I'm playing under the assumption that I won't ever "win" against either a rando or a neighbor unless I'm very lucky. As the levels increase, so will the time it takes for the nerds to defeat a building. Therefore, I'm sharing the wealth with my neighbors in hopes that they return the favor.
You're banking on one nerd per building in a rando town and hoping someone doesn't log in for 10+ hours? I just don't see how that' strategy will work in the long run. Slow and steady wins the race as far as I'm concerned.
Maybe I'm way off base here and you can tell me I am, but I'm doing just fine thus far. Are you getting all kinds of "wins" against these randos?
edit: I'm assuming the majority or our acquisition of gold and elixir will be coming from defending, not attacking