I played a Hive setup with Gunnar and external marketplace. On the first week, I gathered whatever I could, which wasn't much. But I somehow managed to get cavalry in the Citadel. Gunnar took the earth magic. I broke into the secondary town. On the second week, I looted the secondary zone (found 2 Griffin Conservatories and a box with 10k XP under Horde of Mages). On week 3, day 1, I picked up 3 more Griffin Conservatories. On week 3, day 2, I jumped into a native Dragon Utopia. It gave great loot - a chalice of visions, a level 5 hat, and sandals of the saint (+2 all stats). I recruited Archangels, upgraded as much as I could, and went to scout and clear treasure zones. On the third week, I eventually collected 2 more Dragon Utopias and seized the opponent's village (Conflux). On the fourth week, I used Dimension Door to crush the opponent's army on a wooden horse and captured his main town. The opponent capitulated.

Thanks for the game)