Leyrann
Deity
But then, it's a flawed system IMO, since you cant go to war when you need to, just when you randomly get a golden age, otherwise cities flip like crazy.
No, it's added difficulty. You need to be careful to take the right cities, and at the right time (don't try to conquer stuff in a Dark Age).
Example for the type of stuff you can get into:
https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/civ-vi-funny-screenshots.601435/page-84#post-15195979
Alternatively, you can just keep it simple and conquer cities bordering your own.