My frame of reference for strategy games is usually Civilization since I've spent the most time with it over the last twenty or so years. I was also a huge fan of Master of Magic and Master of Orion, but to be honest, nowadays I mostly focus on RPGs on the Xbox 360 and strategy games on my iPod touch.
A year and a half ago I bought War of Magic based on the hype that it was the spiritual successor to MOM. I played the Betas, commented on these forums that there was no way it was going to be a good much less finished game on release, and like many, was disappointed that was the case.
Fast forward to the last few days and I have to say I love Fallen Enchantress. I've only spent a few hours playing it but I think about it a lot and look forward to my time with it. I'm playing a game on easy difficulty with a faction and character I created myself and I have no complaints about any aspect of the game. It's similar enough to the original Elemental to make picking it up easy but this time around it's polished. Most of all, it's fun and it does a good job with feedback and rewards.
I look forward to more of the game, to future Betas, and to the final release.