Some Items are easier to get the others

So alot of the end-game grinding is training your troops to Level 9 or 10, and gathering powerful enough items to waste shards enchanting.

PvPing with level 6 troops vs a Nation with Level 10s with enchanted Dragon Might is an exercise in futility. Alot of the PvP constructed deck Nations play the game of run in attack, retreat and heal.

This is especially true if they have a special damaging attack like Phoenix's or Dark Elf Raven Riders.

They play as long as they can with a triad of flyers, and because of the healing retreating, your ability to damage these units is limited to the window in which you are attacking them, and your ability to snare/stun them as they run away.

Thank god for Undead. I literally jumped for joy when I read the Wight notes:

Wight
Attack Speed: Medium
Range: Medium
Movement: Medium - flyer
Armor: High
Health: High
Damage: Medium
Stamina: Medium
Maximum Unit Size: 4
Special: Chilling Winds - flying units in target radius (15m) suffer -25%
defense rating and -50% movement speed for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.

Wight's ability to snare a pack of flyers to let your ranged units attack them before they retreat back to their healers is an ability that is very useful for constructed deck PvP. And stripping them of DR is just a bonus.

Anyway, back to items:

The problem with gearing up, is that all items are not as easy to get as others.

The difference between a item suffix like "Dragon Might" and other is pretty significiant. Just having a great item can make certain troops just stronger then others.

Also, there are definitely mission/quests that drop the harder to get items, but the problem is their drop rate is so low that it is actually easier to level troops that can use the easy to find weapons instead.

Easy to get Endgame Items

Twelve Trials Part 3 - Boar's Tusk - Swords Spears Charms Axes
Twelve Trials Part 2- Dragon's Might Wards
Twelve Trials Part 3 - Deadly and Brutal Bows
Mithril Mines- Bows Swords Chain Hammers Weapon Enchants Leather Armor Xbows Guns Staves


Hard to Get End Game Items:

Polearms
Plating
Cloth
Platemail
Lances

One cavaet:

There are certain quests that spawn mobs that are Faction specific. For example "King of the Hill" at Gold level 30 drops good gear, but whoever STARTS the quest, all the enemies are your faction. Kheldara says farming lances in that mission is easy, but as a Nation army, I never fight a lance carrying mob, because all the enemies are Nature faction.