@ Minstrel- DG and DEI rushes work quite well. You need to attack at the right time however. For example, a current deity level standard pangea game inspired by Bedhead's post: 6 cities at 1250 BC, with 4 barracks, 3 Mounted Warriors, a chariot, 3 archers, and a warrior in each city for MP duty (2 in capital). A neighbor demands gold, I tell him to shove it. He has a wandering settler pair close to my capital which I destroy, starting my golden age. Normally I WOULD have waited longer to get more units for the initial invasion push but it worked out decently well. At 550 BC he's gone, along with two neighbors now playing as OCCs, and Im up to about 30 mounted warriors and numerous cities. There is simply no way that the AI will be to pikemen by 1000 BC unless on Sid. I think feudalism was discovered around early 600s BC in the game I mention above, and thats max opponents with 3 scientific civs. With no scientifics, it would be a bit later. Ive also used early archer rushes to take a nearby city with an iron or horse resource pre-1600 BC with very good effectiveness.