Tips and/or suggestions for starting game

[Endoperez]

You might want to try Clash of the Titans map. It is a two-player map without Water nations, and while it works better against another human, I'm sure you'll also have interesting times against an AI. Test against one nation that your nation can counter naturally, in the beginning. As an example, Ulm can be hard if you don't have crossbows and you need expensive mages against their armor, and Abysia can be very hard if you can't protect your troops from fire or destroy their troops from afar.

[Sandman]

Troop placement is very important for the early game. Learn to anticipate the attack plans of the various indy troops, so your soliders can 'hold and attack' to score the first hit. Use chaff units to draw indy missile fire. Always keep your own missile units are far forward as you dare, unless you're using ALL missile units, in which case stay at the back of the battle map.

[Saxon]

One thing you might want to try is taking Ermor. In single player, they are pretty powerful and will give you a chance to learn a lot about the game while not worrying about getting run over right away. They can also go underwater, which can give you and advantage.

You might also want to start a game as one of the underwater races and make sure you do not include any others or Ermor. It will provide you a nice safe start, a training ground and a retreat. It is more fun learning the mechanics of the game when you have a decent chance of living past the first few turns.

[shovah]

i dont think ermor is a good intro, i used it to introduce my friend and he found it hard due to their reliance on magic and stuff (which can be hard to grasp at start)

[Agrajag]

I found AE Ermor a very good point to start from, it the first race I played, and I had a lot of fun with it.
I still often play AE and SG against the AI, though recently I have decided to try other races, because the AI just isn't good at handling Ermor (especially SG, against AE he is a bit better in my experience).
So now instead of "pwning" the AI with SG I get my *** whooped with some other nation

[Gandalf Parker]

I usually start people with Ulm. Buying armored troops and building armies to ravage provinces tends to get them a ways into the game. Then I can get a taste for their tactics and recommend a better match

[Saxon]

True, Ulm is very much classic heavy infantry, so it makes more intuitive sense to a new player. Also, the units are pretty durable and are more forgiving. Just stay away from a blood strategy, they are tricky for even experienced folks. Think of blood as that interesting class you can take after you pass first year!

If you take Ulm and are winning, make sure you start experimenting with magic later in the game. It is critical to many of the other races, so experiment with it a bit when it is safe. Ulm is not great in this area, but you can still learn from it.