Several of my most recent games have all ended in frustrating stalemates where the entire island of high elves unite and declare war against me, I don't know how to avoid it, I can never grow enough before they suddenly decide I'm going down but as soon as they do it means I can no longer really play the game, they constantly bombard me with armies so I spend turn after turn on the defensive and there's nothing I can really do about it.

Does anyone have a strategy for avoiding the high elf Gank squad?