Hey Phil,
I can see from the stats what you mean but for me the BRC seemed to have that bit more in the crunch. Maybe for me it was just that I got luckly with good v&v's for valor or stars for command with BRC over SHC. As long as you have a good mix you will be fine. As for the Horde yes your right it is 1230 and they can appear in Aremina just below Georgia. But that time will fly and they can rip your empire to shreds as they did mine for a time. Even a small horde is deadly, even more so when they land right on your doorstep.

I'll post screen shots tomorrow.