Good amount of money and boots of speed, good roads, so it was easy decision to play. Army was not good though, and every battle was a challenge. Tower AI's zone had 2 cons, but even 5x20 would cause big losses for me, so I went for hives instead. Built cita+behemoth, battle for first hive was 40+ ogre magi, but I managed not to lose anything valuable.
I had luck with early meeting, Xsi needed a few more steps to reach me, and I would not be able to win the battle with just 13 mana and 8 wyverns. But he didn't attack, so I could take another hive and double mana.
Thanks for playing, good luck further.