Do you really think that you're fooling anyone?

[Xietor]

Rather than have the reputation of someone who pillages and burns their lands to create a disincentive to attack, I would prefer:

1. To have the reputation of always honoring my deals, even if it costs me a chance to win the game,

and

2. To be known as a player that is extremely good at fighting battles and killing off my enemies in battle.


The 1st is a matter of trust. If you have the rep of sticking with your allies through thick and thin, hopefully more people will choose you as an ally in the future. You are dependable and they do not have to fear the knife in the back.

The second, if a powerful neighbor has 2 or 3 expansion options, but knows you are going to extract a heavy toll on his armies, and that a quick victory is extremely unlikely,
then he may look elsewhere even though geographically your lands are the next most logical choice.

Players that pillage and destroy their own lands, or have d3 dominion, are precisely the players I want to kill off 1st. If they are left alone, then they will have an even bigger area of lands to destroy in the future. So I would rather bite the bullet early and remove them from the game.