[Daynarr]

T'ien Chi is certainly a race that needs to be played in very different way comparing to all other races.
First of they are one of the best if not THE best race with long-range weapons (2 types of archers, both usefull, and crossbows to deal with HI). Man's longbows are better then composite bows, but Man doesn't have crossbows.
Secondly, Celestial Master is your weapon for early expansion where only a few levels in evocation will make him a deadly force. He’s also a supplement for RM so you can specialize your pretender in 1 or 2 paths of magic and still get a lot of great magic sites. Of course, magic duel is their weakness but if they had no weakness what would stop them? Their infantry certainly isn't the best in the game (better then Man's, though) but you can try to go for the numbers over there. Falchioners are better choice IMHO since they have better ATT/DEF stats then spear HI. If you compare Man and T’ien Chi you will find that T’ien Chi has better infantry, better mages, better priests and better summons and also have a weapon to deal with armored troops. The only thing that Man has better are longbows (marginally better) and cavalry.

I find default theme to be most powerfull. They get a chance to improve defenses in their provinces for free (only if you have order dominion and that is only possible in default theme) and they get Celestial Servant (not that great but cheap and good bodyguard) and Celestial Soldiers, which are simply great. They are also sacred so if you picked a powerfull pretender (e.g. 9 in fire or water) you can boost them to really high levels. Not only that but you can start summoning them very early in game so you will get great boost in expansion. Celestial Soldiers are one of most powerfull and cost effective summons (consider their stats, size, sacred status, not eating and the fact that you get 5 of them for only 20 air gems - 4 air gems each). Also, since you will lose so few of them in expansion, you will mass a sizable force before you start fighting other players.

I believe T'ien Chi's biggest strength is their flexibility. They can counter almost anything with proper use of their units and summons.