How to play against Wizards?

I urgently need help from knowledgeable and experienced players in this situation. I'm playing with a friend on the "Outcast Lands" map, on "Hero" difficulty. We both start on the surface: I play as Blue, and he plays as Red. I'm playing as Necromancers, and he's playing as Mages. I should mention that I don't have much experience playing online with five heroes, only about a year. He's been playing for about 5 years and only plays as Mages. The problem is that by the end of the first week, he captures Utopia on the surface, and by the middle of the second week, he captures a second one. This gives him a huge advantage in terms of money, artifacts, and experience right from the start. I wouldn't have believed it myself if he hadn't sent me the save files, and I didn't see anything special that could explain his rapid progress. He takes the first Utopia on level 2 and the second on level 6. He knows the game mechanics perfectly. He always chooses either Orus or Nuru as his starting hero. I've never seen his full build. He always maxes out "Sorcery" + perks, "Summoning" + perks, and "Education" + perks. The other two slots are always different: Chaos, Darkness, Light, Defense, etc. It's unpredictable. He never shows his build. None of my friends have been able to beat him in the late game. In short, he's a hardcore player :D. I choose either Orson or Naadir. I build the following:
1. Advanced Necromancy (Eternal Slavery, Spiritual Bond)
2. Education (Magic Attraction)
3. Luck (Soldier's Luck, Magic Resistance)
4. Defense (Sturdiness, Dodge, Damage Reduction)
5. Summoning (Charm Master, Elemental Balance, Fire Warriors)
6. Darkness Magic (Curse Master, Mind Master).
I don't always manage to max everything out; most battles happen around level 25-27. He hardly uses Summoning magic in battles; he mainly uses Light or Chaos. The initiative of the Mage's creatures is simply insane, especially after mass speed-up on the Titans, reaching 22 :( Please advise: should I change my build, change my race, or maybe choose a different hero???