Sorry, but the days of "sending only Granite Golems and Sorceresses and win everything without any losses ever" are over.
In the old system, we had several units that would be almost a guaranteed win in any fight, in any encounter, at any distance.
That is
simply not true. Here follows some lengthy analysis
On the EN1 server I've won 303 provinces, I have a few more to go in ring 12, and I'm playing with Elves.
Here's my reality for the different provice types (remember: under the old system. Also note that I'm a pretty average fighter, and on EN1 I have enough goods that I can negotiate most encounters anyway.) :
Crystal: Yes, these can be won with auto-fight and 5 stacks of Treant IIs - but, note that in ring 12, there can still be up to two squads lost per encounter, depending on terrain and luck.
Scrolls: There seem to be two options for Scrolls provinces - either one squad of Bandits + one squad War Dog + 1-6 squads Thief, or one Thief/one War Dog/ 1-6 Bandit. If Bandits are dominant, then 1 squad Treants + 4 squads Golems will probably win, however I'd expect to lose all of the Treants and 1 Squad of Golems. If Thiefs are dominant, then 1 squad Treants + 4 Sorceress III works pretty well, however again, the Treants will be lost, and maybe some Sorcs too.
Silk: Some fights can be won with 5 x Sorceress IIIs - maybe 2-3 per province, maybe losing 1 squad per fight. However, the other encounters have a mix of Thief and Cannoneer, and I haven't found a combination that won't lose 2-3 squads in winning the encounter.
Planks - melee-only encounters (e.g. Thiefs + Swamp Monsters) can usually be fought with a bunch of Golems, maybe a Sorc or two as well. With luck and dodging around the terrain, maybe only 1 squad will be lost, but with enough squads of Thiefs it's easy to lose 2-3 squads of Golems in "winning". Per Encounter.
Steel - there is a winning formula for these, at least - 4 x Golems + 1 Sorc, or 5 x Golems. Take out the Bandits first (after their first salvo kills at least half a squad), then some Golems make a beeline for the Cannoneers, the rest try to reduce the Knights. At
least one squad will be lost per encounter, maybe 2-3 if the Cannoneers get lucky.
Gems - another tricky one, facing, Bandits, Knights, and Cerberus II (War Dog II? I forget), in various combinations. These are harder if using Golems or Sorceresses, the Cerberus II will make sure of heavy losses for either - but Treants lose half a squad every round to the Bandits. Another type of encounter that is possible, but involves 2-3 squad losses per encounter, so it's not usually worth it ...
Elixir, Marble, Magic Dust - honestly, I've been mostly negotiating these. The combinations of heavy ranged (steinlings/golem IIs) and/or necromancers are basically guaranteed to take out a squad or two per encounter, and some of the Marble & Elixir encounters (especially against 6-8 squads) are pretty much impossible.
Summing up the losses per province:
Crystal - 3-6 squads of Treants.
Scrolls - 6-8 squads of Treants, 3-5 squads Sorceresses or Golems
Silk - at least 10 squads lost to complete the 8 encounters. More if the Cannoneers get lucky ...
Planks - 5-10 squads lost
Elixir - easily 10 squads lost, I can imagine losing 20 or more to get through the 8 encounters.
Marble - easily 10 squads lost, I can imagine losing 20 or more to get through the 8 encounters.
Steel - 8-20 squads lost to fight all 8 encounters.
Gems - easily 10 squads lost, I can imagine losing 20 or more to get through the 8 encounters.
Magic Dust - easily 10 squads lost, I can imagine losing 20 or more to get through the 8 encounters.
And remembering that it's 9-10 provinces per province expansion, and that adds up to 40-60 squads lost just for one expansion !
(note: on Beta I play as Humans. I've found that Blessed Paladins + Priests are about as effective as the Golem/Sorc combinations, but losses are generally half to one squad higher ... )
So, back to the quote from
@Muf-Muf - "win in any fight, in any encounter, at any distance" - that is a huge exaggeration, and I'm sure you know it. I hope the developers know it too, otherwise they are "rebalancing" the battle system under false assumptions !
But that would explain what they've given us here.
Edit: Forgot Gems ! Added them in ...