early game expansion tactics

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
It is odd that nobody mentioned mercs. Grab mercs ASAP! Mercenaries on turn 2 can double your expansion rate (on some indy settings) and ultimately mean the difference between winning and losing.

Well, doesn't this depend on a lot of factors, such as if any are available, cost of the available mercs, type of the available mercs (a single merc leader with no troops isn't going to be worth it, odds are, nor someone with cannon-fodder-grade troops that won't be good enough to help you take out that indy 7+ province next door with your possibly weak starting troops), player desire to recruit an expensive magical researcher, etc. You have to look at your situation, what you want to accomplish, and what's available to see if mercs are a good solution to getting there faster. Very often they are, but not always.