How does Legalism Exactly Work?

I used to always get four free monuments through legalism. Now with the Amphitheater change and all Im debating going a Tradition Piety Hybrid as DJinn did in the India Deity Series.

How does legalism exactly work? Do I need four cities with four monuments and pick legalism to get four free amphitheaters? What if I have a capital city with monument and have research the amphitheater tech - can I get four free amphitheaters? What if I have three cities some with and without monuments with amphitheater tech - then what happens?

Thanks

Your first 4 cities will get their next culture building for free.

So if your capital has a monument, and you go legalism, then your next 3 cities you build will get a free monument, and the cap will get a free amphithreatre, once you reach the requisite tech.

Does it need the requisite tech? The finisher of tradition gives you aqueducts even if you don't have engineering.

Yes, it does. And it will "save" the free building until the tech is acquired. So if you wait to pick Legalism until your first four cities have monuments, no visible reward will appear until you unlock the tech for the next culture building and all will instantly appear in the first four cities as FREE.

This is different than how Aqueducts from finisher work. originally, legalism granted you a free culture building of the highest tech you'd accomplished. If it already existed in the city, it became FREE (removing maintenance cost). Since they altered it to "save" the gift instead of merely removing maintenance from existing ones, it requires you to achieve the tech to receive it now.

what amphitheater change are you referring to?

Also, MD's India game is pretty horrible if you are looking for good strategy. BNW was just too new for good strategy to have been developed when it was recorded, and it also looks like he intentionally chose the worst possible path through the policy trees. The only reason he won the game is because MD is, well, MD. About the only part of that game that was seriously first class was the way he played the diplomatic aspect.

the great work slot in amphitheater is nice. U can move around the great works so if u get a new city with a free amphitheater - move great work and get some culture spread in said city.

I actually didnt watch the entire video series - its long lol. I only watched the first 4. He didnt seem to do superbly well for the the first 4 but its diety and ive been told its always an uphill battle.

What is a good India strategy? Ive been doing full tradition then piety with India on Immortal and its working great!