Summon shambler : 1 point
Mulch shambler, Bramble shield, Ground spikes, Spike wave : max
End game : Tribute
At the very beginning of the game, shield all your teammates while they are still at base, it is free and will help taking an early advantage. As it makes loose time, I use to wait a bit more and buy a lock, which is a way like another to compensate the time loss.
Favor item : Anklet. First items : armor, helm, and flag lock. Don't laugh 
. Anklet because it is an aggressive build. Harass the opponent. You have a shield and you can attack fleeing enemies. It means you can still chase them while being attacked by an enemy tower. They will loose a lot of hp, while you will loose nothing. Therefore you will have the flags, and that's the most important. With the help of a teammate, you can get some kills by surprising enemies with that strategy. That's also why you need armor and helm : you need mana and shield.
In my opinion, it is a bit better to use anklet instead of cloak, because you can do a lot more damage at the beginning of the game, just by harassing enemy demigods.
Do not use the shamblers to fight, just summon them and keep them at base. Consider them as two free potions. Indeed, as Mulch shambler has an infinite casting distance, it enables refilling hp at any time, without having to summon during an intense fight. It saves time and mana, so it saves life. You could use them to farm, but personally I find the summoning skill too expensive.
Stay in closed mode until Ground Spikes III, which drops armor quite enough to be interesting. You do not need its area of effect before its 3rd level, you already have the small AoE of the standard attack in closed mode. Except to farm large amount of troops. At middle map on cataract for example, with Ground Spikes II + Closed mode AoE, your team gets 100% of monsters gold in a few seconds. But do not use it for small groups, your team needs Teh Shield and you need mana.
Spike Wave should not be used for other purpose than slowing an enemy down, as shielding team + groundspiking is already very mana-consuming.
So, at the beginning or the game, it is shielding only. When you have Ground Spikes III, you must constantly switch between both modes. However, do not use ground spikes for its damage, only use it when you know its armor dropping effect will be useful AND no one of your teammates needs a shield. Do not use it on a fleeing enemy who will take poor damage during the next 5 seconds. Most of your mana is still dedicated to Bramble Shield.
With Ground Spikes IV, take towers down. An armor-dropped tower takes 500-600 damage each time you attack it.
Items : Vlemish Faceguard, Plenor Battlecrown, Nimoth Chest Armor, Boots of Speed, Priest Idol
All the rest goes to citadel upgrades (but don't take first currency if you did not kill at least one demigod, except if no one in your team did :P) and lock/tp
Do not forget that your shamblers are teleported with you, so don't feel surprised if your two cute free potions have vanished ^^
Demigod Forums
). Compost looks a good damage boost (according to numbers) that stacks well with shamblers.
. Anklet because it is an aggressive build. Harass the opponent. You have a shield and you can attack fleeing enemies. It means you can still chase them while being attacked by an enemy tower. They will loose a lot of hp, while you will loose nothing. Therefore you will have the flags, and that's the most important. With the help of a teammate, you can get some kills by surprising enemies with that strategy. That's also why you need armor and helm : you need mana and shield.