[HoneyBadger]

I think you're missing the point here, and I think that's my fault for not making it all that clear...

You don't have to take bad scales, and you don't have to take Air bless, I'm just saying that it's possible to do so. Agartha doesn't really need a terribly high Dominion, for example. You also don't have to build 6 Ancient Lords right away, use your own judgement as to how many you need to take the provinces around your Capital. If you only need 1, just build 1, make him your Prophet, and move on to building another fortress, as soon as you can.

The idea is that a handful of Ancient Lords can deal with whatever is around your Capital, and then start expanding.

And while you might not be doing a lot of research for the first year, Agartha doesn't have a lot of ways to *do* good research for the first year. Those Ancient Lords will also put a stop to early rushes, while you get enough money to set your second fortress up.

Once that's set up, you can research to your heart's content.

With a risen Oracle, you're getting Earth and Death for free. Both of those will benefit you throughout the game. You'll want Nature, because that's replacing a regeneration item, and again, is a great benefit for Agartha.

I guess I'll rewrite this thing, hold on...

There, I redid it to make things a little more clear and a little less extreme-sorry, I wrote this through a bout of insomnia, and I wasn't thinking as clearly as I could have been.