Hey ,
The shiel is indeed insteresting to play :)
I usually start by getting rid of the first watchmen so they can't alarm the main camp.
That gives me a bit of breating room.
Start with summoning your heroes with you. ther's a monument somewhere near your base normally. Place those guys ,together with the troops you've received from the commander, in the center of your base and use them to repel early attacks. Your avatar should cover the front of the camp (facing the hill with the guards).
Start by harvesting 40 wood.
Build a lumberjack.Harvest wood ASAP.
The more the better.
Build a Small HQ , then your sawmill which doubles the wood
and get those archers ready :)
10 of them are all you need initially.
After this the trees should have vanished.
Build a forester , foodstore , berriegatherer hut.
Now the attacks should get a bit bigger.
Start building towers next to the river where your avatar is standing.
Avatar in the middle in front of your towers to keep them from attacking the towers.
I think i build 2 rows after each other.
Once this is up you don't need to worry anymore.
Expand your base and upgrade your units.
Always use a foodstore before harvesting berries or placing a hunters guild.
This will maximize yield and elves never have to worrie about wood :)
right lastly i would suggest to advance the enemy camps using your avatar in the front followed by +/- 30 archers. The healers + heroes should follow to kepping your avatar healthy. If things get hard attrack them with your avatar and lead them to the archers :)
Good luck , i won't reveal it all to not spoil your game.
If you still have problems give me a shout.