In theory,moving right next to a tile should help, but experience tells me that this is not the case, because unless you have a spare march,(and even if you have ??) by the time you have returned home, and can resend,another player will have occupied the tile.
Again we return to the obtaining of "extras" to facilitate game play
Though the recent changes have made it easier to play for free or to take part for free, apart from its entertainment value and time passing element, there is little merit in attempting to try to compete,as its virtually impossible to do so without limited time and funds.
The recent,and not so recent changes, have just extended the length of the game and anyone starting now can never expect to hold much sway against those that have been playing since its early/earlier inception.
They have a head start, and you are always going to be playing catch up.
The game is what it is, how the player perceives it is another matter, but as stated it is a farming game, if this was not the case, why would players go to the trouble to collect resources?
If it was really a fighting game, which many suggest it is,or want it to be, then they could facilitate this aspect,but they choose not to.
I know why some tile hit, or attack weaker players and non shielded live or dead towns, and I could probably speculate with a high degree of accuracy as to why others do it.
As far as I see it, the battles are not fighting, the majority are always shielded, the rest setting traps hoping that someone will fall in to,which is strategy not fighting, or porting around the kingdom tile hitting,which again isn't fighting.