Abraxis
☮
As many of you probably know, getting a religion on 22/civ immortal+ maps can be a bit of a challenge. While the obvious answer would be to pick Maya or Etheopia, I'm interested in hearing people's experiences trying out the not-so obvious ones. Secondary or tertiary benefits to a civ's abilities, start bias based indirect advantages, all the stuff that isn't immediately obvious while looking at a civ.
Things like,
Shoshone: Stagnate capital working a double production tile immediately, pump out pathfinders. Grow through goody huts when necessary. The goal being to grab a religious bonus from huts when you can to get one of the pantheons which yield piety from worked tiles. Failing that, use the bonus production you can afford from not having to work food tiles to get Stonehenge before anyone else.
Arabia: Desert start bias + Desert Folklore + they seem to start near religious CS pretty often.
Spain: Start bias near a natural wonder, which seems to have a good chance of being +piety (from my limited experience anyways).
Now, I don't have much experience opening religious focussed games so my exmples are a bit light, but you get the idea. Shoshone being pretty well the only one I've tried to make work (sucessfully, several times on Immortal/22civ).
So does anyone have any other opening strategies for making religion work for non-standard religious civs in the higher populated/difficult games?
P.S. Bonus points to whomever explains how to get one as Byzantium on immortal+/22civ
Things like,
Shoshone: Stagnate capital working a double production tile immediately, pump out pathfinders. Grow through goody huts when necessary. The goal being to grab a religious bonus from huts when you can to get one of the pantheons which yield piety from worked tiles. Failing that, use the bonus production you can afford from not having to work food tiles to get Stonehenge before anyone else.
Arabia: Desert start bias + Desert Folklore + they seem to start near religious CS pretty often.
Spain: Start bias near a natural wonder, which seems to have a good chance of being +piety (from my limited experience anyways).
Now, I don't have much experience opening religious focussed games so my exmples are a bit light, but you get the idea. Shoshone being pretty well the only one I've tried to make work (sucessfully, several times on Immortal/22civ).
So does anyone have any other opening strategies for making religion work for non-standard religious civs in the higher populated/difficult games?
P.S. Bonus points to whomever explains how to get one as Byzantium on immortal+/22civ