[Taqwus]

HoF in my SP games tends to be filled with experienced, lethal battlefield commanders with either nasty magic, nasty ranged items (Spirit Helm for instance) or both.

Although, if you've researched spells like Murdering Winter or Flames from the Sky, mages which catch major armies can jump onto HoF pretty rapidly without leaving the lab. You do get experience just sitting there and researching, but it's not nearly as useful as killing a hundred or more units for HoF purposes.

Played through EA T'ien C'hi (had a couple of Celestial Masters die, but not too badly off with the nature magic... and I was spending more on archers and nobles anyway *shrug* -- trying a massed ground-pounder approach rather than a mobile, flying strat), MA Mictlan (some suffering with the High Priests of the Sun, until I broke the Lawgiver's rule and got a few blood hunters going and forged the rejuvenation boots... and I used more Priest Kings and Mesmerizing Turkeys, and later summoned mages), and LA R'lyeh (whose starspawn have LONG lifespans).