While maybe not as specific a set up as you're asking, I've found the Inland Sea map with 10 sponsors to be great fun, and I never really see that map mentioned around here.
In both base BE and Civ V(which also has the map type) the description has always implied the big sea in the middle of the map would be something hotly contested. Before, all that was really worth contesting was the ability to get water trade routes for the bonus yields between coastal cities settled along the rim and a shortcut to other civs you wanted to attack.
Now with RT, I think the map type livens up a lot more. Since you can plant cities on it and the sea can contain so many resources, it means so much more to actually try and control it.
Also the map alleviates some of the issues RT often brings to most standard maps. Rubbing shoulders happens much more easily, and everyone wanting a piece of the water results in settling close to others and leads to more action. The AI and you trying to get coastal and water cities almost always ends up in you pissing off AI and the AI pissing each other off. Even with 10 sponsors on protean, terran, etc. you still get a ton of room to expand without bumping into others most of the time. The suggestion to try 10 sponsors here just makes things a little more cramped to give even more incentive for action to take place.
Also, despite the focus on the sea in the middle, it can help give land units some time to shine too. I find even on standard protean maps I barely get to use land units anymore since the game tends to spawn most players and AI by water, making most fights take place with navies over land armies. Even going for domination on protean or terran do I end up needing some land units to take the usually just 2-3 capitals not accessible by water. Since the on inland sea the water is only the central part and not 50%+ of the map, you can still get in respectable land wars with your neighbors along the ring of land.
Probably a bit too descriptive for just talking about a map type, but I just think the map seems underrated/unmentioned despite how I've probably had some of my most interesting RT games thanks to it.
As an extra suggestion from a setup I played last week, try out glacial map + ice biome + sparse resources.
Honestly sparse resources didn't seem to make it feel like resources were any harder to come by than usual, but the point was to try and make a hostile, frozen world. And at least thematically it worked pretty well. Lots of snow and tundra making it feel like a wasteland, at least on land. (the water is as good/bad as in any other map setup) You can play as most sponsors and deal with the conditions or play the African Union which can pretty much ignore and overcome the mostly bad tiles by focusing on specialists with their ability. If nothing else I'd recommend the setup for the "cool" atmosphere, if that counts.
