Slitherine

When you create a multiplayer army, it is really, really important to use a mix of troops. This means at least both light and heavy infantry, and preferably some other troops. Not only can clone armies be boring, but they can be very ineffective- especially the ones that are purely light/heavy infantry(triarrii stand no chance against warriors in woods, or veterans supported by light cavalry. Also, be prepared for any type of troop- I forgot to prep for elephants, and though I took all his other units to peices, his elephants had me for lunch, grinding through every single unit that I had left- which was about 3500 denarii worth of units(although, to be fair, the rest of his army consited of a horde of skirmishers and heavy cavalry). Also, if you have no archers, dont sit back and wait- the enemy will just shoot you to peices. The guy with the most ranged firepower can afford to take his time- you cant.

Also, dont mistake Triarii for a unit that is great against infantry. Any unit with a sword and some armor will give them a beating- except for cavalry. Against cavalry, they are great, but unless you expect a lot of it, do not field all spearmen. Unless, of course, you are a masochist.

A unit with suffieciently hgih attack can be a peril even out of its element. Warriors with decent feint/ swordsmanship can put a hurt on hastiti, and rout them if the warriors out number them sufficiently.

Finally, dont forget to use the free commands- rally, signal, and halt come to mind.