User blog comment:Spritydove/Deeper Thought into the Civil War/@comment-5135631-20120707164216/@comment-5135631-20120714141125

Saying magic is superior to armed combat is just silly, really; they are balanced in gameplay and in the lore. Think about it, if magic was superior then the High Elves would have conquered the rest of Tamriel long ago, but they didn't, because the Empire did, who up until the Great war used all different sorts of combat types. Magic doesn't ignore all armour, and saying the Nords never use magic is wrong. They certaintly don't use as much as the High Elves, but they do use some magic, and each Jarl has a Court Wizard and there is the college of Winterhold. While most of these folks aren't Nords, they would certiantly fight against the Thalmor. If magic is as powerful as you say it is, then theoretically the Empire would have lost the Great War a lot quicker. Fire spells probably aren't as powerful as real life fire, and any frost spells the Aldmeri used would be obselete against Nords. While the Altmer are the best at magic, the Nords are the best at melee combat, along with the Redguard, and therefore it is a match.

The Snow Elves were probably great with magic, and they have complicated magic as seen in Dawnguard. Look what happened to them when they pissed off the Nords.

Nords don't really shun magic, people just think they do because The College of Winterhold was blamed for the Great Collapse (it wasn't damaged at all, and while they weren't to blame it is no doubt seen as suspicious) and they don't use as much as the High Elves, because Nords are naturally better at melee combat, but they also use other weapons and combat types as I explained before, more variety than the Thalmor have.

While there are some stray Dragons who attack humans, we know that the majority of Dragons, and perhaps the Two most powerful Dragons left in the world, Paarthunaax and Odahviing, are sworn to the Dragonborn's service, and Dovahkiin has been recognised as the dominant Dovah on Mundus, meaning the majority would team up with him. If the Stormcloaks win, this means that theoretically the Thalmor have to deal with the majority of Dragons and the Dovahkiin himself/herself.

The Thalmor will have some supplies, but they'd have to gamble on a quick victory because they simply could not win a drawn out war in a place like Skyrim, as I have already explained in great detail and previous post(s) and as we also know from when the Thalmor attacked Hammerfell. (Skyrim and Hammerfell are not exactly the same, but they are both hostile places for the Altmer to invade, only difference is one is a cold mountainous region and the other is a desert like land, at least in the South and East as far as I know. Couple this with the Nords and Redguards general similarities on the battlefield you have a really tough situation for the Aldmeri Dominion.)