Funny thing, Most of those factions in Arytem's post were Freindly and or Allied/part of FCC last strat?
Coincidence?! I think not!
Personally, I think that AI villages actually ruined this strat far more than any blocks will. By making it so BORING at the start, most factions can't care to do shit. Why wage war when it'll take at least 3 months just to get any SEMBLANCE of an economy etc? 1/3 of this round is spent just getting started.
Last round, within 2 weeks most factions were capable of fighting limited to moderate engagements.