Beating Hording Strategies without Hording

[Tuidjy]

I never base my strategy around hoarding, but I do not think I have ever played
a game in which I did not hoard something. Fetishes for supplemental gold income
and remote harrasment, clams for supplemental gem income and wishing, and
bloodstones for the path boost and gems. I do not play nations to which hoarding
comes naturally, but there always comes a point at which it costs you very
little to start something.

For example, my pretender always has at least two levels in water, and when he
searches, water income builds up. At construction six, any mages with a water
random can start forging clams with the extra water gems. I do not rely on this
to win the game, but it always better to have a Foo and a Bar instead of a Foo.

The only hoarding that I seldom bother with is soul contracts. Not that they
are not useful, but the devil accumulation is often like a red flag to a bull,
and brings everyone else on your head. Now, master diplomats like my girlfriend
seem to get away with it, but I prefer to avoid the risk... mostly because after
getting caught by devils once, I have always been able to ground and fry them at
low cost.

Anyway, to answer your question, hoarding is a part of the game, just like for
example, building temples. You may win without building any, but it would be
quite unusual. You may win primarily by building temples, but it would be quite
unusual as well. On the other hand, if you have everything that your opponents
has, and, in addition to that, have a fortified temple in every province...

So my advice is not to obsess about hoarding, but also not to ignore it.
Remember that every coin or gem sitting in your treasury is wasted unless you
are saving it for a specific reason. Be aware of how long it takes for an
investment to repay itself, and decide whether you should forge a clam, fire a
few 'Voice of Aspu/Tiamat', make a pair of boots for your thug, empower a mage,
or even summon a bunch of creatures... There is a right choice for every
situation, but there is no choice that's right for every situation.