[Saxon]

Diplomacy doesn’t play much of a role in wars of religion, so don’t expect it here. Once you say the other guy is not a god, he is never going to forgive you.

Saber Cherry is right (as a note, SC probably knows more about DOMII than anyone outside the developers) the magic is key. Only one theme on one nation does not use magic, everyone else does and it is what makes them unique. The differences between nations are vast, it is not like Civ where you get some mild bonuses and one special unit.

The other thing I would mention is how long do you spend on a turn? If I try to play this game quickly, I get my butt handed to me and I am pretty good at all the games you mention. You have to take your time with this and look at everything. In terms of cards, this is Bridge and MOO is Go Fish. Really. Take your time, use the F1 screen, look at your taxes and unrest every turn. Plan ahead for spells, units and magic items. Learn your nation and how they work. If you are playing Arco, look at Astral magic very closely before you start, all of the spells. Learn the crystal matrix and understand fatigue. Power up your mages and cook the enemy with mind burns.

And have fun! I will be honest, not everyone enjoys this game, it is deep and you have to pay a lot of attention. I play MOO when I don’t want to work to hard and Dom when I want a challenge. If you want to win on easy with each nation in SP, you will have to learn more than in other games.