a small army - I have nothing to say about it!
but with the same success, you can also consider Fortress, Tower, and Castle... they also usually have archers either in large numbers (in the Tower) or just archers... this tactic doesn't give Inferno an advantage, it just equalizes the starting position...
and by luck, I mean neutral creatures guarding resources that can be shot down (or killed) before they cause serious damage to the initial army...
and 23 elves is an army that is possible in the 2nd week... and which has a significantly higher chance of clearing the territory without losses... and even then, a force majeure is possible!