Well, call me crazy but I've always played with Indep strength of 9. Work for every territory and make the AI work for hi ya know?
And it really cuts down on explosive growth. Heck, I've lost my Pretender to more "white flags" than to any AI nation....
I try to avoid territories with lots of crossbowmen or Heavy Cavalry until I have a big army (usually by 20 turns or so). Crank out scouts and TRY to set up defensible chokepoints (as opposed to a perimeter). Meanwhile my pretender is busily researching at home. That sort of thing.
Although many are the occasion (often through my inept handling of defense) that my pretender has to take to the field to save the day...
Sometimes you guys amaze me. Like you're some kind of unstopable wave rolling over the enemy. Sheesh! If only I were so lucky! I'm still fighting for my life at turn 50 and sometimes even as far as turn 100.
