When I set out BNS Gold to win by military conquest, I focused on researching tank technology as quickly as possible. When I had a group of three tanks, I made them an army and discovered that it had an attack rating of 90. Cities in Civ Rev 2 don't have their own defense; they must have a unit stationed in them or they can be taken simply by moving into them. I forgot about this and lost a city early on, which made me have to direct some of my resources to building up a big enough military to get it back.
The Blade And Soul Gold first half of a Civ Rev 2 round is where the game really shines. This is where settlements are important, and you have to juggle having enough troops to beat back an enemy advance, and devoting enough to science so that you can keep the technological advantage. This is where buildings matter. The choices you make in the early game compound into your advantages at the end of the game.