Build order

[Vynd]

Temples are nice, but to me they don't seem like a good way to spend your cash right at the beginning of the game. It's more important to build up troops and use them to capture more provinces. More provinces = more income, meaning it will be easier to afford building temples later.

The idea of building temples in every province seems a little extreme to me too, at least early in the game it does. High dominion is good, but your Pretender and your capital are going to be spreading your dominion at no cost right from the beginning of the game. So will your prophet, if you appoint one. That ought to be enough to blanket the provinces near you with pretty high dominion within a few turns. It's once you get further away from home or run into another nation's dominion that you need to worry about temples.