u/Agreeable-Ad-4723

With mounts being naked for Elf nations in Dominions 6, are they still good to build a bless around? What are the typical blesses that are tailored for them?

This started off as a question about post-expansion, what to do, but then I realized I dont have a good overall understanding of game state and what to do. My current understanding of phases is:

1. Pretender design + nation
2. Expansion - grab neutral territory until inevitable 1st war
3. Mid game - 1st war, early mage use in battles, site searching, diplomacy
4. Late game - large battles, throne rushes, etc.

I Feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the first 2, and then after expansion I feel like I dont have a good direction. Is this fort-building phase? Any pointers would be super helpful.