Aztecs (every tech increases HP)
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Teutons (conversion resistance), Byzantines (faster healing), Saracens (cheaper market trade)
Spanish (fully upgraded), Japanese (fully upgraded bar 'Heresy')
with aztecs uping min 14:00 - 14:30 you can do monks on ara too :$ just be careful and wall strategic points, maybe tower up on goldMap is often more important than civ for a monk strat