Tactics for fighting neutral creatures when playing as the Academy.

Hello everyone! Let's get straight to the point. Everyone probably knows how to level up using zombies, warmongers, and golems. It's not that difficult. But how do you deal with druids or mages? Preferably without losses, or with minimal losses. Or, for example, at the beginning, gremlins guard a mine. What should you do to avoid losses? Or should you just eliminate ranged units (like archers)? Let's discuss this problem, comrades.

P.S.: The main goal is to eliminate this type of enemy with a small force, within a 2-3 week growth period.