Strengths:
Titans - the only 7thlevel shooter.
Hordes of gremlins at start
Best 6thlevel troop.
Three shooters and two flyers.
Useful special of Master Genies (if used properly, see below)
Land mines instead of moat. They're affected by the spellpower of defending hero (which is usually a pretty high number.)

Weaknesses:
Titans and Nagas are very expensive.
Worst heroes (only a few are really good)

Army evaluation:
Gremlins 3/3/4/1-2/4/30
Master Gremlins 4/4/4/1-2/5/40, shoots
The only 1stlevel shooter! But don't be too happy - gremlins are weak both in offense and in defense. However, expert bless gives them 100% increase ;-)

Stone Gargoyles 6/6/16/2-3/6/130
Obsidian Gargoyles 7/7/16/2-3/9/160
An average unit, good against shooters.

Stone Golems 7/10/30/4-5/3/150, 50% damage from magic
Iron Golems 9/10/35/4-5/5/200, 25% damage from magic
Ideal troop for castle defense - cheap, tough, magic resistant and with solid damage, this one can block holes in castle walls forever.

Magi 11/8/25/7-9/5/350, no melee penalty
Arch Magi 12/9/30/7-9/7/450, no melee penalty, reduces spell costs by 2, no walls penalty
Strong shooter with good specials.

Genies 12/12/40/13-16/7/550, hates Efreet
Master Genies 12/12/40/13-16/11/600, hates Efreet, casts random beneficial spell Very potent unit (for sitting in the back line and casting spells), also for cleaning of low-level units. Keep out of reach of enemy grunts.

Nagas 16/13/110/20/5/1100, no retaliation
Naga Queens 16/13/110/30/7/1600, no retaliation
Best 6thlevel troop, but the cost reflects that.

Giants 19/16/150/40-60/7/2000 + 1g, immune to mind spells
Titans 24/24/300/40-60/11/5000 + 2g, immune to mind spells, shoots, no melee penalty, 150% damage against dragons
Very potent but expensive. Luckily, unupgraded variant can be built quickly.

Upgrading priorities:

• Master Gremlins: High in early game, because their numbers are great.
• Obsidian Gargoyles: Low, unless needed against shooters. Good for scout arm, however.
• Iron Golems: Very Low, unless you can't build Nagas or unless you've got plenty of them and need them for offensive.
• Arch Magi: Higher, speed up and sieging special are worth it.
• Master Genies: High, their special, although uncontrollable, works wonders.
• Naga Queens: High for +50% damage and +2 speed.
• Titans: Top, although very costly. One of the best 7thlevels.

Castle building in the first week:
3000g + 5w + 5o + 6cg

Day 1:	Town Hall	2500g
Day 2:	Parapet	1000g + 10o
Day 3:	Golem Factory	2000g + 5w + 5o
Day 4:	Mage Guild	2000 g + 5w + 5o
Day 5:	Mage Tower	2500g + 5w + 5o + 5cgms
Day 6a:	Golden Pavillion	4000g + 5w +5o + 2cgms
Day 6b:	Altair of Wishes
Day 7:	Citadel	2500g + 5o

Workshop as 1stlevel dwelling assumed present. If it's not present, we must forget about Citadel or one of the alternative day6 buildings, unless we decide to delay TownHall.
If we have enough resources, we can sacrifice Townhall and Citadel to build ALL dwellings in the first week, since Cloud Temple costs only 5000g + 10w + 10o + 10g. I'd vote for that in cases where a HillFort is nearby to upgrade the two giants to titans on the very next day - with such unstoppable force you can explore very aggresively, so the costs will come back fast.
If gold is abundant, the TownHall can wait in favor of Genies AND Nagas built in the first week.

Resource summary:
You'll need 20w, 35o and 16500g, which leaves us (20000 + 7000 - 16500) = 10500g for Day 1 to spend on troops. Since most of the troops are much better upgraded, I'd suggest buying out Nagas and Magi and use these two troops for exploration force. (However, an upgraded Workshop will usually throw in a significant amount (100+) master gremlins.
I consider Nagas better than Genies for the second week exploration, since they have non-retaliated attack. I also recommend upgrading them. [They're very expensive - but I suggest to compare them with 7thlevel behemoths (unupgraded) to see that they're worth the money.]

Second week strategies:
After getting City Hall, focus on two or three troops types, upgrade them and try to buy them all in third week. (I suggest Naga Queens, Arch Magi and Master Gremlins.) All other upgrades can wait.
Pay extreme attention to securing ALL mines - you'll need a lot of rare resources to get the most out of your troops and heroes.

Troops cost weekly (with castle):
Without 7th level: 20800
With 7th level: 30800
With one castle producing 14000/week and one of the most expensive army sets, you'll get used to ignoring golems and either genies or gargoyles completely until you secure large gold sources. Tower is the only town that isn't self-sufficient even with Capitol - the Titans add 10000, thus making the weekly budget almost 3000 in deficit.
HPs grown weekly 1820 (plus 600 in titans) at 11.42 g/HP (12.72)

Benefits:

• Artifact Merchants: May be useful, but seldom you'll have 10 grand to spare.
• Blacksmith: Ammo Cart (useless);
• Library: Extra spell in each level of guild - great!
• Lookout Tower: May be useful in cases where you must choose one path in early exploration (i.e. if two ways are guarded by two strong armies and you can't beat both with the same force.). Also good if you have a close Necro neighbour, as it eliminates Cover of Darkness in a too close city.
• Resource Silo: +1 gem /day
• Sculptor's wings: +4 gargoyle growth (good).
• Wall of knowledge: +1 knowledge per hero (good, esp. for defending heroes.

Strategy
In your first week, ore will be crucial, if you want high dwellings. Wood can wait into second week for City Hall action.
Try to use upgraded troops (esp. gremlins).

Forces combination:
If your starting heroes have brought many gremlins, upgrade them ASAP. For their protection, any slower walker may be used. However, if gremlins are low in count, you might press for upgrade on Nagas and use them with their high damage and speed as the main offensive unit.
I often explore with Nagas being the only troop, divided in two or three stacks.
Once you get Master Genies, take two to four strong armies (master gremlin hordes, magi, nagas and/or titans) and split the genies into all the remaining free slots. Having i.e. three offensive armies and four master genies to cast a spell on them each turn is a very effective combination, as the genies can cast any beneficial spell, ranging from 'Protection from ...' to Prayer! The genii should engage battle only in absolute need. They can cast three times in a battle. They won't cast duplicate spells, they won't cast spells useless under current battle condition (like Protection from... when enemy hero cannot cast spells.) Their spells are cast at power 6 and Advanced level of the corresponding school.

Heroes:
Best pick from Alchemists is Torosar (Tactics, Ballista). Fafner likes Nagas, others aren't that useful (Golems, Gargoyles and Genies aren't critical offensive units and having a special wasted at them isn't good).
Wizards are better: Astral is hypnotizer with Advanced Wisdom, Cyra has Diplomacy and Haste. Theodorus has Ballistics and promotes Magi, but the all-round favorite pick is Solmyr with ChainLightning! Others are useless, except for Aine (350 gold) as secondary.

Skills important for the troops and strategy:
With three shooters (and esp. Titans), get Archery!
With Libraries, you might consider Sorcery and Magic Schools, because the probability of getting useful spells is much higher.

Unit	A	D	HP	Dmg	Sp	$$	AdjD	Dm/g	grow	weekD
Master Gremlins	4	4	4	1-2	5	40	1.32	3.30	32	42
Obsidian Garg,	7	7	16	2-3	9	160	2.35	1.47	22	52
Iron Golems	9	10	35	4-5	5	200	4.41	2.21	12	53
Arch Magi	12	9	30	7-9	7	450	8.80	1.96	8	70
Master Genies	12	12	40	13-16	11	600	15.95	2.66	6	96
Naga Queens	16	13	110	30-30	7	1600	39	2.44	4	156
Titans	24	24	300	40-60	12	5000	85	1.70	2	170