Unequal Confrontation

That's understandable, but generally, in the later stages of the game, you can upgrade Darkness (who to control, who to blind) and, of course, if you don't have the coveted cloak, you can slow down enemies by using crystal shards (or hives, if you don't have the former) on liches. I can't remember if there's anyone else it doesn't affect with either mind control or blinding. I used hives to defeat small groups of high-level creatures with a weak army, but after that, I quickly ran to a fountain.

But again, it depends on what works best for each player, or maybe the map conditions limit things.
Of course, for educational purposes, it's interesting to know how to defeat large armies with hives.