[OgreMkV]

I'm a total newbie and if there are major flaws to anything I say here, please let me know. But here's what I do...

So far, I've played mainly Pangea and Helheim (both Early) and I almost always start with a pretender awake and active. I almost always have one of the physically weaker, but magically more powerful pretenders. Say, the enchantress. I'll load up on magic (cost ten for a new path!). So it would be something like F4, A2, E2, N4, D4.

Plus they have huge research potential... like 23 or so a turn. I can usually get at two levels in two paths by turn two.

Finally, this particular setup is a great site hunter. Once I've got a few levels and a few additional research types, then I send the pretender out hunting. In a standard world he can find a huge number of sites in a short period of time. The gems can be used for conjuring big armies or turned into gold for other stuff.