you played early access version? I guess there probably is not much difference really in full release, it does sound like conquest of Elysium though, which I think the fun is supposed to be more in the army design and meta gaming, but I have never played it, some people seem to really like it.
I played EA, but EA was more a beta version than alpha so the game design remains unchanged. I never played Conquest of Elysium either, but the meta in this feels simpler than Illwinter's Dominions.
What the experience of playing this game reminded me of more than anything else was the first Warlock: Master of the Arcane. Warlock 1 was fun for a little while, but lacking a layer of depth or AI challenge to hold my interest. Warlock 2 solved that for me with the added emphasis on PvE survival and the shard exploration. Godking badly needs an extra layer of ... something.
See all the nodes in the screenshot below? There must be two dozen of them to capture and that's only 10-15% of the map. They're fairly pointless as all you're required to do is capture the enemy capital(s). The game is in essence: wander around the map a bit engaging in automated combat, loot and resource gathering until you've a force powerful enough to take the enemy capital and then beeline there. It's ok, but Warhammer: Gladius did the lightweight, combat-focused 4x thing so much better.