Wait, rushing? Seriously? You'd rush someone who had The Ark, or Stone Sword, or Aegis laying around? I don't think this whole blitzing idea was thought through very thoroughly. You can bless all you want, and buy elephants til they fall out of your bum, but you'll be playing a BIG gamble if you go after someone's capital too early in this one.
My only comment on the map - if it was balanced starting spots for the full game - it wouldn't be too hard to just wiggle a couple of people over so no one has a much larger empty space next to them, from one of the absentees? Just guessing you wouldn't need to do much but transpose a couple of province numbers in the file. If I'm wrong, no biggie, I am ready to make a pretender! <3