The most UNPOPULAR faction in Heroes 5.

Well, they just swarm you... You can play as any faction... But elves are the hardest... Dryads are usually not very effective – if there are fewer than 100 of them, their wasp swarm is useless, and with their initiative, they can only block the enemy... Dancers are one-hit wonders; they get taken out immediately in return... Well, hunters are definitely unmatched – I haven't encountered a better ranged unit... In my opinion, druid archers aren't that great, unless there are at least fifty of them... But it's hard to achieve that at the beginning of the game, and by the end, the enemy will also have a sizable army! And even though 2 lightning spells can take out 4 enemy units of level 6-7, that usually drains all the mana (well, the Archmages have enough for three spells...).
Unicorns aren't very useful either – they run around the battlefield, but don't deal much damage...
Treants – here, the big advantage is slowing down enemy units that can't shoot, in order to save your own hunters and druids from nightmares or archdevils... And the enemy immediately takes out dragons with their speed and initiative – they usually last for 2-3 hits... Yes, powerful hits... Especially the first one... But no hunters can save you against a warlock with a high spell power and meteor shower, which can wipe out 2/3 of your army with a single spell... While the rangers themselves, with their low spell power, can just go and nervously smoke a hookah in the corner with the mages...