I like how the son Sam's can't-be-beat plan was to kidnap the grandmother's granddaughter so that we couldn't gather the ingredients and beat the game. But then he used a saw that cut her ropes and red painted rolls of toilet paper and string for a bomb. Keeping it real and PG :D.
For all races: Always double-check our Edicts to make sure they match the situation, e.g., Don’t max out poisonous archers when you need to use Calvary. For the Duchy, I used Crossbowmen and Zealots for the last stage. For the Horde, I used Assassins and Banner of Bloodlust, letting the Assassins heal occasionally every time they took over a stronghold.
For those having difficulty getting the hard badge for Cult on the last stage: Our goal is to have five to six wizards in a pincer attack (two-three squads going clockwise, then two-three squads going counterclockwise as soon as we’re able to buy this many). Take out the Magic Tower so that the enemy can’t invoke Call to Grave. Gold is an issue, so start with all mines, then sell them one by one as your cache gets large enough for you to purchase a farm and Wizard Squad in the same move. I only got the first ogre chest and ignored the other chests despite the fact that my wizards kept attacking the ogres of their volition. Don’t forget to guard your base at the beginning of the round and make sure you have the cheap-build Edicts and freezing Edicts maxed out. Continued in another comment.
For anyone getting stuck, all I can say is, it gets easier. Take it step-by-step, one-by-one. The game follows its own rules pretty strictly, so the more things there are to match up (e.g., lights, holes, shapes, etc.), the easier it actually is because there is usually only one place a piece can go since the board is small.
Can I just say, I love level 7. It took me a couple of tries, but it was amazing. Was really when I started to respect this game for more than just its music and sound effects.
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