How to Speed up my FANT?

I've checked in both the wiki and the Help Megathread, and I don't find any list of the various ways to speed up a FANT. So, I'm suggesting that we generate a list of the various techniques available with the pros and cons of each. Mods, if I'm out of place, so be it; tell me so and I'll shut up. But I think this would be a useful discussion to have.

To start off the list, here are some things I've thought about and/or used:

1. Use a QA immediately after ascending and hope for good ancients (Siya/Lib/Sol). Pro: If you're lucky, this gives you a decent idle, and you'll be doing it sooner or later anyway, so why not now? Con: A little bad luck and you've wasted the HS from the QA.

2. Leave the last two immortal kill rewards before transcending unclaimed. You won't be able to claim them immediately, but when you can, they'll be good for another 8 HS added to the ones you (maybe) got from a QA. Pro and con as above, but more HS levels out the luck a little.

3. Before transcending, dedicate one or more merc quests to relics, enough to start the FANT with 40 or so. Collect them immediately after ascending. This should be enough to find one each for Siya, Lib, Sol, and Atman and get each of them up to level 7 or 8. Pro: Good idle speed, with no risk of wasting HS. Con: Need to dedicate a high level merc for two days and risk it dying.

4. Start with 40 relics as above, but wait until zone 30 before claiming them. Pro: More forge cores from junked relics means more levels on the ones you keep. Con: Need to get up to level 30 with un-augmented heroes.

5. Merc ascension. I'll be honest, I don't understand this one, but my impression is that it's only for later and doesn't help a FANT.

6. Timelapse. As with the MA, I don't see how this would help a FANT, since the timelapse award depends on DPS and HZE, both of which are nil when the FANT starts.

7. Autoclicker(s). These help with getting your initial gold, and if you get some Juggernaut points (either from Jug himself or from relics) it makes for a good active style start, but there seems to be a clear consensus that an idle start is faster for the first few ascensions. If you pick up Nogardit, they also help with idle gold.

That's the tools and techniques I'm aware of; I'm sure there are others. I'll also point out that combining 1, 2, and 3 (or 4) makes for a better FANT than any one alone.