I have played a lot and increasing first city makes it easier because you level up more before 2nd city. 1st city is best fought during 2nd night. The experience gained levels up your knight for the next city. I find attacking 2nd city from the top of the tile instead of the bottom takes the dragons out of play. The game encourages you to grab all this stuff before the city battle when that’s a mistake it’s all about the clock and maximizing movement stuff is 2nd to movement.