What is the source of the Mages’ power?

Hero selection: - Against magical factions - Jalib (in addition to his ability, the starting skill "Luck" will also be useful - magic resistance and lucky spellcaster). - Fast clearing of adjacent zones, capturing secondary artifacts (for sale) and mines, employing a "rush" tactic - Nazir (practically unbeatable, for example, on maps like "Former Friends" or "Key to Victory"). - Fast initial development - Narhiz, Nur, Ora. - Razak (one of the most essential skills for a mage, available right from the start!). - Faiz - the specifics of his ability imply specific hero selection. - Hafiz - a questionable hero. I usually use him starting from the mid-game to replenish the gremlins weekly (if, of course, there are no more than two unbought mages left, for example). In my opinion, mentoring makes sense if we cannot immediately buy the desired hero in the tavern. In the first week, it is necessary to build level 4 creatures; it might even be worth sacrificing the construction of the town hall. Everything depends on the difficulty level of the created game and the specific tasks that we face at the moment. As a rule, we first upgrade mages to archmages to fight with them in stacks of 4. Then, we can re-specialize them if they don't suit us. And by the third week, we should try to have all the creatures in the city. I agree that on standard maps, it might not be possible to create mini-artifacts. But on random maps, it is necessary to create them. For a mage, this is a kind of compensation for the skills that were not obtained and for their "underdevelopment." Let's remember that the power of mini-artifacts directly depends on the "Knowledge" parameter. By the end of the game, they can change the entire course of the final battle, combined with a developed (and not just one, it all depends on who we are playing against) school of magic. When creating mini-artifacts, you need to pay attention to the faction against which we are playing. If the faction is magical, you can focus on magic defense; if it is non-magical, focus on damage, initiative, and luck/defense/hit points/speed, etc. There are many options for creating them: both the mini-artifacts themselves and for which unit of the Academy they are intended... For example: we create magic defense for all creatures of the Academy, except for obsidian gargoyles, of course. And then we hit with Armageddon in battle:smile40: