Help with Arco

As was stated before, you should put Hyps and Elephants together, but you should note that the Elephants will far outdistance the Hyps and one or two may die. My common configuration for Indy stomping is 4 Elephants 12~13 Hyps. You can get away with 3 sometimes, but more often than not, a headstong elephant will run out in front of the rest and try to stmapede his way to the back and get caught and killed in the middle.

But with 4 or 5 Elephants, most things will rout by the pure carnage that the elephants bring.

Also using Hyps instead of Hoplites allows Map movement of two.

You should be able to build an army like that every turn or two as you expand. Then have a 4 Astral Astrologer equipped with a Crown of Command play the role of ferry. Have him grab large amounts of troops and Gateway them to your borders (with a lab).

Also never stop making Mystics, with their magic versitility, ability to communion, 2 astral base (for paralyze, stellar fires) and good research capability you'll have a very decent search force (for sites) and an incredibly versatile magic resource for when you can't count on the pure elephant factor. Also save an Astrologer who gets 1 in Death for any SC's you happen to see marching around, and as soon as they enter your domain hit them with a Vengance of the Dead.