing, and the neutrals die like flies. It's true that I don't keep the mages for long. Until the hero levels up a bit, and then I calmly fill the slots with single Djinns, one large stack of Djinns, and one stack of Titans. The tactic is simple: the mage slows down the enemy as much as possible, single Djinns guard against breakthroughs with the "Song of Peace," the stack with the main group of Djinns casts illusions on the enemy or Titans, and the Titans simply take them down. On the second turn, the mage casts "Accuracy" on them. This works great, even against Black Dragons, the main thing is to cast illusions and cast the "Martyr" spell on them and the Djinns. That is, in principle, all that is needed is to go first. So, a tactic with bonuses to spirit, plus artifacts for spirit, rules. If the enemy has archers, "Song of Peace," the mage casts "Forgetfulness," and the Titans (and sometimes the main stack of Djinns) take down the careless archers.