IbnKhaldun
Chieftain
Is anyone else pumped about The Dutch being in BtS? I have only a smattering of knowledge about their 17th century "golden age" but, I must admit, it is rather impressive! This nation stands for so much of what I love about Liberal societies: toleration of religious dissent, freedom in the development of the arts, a rich and open intellectual dialog and the Netherlands served as the launching place of Europeon capitalism. A perfect addition to Civ I think!
William van Oranje seems like a potential new tech powerhouse as well! As a professed builder, the Financial / Creative combo suits me very well. Plus look at that sexy beard!
While the raw advantages of the Financial trait don't need to be stated, the synergy of cottaged river tiles in cities with dikes is incredible. While the Financial trait makes early river cottages immediately advantageous from the +1
bonus, the +1 water 
from Dikes is an insane river mouth / coast combo! My games will be a certain rush for Printing Press (+1 ), Liberalism (+ 100% 
and + 2 commerce: from Free Speech) and Democracy (+1 from Universal Suffrage and DOUBLE GROWTH from Emancipation). I can see it now, never ending fields of beautiful Dutch towns covering the rivers of the world...
I have "come around" on the Creative trait. While I initially pigeon holed Creative as being only good for quick border pops, the cheap Libraries (+25%
) will do much to initiate and exacerbate a technology lead. Though I rarely build them outside of Culture victories, the cheap Theaters could lend themselves to such victories as well as quell any 
problems. Additionally not having to worry about border pops will allow William to prioritize more important financial techs above religious ones. Essentially I see this as being a way to quickly follow the ["Pottery" -> "Writing" -> "Mathematics" -> "Currency"] path whilst ignoring the ["Mysticism" -> "Meditation" and "Polytheism"] nonsense.
The East Indiaman (replaces Galleon, +2
and one extra cargo space, can also explore rival territory) does not catch my attention immediately but I think it still has some potent areas of application. Obviously if you are landlocked, the East Indiaman will not do you a lot of good. However, if you do have access to one or two port cities I think they can be effective... especially if you prioritize Astronomy. The strength boost is non-trivial in protecting 
s and the units being carried. Additionally the Indiaman's ability to transport more cargo to less accessible areas makes early colonies a very profitable and feasible venture.
In the right situation, the Dike (replaces Levee, +1 to water tiles) is flat out broken. I will be planning cities for marshy locations in anticipation of building dikes later and appropriately heading towards Steam Power ASAP. Dikes rock my world, 'nuff said.
William van Oranje seems like a potential new tech powerhouse as well! As a professed builder, the Financial / Creative combo suits me very well. Plus look at that sexy beard!
While the raw advantages of the Financial trait don't need to be stated, the synergy of cottaged river tiles in cities with dikes is incredible. While the Financial trait makes early river cottages immediately advantageous from the +1
bonus, the +1 water from Dikes is an insane river mouth / coast combo! My games will be a certain rush for Printing Press (+1 ), Liberalism (+ 100% and + 2 commerce: from Free Speech) and Democracy (+1 from Universal Suffrage and DOUBLE GROWTH from Emancipation). I can see it now, never ending fields of beautiful Dutch towns covering the rivers of the world...I have "come around" on the Creative trait. While I initially pigeon holed Creative as being only good for quick border pops, the cheap Libraries (+25%
) will do much to initiate and exacerbate a technology lead. Though I rarely build them outside of Culture victories, the cheap Theaters could lend themselves to such victories as well as quell any problems. Additionally not having to worry about border pops will allow William to prioritize more important financial techs above religious ones. Essentially I see this as being a way to quickly follow the ["Pottery" -> "Writing" -> "Mathematics" -> "Currency"] path whilst ignoring the ["Mysticism" -> "Meditation" and "Polytheism"] nonsense.The East Indiaman (replaces Galleon, +2
and one extra cargo space, can also explore rival territory) does not catch my attention immediately but I think it still has some potent areas of application. Obviously if you are landlocked, the East Indiaman will not do you a lot of good. However, if you do have access to one or two port cities I think they can be effective... especially if you prioritize Astronomy. The strength boost is non-trivial in protecting s and the units being carried. Additionally the Indiaman's ability to transport more cargo to less accessible areas makes early colonies a very profitable and feasible venture. In the right situation, the Dike (replaces Levee, +1
to water tiles) is flat out broken. I will be planning cities for marshy locations in anticipation of building dikes later and appropriately heading towards Steam Power ASAP. Dikes rock my world, 'nuff said.
