Using your pretender early: How?

[Cor]

I have had good luck with a Wyrm. I dont buy any paths, so if it dies I have not lost anything, and I take dominion 9 or 10 to give it the bonus stats and Awe. I play with the standard Indy strength. It can usually take provinces on the first turn by itself. Once you get a revigoration item your good to go against knights and the like.

Last game I did this with I was playing several difficult AI. My expansion was about twice as fast as the average. I think it also had to do with the order and producion scales allowed me to crank out good expansion forces.