Against orcs, darkness is the most effective, primarily through mass slowing, dispelling, and weakening, which turns any army into useless fodder. And the summoned cyclops are a real game-changer... The "Unholy Word" spell is excellent for reducing rage points. And by the way, necromancers shouldn't prolong games (not against anyone, really). Gather archers, build a guild, and go for it. By week 3-4, it's the right time for a necromancer to attack. You can easily gather 500-700 skeletons, and they can handle Behemoths quite well.
To be honest, when I played as a necromancer, my hero was simply overwhelmed by a pack of shamans. And it's not surprising that against a necromancer, one would upgrade the "Darkness" counterspell.
And also, I'll follow the advice and upgrade the summoning skill and equip the "Heavenly Shield" on the "Defenders of the Mountain" units for Ingvar. That will be fun!)
