[Graeme Dice]

Meglobob said:
No, bless strategies are NOT the best ones, especially if you want to win a MP game. That's the short answer.

It's also the incorrect answer. If you want to get a massive early game advantage over every other player, then the only way to do that is to use a dual-bless strategy. Unlike Dominions II where national troops took about 20 turns to become obsolete, national troops are obsolete from the very first turn in Dominions III, as dual-blessed troops can win with a third (or less) of the gold cost spent on them.

Essentially, it entirely depends what nation you are playing, for example EA T'ien Ch'i is a nation whose main strength is strong magic in many different paths.

Their main strength before turn 20 is blessed warriors of the five elements. Before turn 20, which is when the eventual winner of the game is decided, magic plays virtually no role in Dom 3.

There is mounting and strong evidence to suggest on maps of 15 provinces per player or higher, 50% magic sites and normal research anyone with a double lvl 9 bless or more is at a disadvantage to win in MP.

You have evidence? I'd love to see it.

They get dragged down by the culmative effect of bad scales like death-3, misfortune-3 and drain-3.

This statement illustrates how little you understand about the game. Dual-blesses are not particularly expensive, and do not require large sacrifices to your scales. Niefelheim, for example, can have an E9N9 Cyclops with Dominion 7, order 3, cold 3, death 1, misfortune 2, and drain 2.

Death 3 has almost no effect whatsoever on your game, unless you are playing a weak nation like Abysia or Marignon that relies on fire mages. You will have lost 24% of your population in your home province by turn 50 with death 3, and less than that in other provinces where your dominion spent less time. If misfortune 3 is going to screw up your game, it will do so in the first five turns. After that, with a dual-bless strategy, you'll have so many provinces that the negative impact will be spread throughout your empire. Drain 3 is typically not needed for a dual-bless strategy, but if you do choose it over the no-brainer choice of drain 2, you can power through the penalty by spending extra gold on mages.