Early Research Strategy for EA/LA Mictlan?

[Robert Lawrence James]

Hi!
I have been playing MP locally with friends, and I like Mictlan because of its powerful sacreds, cool summons, and quick expansion potential.

One problem I find is that it has a combination of factors that put it behind in the research race: expensive forts, good research mages are cap-only, need for lots of Mictlan Priests to blood hunt, sacrifice, bless those many small Jagwarrior armies expanding everywhere, and crappy scales so I can get a great bless. That means I can't afford the money or recruitment slots to recruit enough mages with good research. Is this unavoidable and I just have to deal with it and hope for lucky gold events, or rush an enemy to take their forts, or is there a way to improve Mictlan's early research while at peace? The guides on here seem to mostly focus on getting the blood economy going, which is a bit later game than my questions.

[Doo]

Mictlan should not be at peace in the early game, thats when they (should due to bless strategy) be at their most competitive (relatively speaking).

If playing Vanilla or CBM <= 1.6 beeline construction 4 for sanguine rods.

[Kobal2]

If playing Vanilla or CBM <= 1.6 beeline construction 4 for sanguine rods.

And push to 6 ASAP when you've got some basic Blood mojo going on for Lightless Lanterns - you've got F2+ mages in the cap to sitesearch and 1/40th of the Mictlan priests you're going to be recruiting day in, day out out of every castle has an F pick. You're going to be recruiting so many of them, you're bound to have half a dozen FB ones by year 2-3

You should be able to mint 3+ Lanterns a turn from then on, and don't really have better outlets for your fire gems either: Devils are already fire-immune if that's your current issue, and you've got no F+E mages so no Firebrands, Golden Shields or Charcoal Shields for you.

[Squirrelloid]

Your research priorities are blood, blood, blood with a side of construction. You don't need to win the research race.