Leaderscreen Elimination Thread

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 16
Montezuma - 28
Pedro II -8 - Boring, dark, ugly room. Could have been much better
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 26
Harald Bluetooth - 24
William - 19
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 16
Attila - 16
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 7
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 21
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23 - I really like his leader screen. It's one of the nicest in the game
Shaka - 22

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 16
Montezuma - 28
Pedro II -8
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 26
Harald Bluetooth - 24
William - 19
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 16
Attila - 16
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 22

Trying to still throw my votes around a bit or else I would upvote Pedro again. It's perhaps the only indoor setting which gives us an idea of the outside world, and I love it for that. Anyway...

Isabella: I hate, hate, hate Isabella in the game (and personally feel like this era of Spain was one of the most evil periods of any civilization - from an outside perspective considering the massive global ramifications - ever.) Isabella basically equals genocide wrapped in hypocritical piety to me, but her screen is beautiful and immersive and feels very correct.

Darius: Meanwhile, this era of Persia gets short shrift because of dreck like "300" but was actually perhaps the best empire to live within in its time. The leaderscreen gives almost zero concept of the place or even time, however. I look at Darius and know nothing at all of Persia, and that's a shame.

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 16
Montezuma - 28
Pedro II -5(-3) just meh, boring and dark
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 26
Harald Bluetooth - 25(+1) just nice, very well made
William - 19
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 16
Attila - 16
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 22

Took the liberty to revive Elizabeth after her mysterious disappearance on page 8.

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 16
Montezuma - 28
Pedro II - 5
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 25
William - 19
Elizabeth - 12
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 16
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 22

-3 Bismarck: with the most boring leaderscreens being eliminated right now, it's time for the little less boring leaderscreens. Never care if this leaderscreen shows up in the game, nothing interesting.

+1 Boudicca: Great voice, great language, great animation, great design, great colours and great background.

My bad! Looks like Elizabeth went and hid during my last post.

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 16
Montezuma - 29 Montezuma is still the craziest leader around, and essentially the opposite of Pedro's apathy.
Pedro II - 2 The leaderscreen looks nice, but if you look up "ennui" in a dictionary, you find Pedro's picture there.
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 25
William - 19
Elizabeth - 12
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 16
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 22

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 16
Montezuma - 29
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 25 This is by far my favourite screen. It clearly has alot of effort put into it. Harald really comes off as a guy who's quick to laugh but also enjoys a healthy bit of fighting every now and again. Love the defeat screen when he throws his helmet and walks away. I wish the AI could live up with this image.
William - 19
Elizabeth - 12
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 16
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19 He ought to look like one of the scariest guys around but I don't find him nearly as imposing as Nebuchadnezzar or Montezuma. He looks like just some dude with a spear and shield. If anywhere, they should've gone with an angled, close up shot with Shaka. The elephant skulls are badass though.

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 13 what damast am I supposed to praise? Pure nonsense.
Montezuma - 29
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 25
William - 19
Elizabeth - 12
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17 How did he get so low? Best leader screen imo, and great gestures and AMAZING voice
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 13
Montezuma - 29
Pedro II - 2 I have to say the Pedro's screen is appropriate, I would not expect to see him outside
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 25
William - 19
Elizabeth - 12-3=9, very bland language, too modern and not Shakespearean enough, background is appropriate but bland as well
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 21
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 14+1=15, I like his background and voice, no need to be like Monty, who's stereotypically portrayed and doesn't even look like a Mesoamerican native to me
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4 I find Persepolis to be an appropriate background, maybe his voice actor and depiction leaves something to be desired?
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 9
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 13
Montezuma - 29
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 25
William - 19
Elizabeth - 9
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 15
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 22
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

Gajah's belly just screams leadership and authority, voice acting is done well, the background could've done with a bit more architecture, but I really like the mist, very magical, which helps the whole Kris swordsman vibe.

Rammy always freaked me out, body like a young man but face like a scrotum? What the hell went wrong here? Like his background, nice lilly pond and the multi headed statues, but the progeria leader makes it hard to focus on that.
Also not a big fan of his voice, get's a bit grating if you've talked to him a lot, not sure if it's the language or the voice actor but something about it just gets under my skin.

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 13
Montezuma - 29
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 25
William - 19
Elizabeth - 6
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 24
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 15
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 21
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

I like Isabella's leaderscreen because it is an intentional misdirection. She's masking her true opinion of you with an aura of deep religious piety. People say that they get annoyed by her endless hostility. I say it fits perfectly with her character. It is very much depicted in her screen.

On the other hand, Elizabeth can actually be annoying. She's just a queen sitting on a chair. I like the music (it is quite regal), but that's it's only saving grace. I find the way she says: "Oh it's you" to be very immature. I assume her attendant would have told her that a representative was on his way to meet her. Slight grievances here and there make her leaderscreen quite weak in comparison with others.

Fixed booltimor's vote for Harald Bluetooth

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 13
Montezuma - 29
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 6
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 15
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

Pachacuti: He's my favorite character in Civ5. How can you not love this guy? He looks menacing but very cheerful at the same time. The city behind the mountain is awesome and relaxing music sets the mood perfectly. (On the side note: I love how the word Pachacuti says when he doesn't agree with you sounds exactly like russian word for "seagull" (chayka - чайк&#1072. Does he read Chekhov's books when there are no other leaders?)

Maria I: Is it me or ships on the background look really fake?

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 13 - 3 = 10
Montezuma - 29
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 6
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 15 + 1 = 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19


Pacal has the most amazing headwear I've ever seen. Simple.

On the other hand, the that is Maria Theresa is a condecending douchebag who I hate having to be diplomatic with.

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 10
Montezuma - 30 - Montezuma standing by the torchlight, screaming "Ximicacan", while the crowds cheer him on? No matter how many times I see this scene play out, it, and the leaderscreen as a whole, never gets old.
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 3 - I have to agree with the majority opinion in this thread - Elizabeth's leaderscreen is boring. As well, I've been meeting her in almost every game recently, and quite honestly I'm getting sick of seeing her. Not even her fantastic diplomacy themes can save this screen for me.
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 15
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 10
Montezuma - 30
Pedro II - 2
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 4 - Yes, her screen doesn't stand out too much, but IMO currently there are much worse screens on the list. Upvoting Elizabeth for the effective zoom-in when you first meet her and for "I vow to thee, my country". At least now it will take two votes to eliminate her.
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 12 - While people are bashing Elizabeth's screen for being boring, have they forgotten about this guy? Augustus himself looks not interested in what's going on, and honestly there is nothing about his screen that catches my eye or ear.
Catherine - 9
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

Washington - 10
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 10
Montezuma - 30
Pedro II - 0 the carnival UA also doesn't go well with Pedro and his background either. In turn, he looks like a party pooper.
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 4
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 12
Catherine - 10 Every time I see her, I always think back to the civ 4 version of her. In civ 5, she's your typical Princess. In civ 4, she dons men's clothing in that particular era she's from. Such a character transformation. Background, however, is a bit ordinary and I can barely remember the Russian theme music.
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 23
Shaka - 19

sendos said:

Every time I see her, I always think back to the civ 4 version of her. In civ 5, she's your typical Princess. In civ 4, she dons men's clothing in that particular era she's from. Such a character transformation. Background, however, is a bit ordinary and I can barely remember the Russian theme music.

Click to expand...

So.....are you saying it's the change for good or not? Personally I like the historically more accurate Catherine.

As for the theme, this is a problem of many leader peace theme musics in the game. The beginning is usually unimpressive, while the climax is somewhere in the middle of the track at around 1:30 - 2:00. However, we spend 1 minute at most looking at the leaderscreen, so we never get to the most interesting part of the music. Russia, Byzantium and Spain are the best examples of that. Meanwhile themes like those of Sweden, Zulu, Indonesia and Austria can catch your attention from the very beginning.

P.S. Russia's war theme is epic.

Washington - 7- Boring guy, boring background.
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 10
Montezuma - 30
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 4
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 12
Catherine - 10
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 24- The starry Venetian canals.
Shaka - 19

Washington - 7
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 10
Montezuma - 30
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 1
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 12
Catherine - 10
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 17
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 25
Shaka - 19

Downvoting Elizabeth not because her leaderscreen is boring but because of her posture. She looks like a bored teenage girl who's just missing a phone in her hand. At least be more dignified.

I like every detail in Dandolo's screen. It's very soothing, relaxing, and if you noticed, Enrico himself looks like he's blind (because he is). +1 for me.

Washington - 4
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 10
Montezuma - 30
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 1
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 12
Catherine - 10
Pocatello - 18
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 18
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 25
Shaka - 19

America - Perhaps the accent is perfectly period-accurate, but I always hear the Simpsons voice actor who does the spoof cameos of Bill Clinton. It's jarring to me and pulls me out of the immersion.

Askia - This and Monty are proof that even in vanilla it was possible for devs to make awesome leaderscreens. Both possess rich colours, and Askia's smoky haze is one of my favorites. Props also to the devs for including Songhai in vanilla - of all the vanilla civs, they were the one I was most excited to play. Love sub-Saharan civs.

Washington - 4
Harun al-Rashid - 23
Ashurbanipal - 26
Maria Theresa - 10
Montezuma - 30
Theodora - 24
Dido - 22
Boudicca - 27
Harald Bluetooth - 26
William - 19
Elizabeth - 1
Haile Selassie - 21
Bismarck - 13
Attila - 17
Pachacuti - 25
Gajah Mada - 22
Sejong - 21
Pacal - 16
Genghis Khan - 19
Ahmad al-Mansur - 18
Darius I - 4
Maria I - 18
Augustus Caesar - 12
Catherine - 10
Pocatello - 15 - Possibly just because I grew up seeing the scenery, but I don't find it special.
Ramkhamhaeng - 6
Askia - 19 - Interesting Vanilla screen that would also be interesting in any expansion. Fully unique and engaging.
Isabella - 23
Gustavus Adolphus - 11
Enrico Dandolo - 25
Shaka - 19