John: personally i don't like that Europe map, i think it's ok for 4vs4 but i still find rise of rome or battle isles ii under the settings chaos was mentioning to be higher tactical and team work challenging. this europe template of yours is large enough, but the way you configured it it is not univocally centered in key megabonuses, so folks will scatter around erratically, and without cards they wont be able to back each other up tactically/strategically very much, so it becomes a game of lucky picks and some skill in stalling whatever enemies you find waiting for the friendly expansion wave to arrive before the enemies. i think if you're looking to award a player who excels him/herself this early selection method should be more about strategy/skill and not so much about picks and if your teammates can expand fast enough.
