WE,of the Traveling Hoard, have seen hundreds of worlds across the Eons, accursed by Loki and his 7-, 9-, and 13-sided dice; having been cast into a multitude of Civ's, save Venice; OUR Sworn Enemy .
OUR Battle Sages have tried to piece together the Lore of Yonderwhen, Our ancient homeworld, and the worlds WE have since been dumped on; after WE beat Loki at a floating crap game and STOLE his 11-sided die . This has been the 1 Holy Relic WE have kept across time, *IT* prefers to stay with US .
Across Our histories, the Battle Sages have PROVEN, time and again, many battle tested ideas :
1) Before thinking about war, have ALL your economies working, and a HEFTY Gold Surplus !, as proven by Cynthia IV, the Insulted; when the Venitian ambassador hinted that Her nail polish was tawdry and out-of-date, She had her killed, DW'd Venice, and lost Our 3 cities in 28 turns; and was publically crucified by the Venitians .
2) When thinking on DW-ing, build an army you can AFFORD to use or lose, for the ONE target chosen, AND NEVER SKIMP ON HOME DEFENSE FORCES; proven by Titus XVII Atlantium; in His sub T250 win in Roman garb, ruling over 12 AIs. His secret : build an army for EACH target .
3) Trade routes are weapons of MASS ECONOMICS !!, and must be protected by safe routes and careful timing, steering them AWAY form intended war-zones; as proven by the short reign of Yngvi the Louse, who had all 4 of Our TRs with China, and then DW'd China; resulting in a 37GPT recession, causing US to lose 5 of our cities . Yngvi's public apology was to be staked out in the Milepost Stadium, and eaten by wild pigs .
In a popular uprising supported by the clergy, Gwen the Barmaid ascended the throne, took back Our 5 lost cities and annexed China, becoming "Great Queen Gwen"during Her 58 year reign .
As a result of Yngvi's Idiocy, WE have embraced the "Caravansary Trade Routes" mod to counter Our Sworn Enemy, Venice .
4) Where possible, WE shall be peaceful while expanding; encouraging Trade and the Arts while building Forces to Prevent outside aggression; YET if some Bozo DW's US, WE shall finish that Bozo; as proven by Ava I, the Violinist; in Her T264 Cultural win .
5) WE shall be Ruthlessly Merciful, where possible, by founding a purposely desolate city to "gift" to a targeted Bozo BEFORE WE take Bozo's last good city, to avoid the warmongering penalties; as proven by Nicolo XXVI,the Insultor, in His T389 Diplomatic win . Zero resources 1 tile islands are preferred, and 1 tile inland cities with 2 of Our Citadels adjacent to that city for exiled Bozo AIs; make wonderful trading vassals .
If you want to know more of what Our Battle Sages have to teach, bring hard cash, as Our Sages are an offshoot tribe exiled from the Ferengi.