Which army for small objectives and mini-fights?

For small targets (small tiles, objectives that fall in 1-2 rounds) you don't want an endurance army but a burst army: one that hits hard immediately.

The settings:

• Center = big raw burst rather than an endurance aura. In a short fight, a "rounds 7-10" aura is useless — the fight is over first.
• Still keep your green dragons for the type and your maxed troops.
• If it's a tile below level 10 and you know the type, also take the type that counters it (+7%).

Within your set of 5 armies, reserve 1-2 slots for these burst/mini armies and 2-3 for the long/combo ones. That covers both combat regimes without recomposing every time you head out.