These are the available races/wizards:

SHADOWGOD:
Very, very strong starting position. Mostly undead but able to migrate to any evil race due to the.. well you'll see. If played by the computer, set to CPU Emperor. It is ‘set’ to a human player, so you may want to strenghten the ShadowGod if you let him be played by the CPU-Emperor (I suggest getting rid of all the city limits in the ShadowArea and add some spiderqueens).
Expect your turns to last quite a long time, enjoy superior forces and other players fleeing for ye!

DALVIANA:
Preset to CPU Emperor as a mediating factor. To take advantage of, or to hopelessly underestimate... Sort of a buffer for the ShadowGod (and to get the needed experience from). Plays Dark Elves and Goblins. She can become pretty strong and if not taken serious can take out a risky player easily! Don’t let her grow too much by focussing on the Darkness spreading from the northeast..

KING RODERICK:
The king of the Humans will face a hard time, this is by far the most difficult position to start (and keep), especially if the ShadowGod is a smart human player. Also, it is probably the first to go down or the first to grow powerful of the 'good' races. Let's hope the power won't corrupt this player if things might go too well, though... Don’t let inexperienced players take this side and provide help for his forces!
Anyway, be bold and expect some action soon. In all the games I’ve seen so far his capitol got razed..

LLANOVAR:
The Elven player has a relatively safe starting position. The forest holds some dangers so be sure to scout ahead and use it to your advantage, defensively and offensively.. Become powerful in the practice of Life Magic and scouting; a big support to the alliance! Later, the stronger elven troops could be the ones to turn the tides..

MERIADOC:
The most safe starting position but very needed to give support to those that need it. I would suggest the least experienced/skilled player to take on this position playing Halflings. They are the safety.. the last line of defense to battle the ShadowGod.

BOLDIR:
A lot of choices to expand to (digging, surface, caves etc) and dangers to overcome. Once these slow but strong dwarves are on the move, the ShadowGod will face a hard time stopping them. By the use of their fire magic they can play an important role for the alliance. Don't get too spread up. In the games I've played and seen, this player has the most risk of dying first because of underestimating the roaming independents.