[Cainehill]

Also, spending 200 on troops gives me an ongoing drain on my economy. If those troops aren't needed or useful for even 10 turns, that's about ... 180 additional gold they've cost me. The temple, like PD, is a one time cost that gives an ongoing benefit.

I've got some MP games going where I have over 30 temples. And I still have provinces I've owned for 20 or more turns where it's been enemy dominion for all that time.

If I didn't have the temples, I'd be up the creek without a paddle; if I'd bought troops, I'd probably have a negative income.

On some maps, the troops might well have been more cost effective, allowing me to raze enemy temples. But between having non-aggression treaties (which allows me to focus my military efforts on other borders) and maps that have chokepoints that make it harder to bring huge amounts of troops to bear, the temples are, imo, more worthwhile.

If it had been Karan or Inland, something where every province has 4-6 neighbors, things might be different. But even then, razing my peaceful neighbor's temples would lead to my having a war on all fronts, and rapidly losing my conquests.