Reinforcement, by the way, provides an increase of 1-2 creatures on the starting troops. So, the bonus is rather weak. But one of the most useful skills at the start is Tactics 1.
And yes, you also need to level up water-based defensive spells - freezing and ice puddle, to damage the enemy while he's slowed down.
Personally, I played with this setup. Once, I leveled up Blizzard, but I didn't like it. I didn't use Freezing or other spells either.