Gemgen alternative idea.

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Originally Posted by Micah

Fantomen - Upkeep can be circumvented if you're willing to alchemize your piles of gems for any essential gold purchases and rely on commanders and 0 upkeep summons that won't desert. You'll go more and more negative each turn you get more clams, but it won't matter...obviously this would be more of an end-game tactic, but it doesn't solve the problem.

That much upkeep is also bad for the "natural" clamming nations, since the earlier in the game it is the more painful the upkeep is.

Sacred non-commander units don't desert either, so you get to keep them too if you get into negative income. Even regular units don't seem to desert all that quickly.