As per my comments earlier, I don't care terribly about expansions. Going with this setup its all about getting nodes, which means bezerkers and flying warships. I prefer bezerkers over other units because they hit air, move 4 with endurance, and they're cheap. Horde would be better for late game with buffs (and they're the only one cheap enough), jackal riders are better if you can deal with the air thing, paladins air, trolls air, dark elf and draconians are actually both good. But ALL of those are too expensive. I can build a bezerker every one or two turns, starting about 3 turns after I take my first or second lair.
And bezerkers have the advantage that the ai thinks they're super strong and won't attack them. So one bezerker will hold a node until an intercontinental death stack finds it.
Bezerkers also usually guarantee my army strength is higher than any AI, even on impossible, so I can avoid militarist and 'equal military' wars.
Anyway, point of all that is: I don't need neutral cities - any city that's not barbarian is really a node that has low power output. Still very important (especially amplifying towers), but not my focus.
That being said, I've had games where I've taken 3 neutrals before 1402 (which is before I even get bezerkers). Once I get bezerkers, 'if I see it, its mine' becomes the catchphrase. But really, the goal is: take a few lairs, get bezerkers and a warship. Find enemy fortress and kill it. Replace bezerkers. Find next enemy fortress and kill it. Repeat. Only take neutrals and AI expansions if it won't slow down taking enemy fortresses. Without buffing the bezerkers, I can reliably take two arcanus wizards. Since I usually have to buff the bezerkers for the third one, its ~1406-1408 before the third one dies.
With the first two, I collect all the expansions after the fortress dies - the first is almost invariably defeated from first fortress strike (not banished), the second is a toss up, which means they're just a bunch more neutrals. The third one I usually have to raise the home continent.
About the time the third one dies is when I start colonizing arcanus - usually ~2/3 of it is already settled by AI cities I stole, so I pick the best race (halflings if I can) to cover the rest.
Lairs are wonderful. Some games I already have 3 very rare spells before the third wizard dies, and I've already spent tens of thousands of gold and mana.
Note, if a life wizard 'survives' on myrror, I still consider that a kill. They're weakened far too much to be a threat, and they actually weaken the myrror wizard.
And bezerkers have the advantage that the ai thinks they're super strong and won't attack them. So one bezerker will hold a node until an intercontinental death stack finds it.
Bezerkers also usually guarantee my army strength is higher than any AI, even on impossible, so I can avoid militarist and 'equal military' wars.
Anyway, point of all that is: I don't need neutral cities - any city that's not barbarian is really a node that has low power output. Still very important (especially amplifying towers), but not my focus.
That being said, I've had games where I've taken 3 neutrals before 1402 (which is before I even get bezerkers). Once I get bezerkers, 'if I see it, its mine' becomes the catchphrase. But really, the goal is: take a few lairs, get bezerkers and a warship. Find enemy fortress and kill it. Replace bezerkers. Find next enemy fortress and kill it. Repeat. Only take neutrals and AI expansions if it won't slow down taking enemy fortresses. Without buffing the bezerkers, I can reliably take two arcanus wizards. Since I usually have to buff the bezerkers for the third one, its ~1406-1408 before the third one dies.
With the first two, I collect all the expansions after the fortress dies - the first is almost invariably defeated from first fortress strike (not banished), the second is a toss up, which means they're just a bunch more neutrals. The third one I usually have to raise the home continent.
About the time the third one dies is when I start colonizing arcanus - usually ~2/3 of it is already settled by AI cities I stole, so I pick the best race (halflings if I can) to cover the rest.
Lairs are wonderful. Some games I already have 3 very rare spells before the third wizard dies, and I've already spent tens of thousands of gold and mana.
Note, if a life wizard 'survives' on myrror, I still consider that a kill. They're weakened far too much to be a threat, and they actually weaken the myrror wizard.