After playing two games I can safely say it was my fault for relying on Berserkers when playing this combo. Gladiators are actually very strong and durable units that still deal a ton of damage. Berserkers are still the "intended" best offensive unit, but they work better when you have buffs to their defense, like Heroism or Endurance. Chaos and Sorcery are not buffing realms, atleast not in the early game, so sticking Resist Magic and/or Flame Blade and making Gladiator armies works a lot better.
As for node taking, it depends on the creatures in the node. For instance, Cockatrices or Chaos Spawns would stop Barbarians dead in their tracks. Diplomacy can be rewarding but is also a dangerous game, considering that you can have games which roll Chaotic/Maniacal/Aggressive/Ruthless personalities on Arcanus, and they will absolutely punish you if you let them get big.
As for node taking, it depends on the creatures in the node. For instance, Cockatrices or Chaos Spawns would stop Barbarians dead in their tracks. Diplomacy can be rewarding but is also a dangerous game, considering that you can have games which roll Chaotic/Maniacal/Aggressive/Ruthless personalities on Arcanus, and they will absolutely punish you if you let them get big.