The Malakim are a strange civ in that they have many minor bonuses, but no major boost. Still, they have the potential to be quite strong, especially if Merovech places at least a couple of floodplains or oases in the vicinity of my starting position.
If the map has enough water for naval attacks, then OO is a possibility. If not, the Veil can be good, provided the AC is kept low. Otherwise, anything else will do, depending on context.
My opponents are:
Sian as Flauros of the Calabim. Sian doesn't look like a very strong player, though it's better to assume that he's stronger then me. Dunno what to do if he starts next to me. The Malakim aren't weak early, but they are no rushers.
BobCW as Faeryl of the Svartalfar. Bob is a FFH veteran with a civ that has a large potential. The Svarts are weak early, though.
Dantski as Rhoanna of the Hippus. Good all-around civ/leader combination. At least, it doesn't have the same cripple-your-opponent qualities as Tasunke.
Ellimist as Perpentach of the Balseraphs. Another civ with many minor advantages, led by a FFH veteran. Another threat to my winning the game.
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
Now that you ask this question, I probably shouldn't have. Then again, the area is hammer-starved and I guess that mining that ivory hill later has its advantages, despite being suboptimal. It's likely just the SP manner of delaying the benefits on my part.
As you can see from the attachment, the Lightbringer can arrive in Golden Leane (I renamed it Grey Leane before pressing enter) just in time to prevent only the warrior defending the capital from the nasty goblin. Wouldn't want to bet it all on only one unit.
Barbarian situation (I've just defeated the first goblin, but there was a second one behind him). Finished Agriculture, now researching Exploration-Fishing.
And my Warrior defeats that attacking Goblin on turn 10 (the Goblin decided to wait for a while, I was afraid the barbs were going to choke me). All clear for now.
