HA! true, true... if I had it in the first place
I'm thinking more of just as you hit your groove, good gem/gold income, good items and research, good site coverage.. optimal time to go to war and you find out they're push overs.
I'd rather bring them up to my level then drop myself down to theirs (worked hard to get there!)
I'll try playing vs. impossible AI and just trying to get to the groove, up till now been playing against diff/mighty... although once you get the edge in gems/construction it really seems game over. lvl 8 artifacts can change the game, and if there is no competition for them its short lived fun.