In my current playthrough (almost finished, impossible difficulty) my military strategy is entirely based on driders (Ceratan minor faction unit with low ATT and brilliant healing ability) with ardent mage witch for hero. It is a very fun way of crushing the enemy, even though "wild" driders seem useless. Just a small army of 2-3 cleverly equipped driders and one witch can cause mayhem and reach level 10 in no time. This is how I play:



ATTACK: Is extremely low, increasing this should be main focus

DEFENSE: Is decent, should be higher. (Each assimilated Ceratan village provides +5% DEF.)

LIFE: Already high enough, defense should be prioritized due to the nature of healing.

DAMAGE: Already high, should be maximized for more damage and healing ability.

INITIATIVE: Is very low. Would not waste any gear/abilities on this and instead take advantage of "Sweep strike back".



Ardent Mage witches provide armies tons of additional ATT through their abilities and skill tree (and gear).

I divide the Driders between a few "front line" and some "support" units, giving the front line +1 int to ensure they don't get "cocooned" before their turn by the back ranks and "Glory or death" instead of "Higher ground" gear.



Basicv strategy:

- Place units close together for morale bonus on advantageous elevated/forested terrain

- Wait for enemy to attack. Can use first turn to heal from previous battle.

- Front ranks use "sweep strike back". Back ranks shoot enemies and heal front rank when needed. Sweep strike back becomes very effective on the second or third turn.

- Mage witch snipes particularly dangerous units.



Optional:

- Give one drider unit some very high INT gear to heal and cocoon (+100% DEF) units that have dangerously low health before the enemy moves in each turn. This will make the target unit useless this turn though.

- Give Mage very high INT for added flexibility

- Use Ardent mage Eneqa Wing to revive driders if playing as Ardent Mages





Disadvantages:

- Predicting enemy movement becomes important, especially as the "support" units suck big time at deciding who to attack, heal or cocoon if not directed.

- Against melee units, once the battle has begun, the front ranks have no chance of moving as they usually get attacked before they can move anywhere.





Advantages:

- Strategy can be used with any faction

- Units can usually heal at the beginning and end of each battle

- No need to research or recruit other unit types

- Very flexible army, no need for specific battle conditions

- Excellent against melee, decent against ranged

- Driders have (relative) higher attack bonus against enemy heroes

- Good at dealing with Necrophages as troops can be healed during battle

- Fun to watch "Sweep strike back" take out 2 or 3 enemy units.