Regarding the starting army in SoD, it was recently said that if Shakti has three stacks, expect trouble, but if Valeska has 4 archers and they aren't upgraded, then everything will be great :)))
Army variance is a very specific argument; for example, the same-level range of shooters for Valeska at 111 is from 13 archers to 44 marksmen—feel the difference.
And your argument about compensating for a weak army with a "great" layout is just another troll's trick. Or will you provide statistics?