Interesting. Figured you'd be the type that'd argue that there's no skill at all involved till late-game and that showing off during late-game was meaningful and that doing so during startup or early-game was pathetic. Kudos for not meeting that expectation. (And no, no thinly veiled backhanded compliment in there, that response actually shocked and somewhat impressed me compared to some of your other posts.)
I would never argue this point. It takes more skill to make it to late game than the actual late game play. Late game play relies more on your noble pattern of the past, maintaining activity, and how it will play out with new tribe/diplomacy dynamics. If you're on the lucky end of the stick, you'll end up sticking around with active people.
Late game you just have 2000 incomings daily, 1000 are fakes, 1000 are reals, and it's more staying active and making sure you're stacking vils as opposed to sniping and recapping. Then again, this was why I argued earlier in this thread that I personally preferred going primarily offensive, because it worked for me. I knew I could get my vils stacked, so I became the brute force in the tribe, with always the top 5 ODA in mid/late game scenarios. Right now I'm in the top 20 ODA (now people are arguing that ODA is unimpressive and not relevant now, which is another argument in itself) in W60, and I've had no real competition aside from few bumps from LaPerf, which to say the least, are using the same strategy that I am.
If you don't do well (mostly mid-game), then you're shit out of luck late game, unless you find parenthood protection in the #1 tribe.