Board Thread:Lore Discussion/@comment-25343239-20150319182007/@comment-260563-20180225042900

To be fair, I said all that needed to be said, and nobody was disputing with my points:

A) The Thalmor were powerful enough to force the Empire to a disadvantageous truce, hence why Skyrim alone will not be enough.

B) The effects of the Civil War will entail one half of Skyrim battering the other half into submission. Without outside economic support, rebuilding Skyrim to have it be in tip-top shape to go to war with the Dominion is a pipe dream. The Thalmor will not sit and wait until Ulfric has rebuilt Skyrim back into an economic powerhouse that can fund a war. They would rather take Skyrim right after Ulfric wins, so that both his forces and the Empire will be at their nadir, making it easy for Dominion forces to take advantage of the chaos.

C) The Dominion's proficiency with magic is such that not only does every Thalmor squad have a battlemage, but the common soldiers also know how to use magic like fire and shock spells, as well as bound swords. To use Star Wars as an analogy, imagine fighting Stormtroopers that not only have plenty of Sith sorcerers as backup, but they also wield red lightsabers and they can shoot lightning from their fingertips. Against this, the Stormcloaks can only muster men with chain mail and steel weapons, which is no match for Elven plate and magic spells.