The gameplay is fantastic. Each faith has its unique strengths and weaknesses. Death has everything except for healing spells. Order is well balanced in all respects. It is the only faith that can convert water to land and has the best ships and sea creatures.
Earth has the strongest warriors in the game and good spells but relatively weak archers.
Air has a balanced troop and has more flying creatures. This is further enhanced with exploration of the map, management of resources and real time combat. On the other hand, the inexperienced will initially find combat difficult but will slowly get used to it. All this with a good story make Lords Of Magic the best strategy game ever. There re also the Quest Packs in the Special Edition which are good.