<i>&gt; although Religion tends to feel like a sideshow</i><p>Does it? One of my favourite tactics in Civ5 is rushing to pile up religious wonders, convert the crap out of other countries, and proceed to actually get decent trade deals with their leaders. Combined with Patronage and a few network-oriented beliefs, religious domination will let me lock-in complete support from all City-States (as long as goddamn Alexander isn&#x27;t in the picture) and dramatically ease my path to victory.