I just said enough green mines to saturate the food. Yes, that implies low food, but relatively high production.
Anyway, you are confused in thinking one or two thousand games are a good sampling of potential maps generated. My guess is that the generator rolls about the order of hundreds of random numbers for each map (about one or two per tile). To have a good chance to spot special case maps you would have to see some tens of thousands of maps (in the order of about 100/random number generated) ...
No one would prioritize BW just to see copper. Do you avoid AH when there is nothing to pasture? You should. You won't go AH just to see horses because there are many other techs that benefit more.
And if you can get a bulb you want, you would avoid Fishing/Sailing/Calendar/Compass/Optics. Would you avoid AH/HBR with nothing to pasture to bulb, say, Engineering (hypothetically, if it was needed)? Sure you would.
Would you avoid BW when you need it for nothing else but to see Copper, in order to rush Lib -> Mil Trad? I bet you that would be the smart play.
Example of a map where you can avoid BW:
Imagine you are Lizzy and start by coast with 4 gold mines and 2 clams, a length-1 river. (zero Forests) Around you the land is mostly dessert with a few flood plains, two oasis and a gold or two. You have a sheep as well for your fourth city, before boxed in.
Do you think BW will fit in your first ten techs?