Civilization Rankings! Part One: Original Civs

[Stonecutter9]

Borrowing from the ideas from kaspergm's Rate the Beliefs and sonicandffan's Rate the Wonders/Policies threads (and a big thank you to those two ), the Civilization Rankings thread comes to you!

This thread asks you to rate what is easily the most fundamental aspect of the game; who you play as. So think carefully!

The list of the sixteen original civilizations is 'spoilered' below (it's a sizable bit of text) so if you wish to vote, please copy and paste the text and put your ranking in front of the blurb for each civilization, like so:

9 - America (Washington):
UU: B17 [Bomber]; The B17 Bomber is an American Unique Unit, replacing the bomber. It is similar to the bomber, but it is more difficult for enemy anti-aircraft and fighters to target. The B17 also receives a bonus when attacking enemy cities. Like the bomber, the B17's range is 10. See the rules on Aircraft for more details.
UU: Minuteman [Musketman]; The Minuteman is the American unique unit, replacing the Musketman. The Minuteman can move through difficult terrain as though it were clear (all tiles cost 1mp per hex) and receives a bonus when fighting in rough terrain.
UA: Manifest Destiny; All land military units have +1 sight. 50% discount when purchasing tiles.

A rationale for your votes is not required, but is always appreciated and interesting to read through!

Whilst voting, you should primarily weigh the outright strengths of the civ, but balance that with weaknesses as well (including your own!).

RANK YOUR VOTES ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10, WITH 1 BEING WORST AND 10 BEING BEST!

NEW TOPICS: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=506870, http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=507361, http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=507361

THE LIST:

Spoiler :

- America (Washington):
UU: B17 [Bomber]; The B17 Bomber is an American Unique Unit, replacing the bomber. It is similar to the bomber, but it is more difficult for enemy anti-aircraft and fighters to target. The B17 also receives a bonus when attacking enemy cities. Like the bomber, the B17's range is 10. See the rules on Aircraft for more details.
UU: Minuteman [Musketman]; The Minuteman is the American unique unit, replacing the Musketman. The Minuteman can move through difficult terrain as though it were clear (all tiles cost 1mp per hex) and receives a bonus when fighting in rough terrain.
UA: Manifest Destiny; All land military units have +1 sight. 50% discount when purchasing tiles.

- Arabia (Harun al-Rashid):
UU: Camel Archer [Knight]; The Camel Archer is the Arabian unique unit, replacing the Knight. The Camel Archer is a powerful ranged attack unit, allowing it to do damage to enemies 2 hexes away. It can move after combat. The Camel Archer is less powerful than the Knight in melee combat. As a mounted unit, the Camel Archer is vulnerable to Pikemen attack.
UB: Bazaar [Market]; The Bazaar is the Arabian unique building, replacing the Market. The Bazaar provides a Gold bonus to the city. The civilization gains one additional copy of each luxury resource provided by a city possessing a Bazaar. The Bazaar provides +2 Gold on Oil and Oases.
UA: Ships of the Desert; Caravans gain 50% extended range. Your trade routes spread the home city's religion twice as effectively. Oil resources are doubled.

- China (Wu Zetian):
UU: Chu-Ko-Nu [Crossbowman]; The Chu-Ko-Nu is the Chinese unique unit, replacing the Crossbowman. The Chu-Ko-Nu is slightly less powerful than the Crossbowman, but it can attack twice during a turn, giving it a hefty offensive punch. This unit is particularly deadly when garrisoned in a city that is under attack.
UB: Paper Maker [Library]; The Paper Maker is the Chinese unique building, replacing the Library. The Paper Maker increases the city's acquisition of Science and also provides a boost to the city's intake of Gold.
UA: Art of War; The Great General combat bonus is increased by 15%, and their spawn rate is increased by 50%.

- Egypt (Ramesses II):
UU: War Chariot [Chariot Archer]; The War Chariot is the Egyptian unique unit, replacing the Chariot Archer. It is faster than the standard Chariot Archer, and the Egyptian player can construct it even if he doesn't possess Horses. A mounted unit, the War Chariot is quite vulnerable to the Spearman.
UB: Burial Tomb [Temple]; The Burial Tomb is a Classical-era building which increases the city's output of Happiness, and costs no maintenance for the city. However, if the city is captured, the capturing civilization will gain twice as much gold as would be the case in a city without a Burial Tomb. It replaces the Temple.
UA: Monument Builders; +20% Production towards Wonder construction.

- England (Elizabeth):
UU: Longbowman [Crossbowman]; The Longbowman is the English unique unit, replacing the Crossbowman. The Longbowman has a greater range than the Crossbowman, allowing it to attack enemies three hexes away, often destroying them before they can strike back. Like other ranged units, Longbowmen are vulnerable to melee attack.
UU: Ship of the Line [Frigate]; The Ship of the Line is the English unique unit, replacing the Frigate. The Ship of the Line has a slightly higher Ranged Combat strength than the Frigate, and it's slightly cheaper to produce. It can see one hex farther than the Frigate, allowing it to spot enemies in a significantly larger section of ocean.
UA: Sun Never Sets; +2 Movement for all naval units. Receives 1 extra Spy.

- France (Napoleon):
UU: Musketeer [Musketman]; The Musketeer is the French unique unit, replacing the Musketman. The Musketeer is significantly more powerful than the Musketman, making it the most powerful foot soldier unit in the game (until the introduction of Industrial Era Infantry units).
UI: Chateau [N/A]; A Chateau must be built adjacent to a Luxury resource. It may not be adjacent to another Chateau. It provides one additional Gold and 2 Culture. It also provides the same +50% defense bonus as a Fort. When Flight is researched its Culture yield increases by 1 and its Gold output rises by 2. Must be built in French territory.
UA: City of Light; Museum and World Wonder theming bonuses are doubled in their capital.

- Germany (Bismarck):
UU: Landsknecht [Pikeman]; The Landsknecht is a German unique unit. This unit replaces the Pikeman unit. The Landsknecht is as powerful as the Pikeman unit, but it costs only half as much to produce, allowing the German player to build up a medieval army in a shockingly short period of time. Landsknecht units are deadly against mounted units like Knights.
UU: Panzer [Tank]; The Panzer is the German unique unit, replacing the tank. It is both stronger and faster than the tank. It also can move after combat, allowing it to blow huge holes in enemy lines and then barrel through before the enemy can repair the gap.
UA: Furor Teutonicus; Upon defeating a Barbarian unit inside an encampment, there is a 50% chance you earn 25 Gold and they join your side. Pay 25% less for land unit maintenance.

- Greece (Alexander):
UU: Companion Cavalry [Horseman]; Companion Cavalry are Greek unique units, replacing the Horseman. Companion Cavalry are faster and more powerful than the Horseman unit, making them the most dangerous cavalry units until the arrival of the Knight. Companion Cavalry help generate Great Generals more rapidly than other units. In addition, they can move after attacking. Companion Cavalry are mounted, and still vulnerable to Spearmen and Pikemen attack.
UU: Hoplite [Spearman]; The Hoplite is the Greek unique unit, replacing the Spearman. It is far more powerful than the Spearman. The Hoplite is deadly against mounted opponents.
UA: Hellenic League; City-State Influence degrades at half and recovers at twice the normal rate.

- India (Gandhi):
UU: War Elephant [Chariot Archer]; The War Elephant is the Indian unique unit, replacing the Chariot Archer. It is more powerful (if slower) than the Chariot Archer and can move through any terrain without the Chariot Archer's penalty. A mounted unit, the War Elephant is quite vulnerable to the Spearman.
UB: Mughal Fort [Castle]; The Mughal Fort is a Medieval-era building that increases the city's Defense Strength by 7, Hit Points by 25, and provides some Culture every turn. It is the Indian unique building, replacing the Castle. After Flight is learned, it provides +2 Tourism as well. Building Walls is a prerequisite for building the Mughal Fort.
UA: Population Growth; Unhappiness from number of Cities doubled, Unhappiness from number of Citizens halved.

- Japan (Oda Nobunaga):
UU: Samurai [Longswordsman]; The Samurai are the Japanese unique unit, replacing the Longswordsman. As powerful as the Swordsman, the Samurai automatically receives the "Shock I" promotion, giving it a bonus when fighting in open terrain. Success in combat with a Samurai has an increased chance of generating Great Generals.
UU: Zero [Fighter]; The Zero is the Japanese unique unit, replacing the fighter. The Zero is a moderately-powerful air unit. It is like the standard fighter, except that it gets a significant combat bonus when battling other fighters. It can be based in any city you own or aboard an aircraft carrier. It can move from city to city (or carrier) and can perform "missions" within its range of 8 tiles. See the rules on Aircraft for more information.
UA: Bushido; Units fight as though they were at full strength even when damaged.

- Persia (Darius I):
UU: Immortal [Spearman]; The Immortal is the Persian unique unit, replacing the Spearman. It is slightly more powerful than the Spearman, and it heals twice as quickly. It is quite deadly against mounted units.
UB: Satrap’s Court [Bank]; The Satrap's Court is the Persian unique building. It replaces the Bank. Like a bank the Satrap's Court increases the city's output of wealth. However, the Satrap's Court also increases the civilization's Happiness. The city must have a Market before the Satrap's Court may be constructed.
UA: Achaemenid Legacy; Golden Ages last 50% longer. During a Golden Age, units receive +1 Movement and a +10% Combat Strength bonus.

- Rome (Augustus Caesar):
UU: Ballista [Catapult]; Roman unique unit, more powerful than the Catapult it replaces. The Ballista is an excellent siege weapon. It is extremely useful against cities, but it is quite vulnerable to attack. Be sure to protect the Ballista with other military units. The Ballista must first "set up" (1 MP) before attacking.
UU: Legion [Swordsman]; The Legion is the Roman unique unit, replacing the Swordsman. The Legion is more powerful than the Swordsman, making it the most powerful melee unit of the Classical Era. The Legion can also construct roads and forts and is the only non-Worker unit able to do so.
UA: The Glory of Rome; +25% Production towards any buildings that already exist in the Capital.

- Russia (Catherine):
UU: Cossack [Cavalry]; The Cossack is a Russian unique unit, replacing the Cavalry. They are the same strength as Cavalry and can also move after attacking. However, Cossack units get a strong combat bonus when battling damaged units. This makes Cossacks exceptionally strong at counter-attacking - let the enemy chew up the front-line peasants, then tear the weakened foe apart with a Cossack charge!
UB: Krepost [Barracks]; The Krepost is the Russian unique building, replacing the barracks. The Krepost provides 15 experience points for all military units constructed in its city. In addition, the Krepost increases the city's cultural border growth by 25%. It's quite worthwhile to construct these useful buildings in all Russian cities, but especially in cities on the civilization's frontiers.
UA: Siberian Riches; Strategic Resources provide +1 Production and Horse, Iron and Uranium Resources provide double quantity.

- Siam (Ramkhamhaeng):
UU: Naresuan’s Elephant [Knight]; This is the Siamese unique unit, replacing the Knight. The Naresuan's Elephant unit is slower than a Knight but it is more powerful. Like the Knight the Naresuan's Elephant can move after attacking. Equipped with spears, the Elephant gets a significant combat bonus when attacking other mounted units.
UB: Wat [University]; The Wat is the Siamese unique building, replacing the University. The Wat increases the Culture of a city, speeding the growth of its borders and the civilization's acquisition of Social Policies. The Wat also provides a Science bonus to the city.
UA: Father Governs Children; Food, Culture, and Faith from friendly City-States increased by 50%.

- Songhai (Askia):
UU: Mandekalu Cavalry [Knight]; This is a Songhai unique unit, replacing the Knight. This unit has the same statistics as the Knight, but it is significantly better at attacking cities. The Mandekalu Cavalry can move after attacking. Its speed makes it difficult for an enemy to build a defensive line before the Mandekalu Cavalry reaches the target.
UB: Mud Pyramid Mosque [Temple]; The Mud Pyramid Mosque is a Songhai unique building, replacing the Temple. The Mud Pyramid Mosque greatly increases the city's Culture, speeding the growth of the city's territory and the civilization's acquisition of Social Policies. The Mud Pyramid Mosque has no maintenance costs.
UA: River Warlord; Receive triple Gold from Barbarian encampments and pillaging Cities. Land units gain the War Canoe and Amphibious promotions, strengthening them while embarked.

- The Aztecs (Montezuma):
UU: Jaguar [Warrior]; The Jaguar is the Aztec unique unit, replacing the Warrior. The Jaguar receives a big bonus when battling in Jungle. It also heals damage when it destroys enemy units and has the Woodsman promotion, allowing it to move through Forest and Jungle quickly.
UB: Floating Gardens [Water Mill]; The Floating Gardens is the Aztec unique building, replacing the Water Mill. It increases the city's Food output, and should be built if the city is near a lake or river.
UA: Sacrificial Captives; Gains Culture for the empire from each enemy unit killed.

- The Iroquois (Hiawatha):
UU: Mohawk Warrior [Swordsman]; The Mohawk Warrior is the Iroquoian unique unit, replacing the Swordsman. As powerful as the Swordsman in Clear or Hilly terrain, the Mohawk Warrior receives a significant combat bonus in Forest and Jungle. Also, unlike the Swordsman, it does not require Iron to build.
UB: Longhouse [Workshop]; The Longhouse is the Iroquois unique building, replacing the Workshop. It increases the city's Production output for each forest within the city's radius.
UA: Great Warpath; Units move through Forest and Jungle in friendly territory as if they were Roads. These tiles can be used to establish City Connections upon researching The Wheel. Caravans move along Forest and Jungle as if they were Roads.

- The Ottomans (Suleiman):
UU: Janissary [Musketman]; The Janissary is an Ottoman unique unit, replacing the Musketman. The Janissary receives a significant combat bonus when on the attack. In addition, the Janissary unit automatically heals all damage when it destroys a non-Barbarian unit. This can give a Janissary army a crushing advantage against an enemy force on the defensive.
UU: Sipahi [Lancer]; The Sipahi is the Ottoman unique unit, replacing the Lancer. The Sipahi is much faster and can see one hex farther than the Lancer, although it shares the Lancer's weaknesses on defense. The Sipahi can pillage enemy improvements at no additional cost.
UA: Barbary Corsairs; All melee naval units have the Prize Ships promotion, allowing them to capture defeated ships. Pay only one-third the usual cost for naval unit maintenance.

 

[Gucumatz]

Didn't we have like hundreds of pages of discussion on the ranking of the civs already during the GK-BNW lull?

 

[poom3619]

^ Seems like people like ranking thing a lot
and yes, We have. We also have a lot of page about tiering reworked Vanilla civ actually.

 

[ballingforlife]

Spoiler :

3 America (Washington):
UU: B17 [Bomber]; The B17 Bomber is an American Unique Unit, replacing the bomber. It is similar to the bomber, but it is more difficult for enemy anti-aircraft and fighters to target. The B17 also receives a bonus when attacking enemy cities. Like the bomber, the B17's range is 10. See the rules on Aircraft for more details.
UU: Minuteman [Musketman]; The Minuteman is the American unique unit, replacing the Musketman. The Minuteman can move through difficult terrain as though it were clear (all tiles cost 1mp per hex) and receives a bonus when fighting in rough terrain.
UA: Manifest Destiny; All land military units have +1 sight. 50% discount when purchasing tiles.

8 Arabia (Harun al-Rashid):
UU: Camel Archer [Knight]; The Camel Archer is the Arabian unique unit, replacing the Knight. The Camel Archer is a powerful ranged attack unit, allowing it to do damage to enemies 2 hexes away. It can move after combat. The Camel Archer is less powerful than the Knight in melee combat. As a mounted unit, the Camel Archer is vulnerable to Pikemen attack.
UB: Bazaar [Market]; The Bazaar is the Arabian unique building, replacing the Market. The Bazaar provides a Gold bonus to the city. The civilization gains one additional copy of each luxury resource provided by a city possessing a Bazaar. The Bazaar provides +2 Gold on Oil and Oases.
UA: Ships of the Desert; Caravans gain 50% extended range. Your trade routes spread the home city's religion twice as effectively. Oil resources are doubled.

7 China (Wu Zetian):
UU: Chu-Ko-Nu [Crossbowman]; The Chu-Ko-Nu is the Chinese unique unit, replacing the Crossbowman. The Chu-Ko-Nu is slightly less powerful than the Crossbowman, but it can attack twice during a turn, giving it a hefty offensive punch. This unit is particularly deadly when garrisoned in a city that is under attack.
UB: Paper Maker [Library]; The Paper Maker is the Chinese unique building, replacing the Library. The Paper Maker increases the city's acquisition of Science and also provides a boost to the city's intake of Gold.
UA: Art of War; The Great General combat bonus is increased by 15%, and their spawn rate is increased by 50%.

8 Egypt (Ramesses II):
UU: War Chariot [Chariot Archer]; The War Chariot is the Egyptian unique unit, replacing the Chariot Archer. It is faster than the standard Chariot Archer, and the Egyptian player can construct it even if he doesn't possess Horses. A mounted unit, the War Chariot is quite vulnerable to the Spearman.
UB: Burial Tomb [Temple]; The Burial Tomb is a Classical-era building which increases the city's output of Happiness, and costs no maintenance for the city. However, if the city is captured, the capturing civilization will gain twice as much gold as would be the case in a city without a Burial Tomb. It replaces the Temple.
UA: Monument Builders; +20% Production towards Wonder construction.

8 England (Elizabeth):
UU: Longbowman [Crossbowman]; The Longbowman is the English unique unit, replacing the Crossbowman. The Longbowman has a greater range than the Crossbowman, allowing it to attack enemies three hexes away, often destroying them before they can strike back. Like other ranged units, Longbowmen are vulnerable to melee attack.
UU: Ship of the Line [Frigate]; The Ship of the Line is the English unique unit, replacing the Frigate. The Ship of the Line has a slightly higher Ranged Combat strength than the Frigate, and it's slightly cheaper to produce. It can see one hex farther than the Frigate, allowing it to spot enemies in a significantly larger section of ocean.
UA: Sun Never Sets; +2 Movement for all naval units. Receives 1 extra Spy.

9 France (Napoleon):
UU: Musketeer [Musketman]; The Musketeer is the French unique unit, replacing the Musketman. The Musketeer is significantly more powerful than the Musketman, making it the most powerful foot soldier unit in the game (until the introduction of Industrial Era Infantry units).
UI: Chateau [N/A]; A Chateau must be built adjacent to a Luxury resource. It may not be adjacent to another Chateau. It provides one additional Gold and 2 Culture. It also provides the same +50% defense bonus as a Fort. When Flight is researched its Culture yield increases by 1 and its Gold output rises by 2. Must be built in French territory.
UA: City of Light; Museum and World Wonder theming bonuses are doubled in their capital.

4 Germany (Bismarck):
UU: Landsknecht [Pikeman]; The Landsknecht is a German unique unit. This unit replaces the Pikeman unit. The Landsknecht is as powerful as the Pikeman unit, but it costs only half as much to produce, allowing the German player to build up a medieval army in a shockingly short period of time. Landsknecht units are deadly against mounted units like Knights.
UU: Panzer [Tank]; The Panzer is the German unique unit, replacing the tank. It is both stronger and faster than the tank. It also can move after combat, allowing it to blow huge holes in enemy lines and then barrel through before the enemy can repair the gap.
UA: Furor Teutonicus; Upon defeating a Barbarian unit inside an encampment, there is a 50% chance you earn 25 Gold and they join your side. Pay 25% less for land unit maintenance.

7 Greece (Alexander):
UU: Companion Cavalry [Horseman]; Companion Cavalry are Greek unique units, replacing the Horseman. Companion Cavalry are faster and more powerful than the Horseman unit, making them the most dangerous cavalry units until the arrival of the Knight. Companion Cavalry help generate Great Generals more rapidly than other units. In addition, they can move after attacking. Companion Cavalry are mounted, and still vulnerable to Spearmen and Pikemen attack.
UU: Hoplite [Spearman]; The Hoplite is the Greek unique unit, replacing the Spearman. It is far more powerful than the Spearman. The Hoplite is deadly against mounted opponents.
UA: Hellenic League; City-State Influence degrades at half and recovers at twice the normal rate.

6 India (Gandhi):
UU: War Elephant [Chariot Archer]; The War Elephant is the Indian unique unit, replacing the Chariot Archer. It is more powerful (if slower) than the Chariot Archer and can move through any terrain without the Chariot Archer's penalty. A mounted unit, the War Elephant is quite vulnerable to the Spearman.
UB: Mughal Fort [Castle]; The Mughal Fort is a Medieval-era building that increases the city's Defense Strength by 7, Hit Points by 25, and provides some Culture every turn. It is the Indian unique building, replacing the Castle. After Flight is learned, it provides +2 Tourism as well. Building Walls is a prerequisite for building the Mughal Fort.
UA: Population Growth; Unhappiness from number of Cities doubled, Unhappiness from number of Citizens halved.

4Japan (Oda Nobunaga):
UU: Samurai [Longswordsman]; The Samurai are the Japanese unique unit, replacing the Longswordsman. As powerful as the Swordsman, the Samurai automatically receives the "Shock I" promotion, giving it a bonus when fighting in open terrain. Success in combat with a Samurai has an increased chance of generating Great Generals.
UU: Zero [Fighter]; The Zero is the Japanese unique unit, replacing the fighter. The Zero is a moderately-powerful air unit. It is like the standard fighter, except that it gets a significant combat bonus when battling other fighters. It can be based in any city you own or aboard an aircraft carrier. It can move from city to city (or carrier) and can perform "missions" within its range of 8 tiles. See the rules on Aircraft for more information.
UA: Bushido; Units fight as though they were at full strength even when damaged.

7 Persia (Darius I):
UU: Immortal [Spearman]; The Immortal is the Persian unique unit, replacing the Spearman. It is slightly more powerful than the Spearman, and it heals twice as quickly. It is quite deadly against mounted units.
UB: Satrap’s Court [Bank]; The Satrap's Court is the Persian unique building. It replaces the Bank. Like a bank the Satrap's Court increases the city's output of wealth. However, the Satrap's Court also increases the civilization's Happiness. The city must have a Market before the Satrap's Court may be constructed.
UA: Achaemenid Legacy; Golden Ages last 50% longer. During a Golden Age, units receive +1 Movement and a +10% Combat Strength bonus.

8 Rome (Augustus Caesar):
UU: Ballista [Catapult]; Roman unique unit, more powerful than the Catapult it replaces. The Ballista is an excellent siege weapon. It is extremely useful against cities, but it is quite vulnerable to attack. Be sure to protect the Ballista with other military units. The Ballista must first "set up" (1 MP) before attacking.
UU: Legion [Swordsman]; The Legion is the Roman unique unit, replacing the Swordsman. The Legion is more powerful than the Swordsman, making it the most powerful melee unit of the Classical Era. The Legion can also construct roads and forts and is the only non-Worker unit able to do so.
UA: The Glory of Rome; +25% Production towards any buildings that already exist in the Capital.

6 Russia (Catherine):
UU: Cossack [Cavalry]; The Cossack is a Russian unique unit, replacing the Cavalry. They are the same strength as Cavalry and can also move after attacking. However, Cossack units get a strong combat bonus when battling damaged units. This makes Cossacks exceptionally strong at counter-attacking - let the enemy chew up the front-line peasants, then tear the weakened foe apart with a Cossack charge!
UB: Krepost [Barracks]; The Krepost is the Russian unique building, replacing the barracks. The Krepost provides 15 experience points for all military units constructed in its city. In addition, the Krepost increases the city's cultural border growth by 25%. It's quite worthwhile to construct these useful buildings in all Russian cities, but especially in cities on the civilization's frontiers.
UA: Siberian Riches; Strategic Resources provide +1 Production and Horse, Iron and Uranium Resources provide double quantity.

7Siam (Ramkhamhaeng):
UU: Naresuan’s Elephant [Knight]; This is the Siamese unique unit, replacing the Knight. The Naresuan's Elephant unit is slower than a Knight but it is more powerful. Like the Knight the Naresuan's Elephant can move after attacking. Equipped with spears, the Elephant gets a significant combat bonus when attacking other mounted units.
UB: Wat [University]; The Wat is the Siamese unique building, replacing the University. The Wat increases the Culture of a city, speeding the growth of its borders and the civilization's acquisition of Social Policies. The Wat also provides a Science bonus to the city.
UA: Father Governs Children; Food, Culture, and Faith from friendly City-States increased by 50%.

4 Songhai (Askia):
UU: Mandekalu Cavalry [Knight]; This is a Songhai unique unit, replacing the Knight. This unit has the same statistics as the Knight, but it is significantly better at attacking cities. The Mandekalu Cavalry can move after attacking. Its speed makes it difficult for an enemy to build a defensive line before the Mandekalu Cavalry reaches the target.
UB: Mud Pyramid Mosque [Temple]; The Mud Pyramid Mosque is a Songhai unique building, replacing the Temple. The Mud Pyramid Mosque greatly increases the city's Culture, speeding the growth of the city's territory and the civilization's acquisition of Social Policies. The Mud Pyramid Mosque has no maintenance costs.
UA: River Warlord; Receive triple Gold from Barbarian encampments and pillaging Cities. Land units gain the War Canoe and Amphibious promotions, strengthening them while embarked.

2 The Aztecs (Montezuma):
UU: Jaguar [Warrior]; The Jaguar is the Aztec unique unit, replacing the Warrior. The Jaguar receives a big bonus when battling in Jungle. It also heals damage when it destroys enemy units and has the Woodsman promotion, allowing it to move through Forest and Jungle quickly.
UB: Floating Gardens [Water Mill]; The Floating Gardens is the Aztec unique building, replacing the Water Mill. It increases the city's Food output, and should be built if the city is near a lake or river.
UA: Sacrificial Captives; Gains Culture for the empire from each enemy unit killed.

7 The Iroquois (Hiawatha):
UU: Mohawk Warrior [Swordsman]; The Mohawk Warrior is the Iroquoian unique unit, replacing the Swordsman. As powerful as the Swordsman in Clear or Hilly terrain, the Mohawk Warrior receives a significant combat bonus in Forest and Jungle. Also, unlike the Swordsman, it does not require Iron to build.
UB: Longhouse [Workshop]; The Longhouse is the Iroquois unique building, replacing the Workshop. It increases the city's Production output for each forest within the city's radius.
UA: Great Warpath; Units move through Forest and Jungle in friendly territory as if they were Roads. These tiles can be used to establish City Connections upon researching The Wheel. Caravans move along Forest and Jungle as if they were Roads.

6The Ottomans (Suleiman):
UU: Janissary [Musketman]; The Janissary is an Ottoman unique unit, replacing the Musketman. The Janissary receives a significant combat bonus when on the attack. In addition, the Janissary unit automatically heals all damage when it destroys a non-Barbarian unit. This can give a Janissary army a crushing advantage against an enemy force on the defensive.
UU: Sipahi [Lancer]; The Sipahi is the Ottoman unique unit, replacing the Lancer. The Sipahi is much faster and can see one hex farther than the Lancer, although it shares the Lancer's weaknesses on defense. The Sipahi can pillage enemy improvements at no additional cost.
UA: Barbary Corsairs; All melee naval units have the Prize Ships promotion, allowing them to capture defeated ships. Pay only one-third the usual cost for naval unit maintenance.

[/QUOTE]

 

[True_Candyman]

Spoiler :

3
2 The Aztecs (Montezuma):
UU: Jaguar [Warrior]; The Jaguar is the Aztec unique unit, replacing the Warrior. The Jaguar receives a big bonus when battling in Jungle. It also heals damage when it destroys enemy units and has the Woodsman promotion, allowing it to move through Forest and Jungle quickly.
UB: Floating Gardens [Water Mill]; The Floating Gardens is the Aztec unique building, replacing the Water Mill. It increases the city's Food output, and should be built if the city is near a lake or river.
UA: Sacrificial Captives; Gains Culture for the empire from each enemy unit killed.

Bold! Why did you rate them like that if you don't mind me asking?

 

[bcaiko]

A rationale for your votes is not required, but is always appreciated and interesting to read through!

The history of these kinds of threads suggests a rationale should always be required. Otherwise the thread will become a useless spam of numbers.

Also, folks probably shouldn't repeat the UAs, UUs, UBs, ect. of each Civ with their post. It just takes up space, and people can look at the well-done first post if they don't remember what a Civ is all about.

 

[Loucypher]

4 - America (Washington):
To me, they're the quintessesial Vanilla Civ. They don't do anything poorly, but they don't do anything great, either. The best part of them is probably the +1 sight which has definite merits in both combat (Spotting) and scouting (Seeing ruins faster). In the end though, they're rather mediocre.

7- Arabia (Harun al-Rashid):
You could remove Arabia's UA and they'd still be good. With no religious bonuses, the extra pressure from trade routes isn't that likely to matter and longer trade routes are nice but not THAT spectacular. No, it's the fantastic Bazaar that makes it such a great civ, and having a definite top 5 UU (Along with among others the Keshik and Chu-Ko-Nu) helps too. Still, I think they got slightly nerfed in BNW what with DoF required for lump sum trading and late-game-gold being so easy to obtain. Still a great choice though.

9- China (Wu Zetian):
Whenever you're China, hearing the war theme tends to mean you won. Those powerful and plentiful Great Generals are amazing. The Paper Maker is great in helping your early game economy, while in the later stages it becomes kind of a minimal bonus, it's definitely nice to have. Amazing civ.

7- Egypt (Ramesses II):
Egypt is the perfect "newbie Civ". Every random john can take Egypt and do moderately well. Fast wonderbuilding is amazing no matter how you slice it, though it's less spectacular on high levels. The UU is...eh, but the UB is simply solid. Maintainance-Free Happiness is never a bad thing. Shame they don't have a true faith bonus, they could be slightly better that way, but...they're nice.

6- England (Elizabeth):
England's power is largely dictated by the map. The extra spy is okay, but it's the naval power you want them for. Fortunately, the Longbowman allows for powerful on-land warfare too, but without the sea, England really isn't all that great. With it however, they become so much scarier. In the end though, due to how map-dependant they are, England isn't really top-tier IMO, but it's solid.

6- France (Napoleon):
France got it's UA nerfed quite badly, but its new UI is much better then its previous UU. They're a powerful culture civ still, so there's that. France is now best suited to some quick expansion, then using Chateaus to defend itself and accumulate the tourism needed for the victory. I think however that due to them not really being "solved" yet, it's very hard to rate them, hence the average 6.

1- Germany (Bismarck):
Uuuuuuugh. Buff them already, Firaxis. Piss-poor UA (Seriously, at least make the barb capturing non-random...), an UU that doesn't even get bonus stats but is just cheaper (Yeah, until you upgrade them), and an UU that comes too late to truly matter. Germany is definitely a contestant for the worst Civ of the game so far. At least they can field big and cheap armies...now that war has been nerfed...

7- Greece (Alexander):
Greece has Unique Units? Never noticed. Their UA is sickenly powerful, once you get the ball rolling all the city states will love you, catapulting your food, culture and faith up like crazy, and eventually your science as well. They're not perfect, their UU's being so bland it hurts, but they're just very good.

4- India (Gandhi):
India got decently buffed by BNW by the reducing in power of happiness buildings and internal food trades, as well as the Mughal Fort being slightly better now. They always had a decent UU as it was, too. As such, India has went from absolute bottom of the barrel to "Meh", they're still not spectacular, but they can at least roll with the others now. Skilled players can do beautiful things with them, I've heard.

2- Japan (Oda Nobunaga):
The only reason Japan gets a better grade then Germany is the simple fact that at least Japan's combat bonuses matter, if not by much. The Samurai isn't half bad either (and it's fun spamming them and insta-upgrading them, they don't obsolete immediately fortunately), it's just that piss-poor Zero and the sadly nerfed Bushido. They're dangerous to face in combat, but that's all there is to them. Need a buff. Ditch the Zero for an UB and they'll probably be fine.

6- Persia (Darius I):
I may rank Persia a bit lower then most others, but...well, they just don't appeal that much to me. While Immortals are definitely nice, they're not that grand either, and Satrap's Court is a typical case of "Let's slap a static bonus to a building and call it a day" UB-ing like you see with many Vanilla UB's. Their UA however is quite amazing, it just requires some building around and can fall flat if you have bad luck, which is why I don't like them AS much.
Amazing colour scheme though.

7- Rome (Augustus Caesar):
I think a lot of people underestimate Rome because their bonus is rarely directly visible. But the faster building in small cities enables for an amazing setup. The only roulette bit with them is that you NEED a good spot for Rome itself. Either way, a powerful Rome will let your other cities grow so fast, it's insane. Legion and Ballista are both decent, Legion in particular often gets built a few times in my armies if only because they also provide roads to whatever they just captured. Wish that bonus got carried over.

3- Russia (Catherine):
For one, I love Russia. It's just that, between having a piss-poor UB (Probably the worst UB in the game), a somewhat "meh" UU (Cossacks, while not bad, are just...meh.) and their UA being done almost better by Atilla and Casimir's stables, Russia has went from a production powerhouse to being overshadowed a bit. They're not bottom of the barrel per say, they're just...outdone. Sadly.

8- Siam (Ramkhamhaeng):
Siam is probably the Vanilla civ with the highest amount of tricks. Tradition into four free Wats? Sign me up. A highly powerful UU that can last for longer then its non-UU counterpart? Sure, I'll take it. An absolutely bonkers UA when combined with Patronage? Leading to possibly the biggest cities in the game with the highest culture and faith output? Hell. Yes.

3- Songhai (Askia):
The definition of Vanilla. An UU that is really simple, an UB that is "No maintainance and a small bonus" and is really inferior to Egypt's version, and an UA that has a few things going for it...except none of them are really THAT great. They do have a somewhat strong early game economy, but...they're just not great, sorry Askia.

6- The Aztecs (Montezuma):
The Aztecs got nerfed in two indirect ways by BNW. For one, its harder to get early-game-money, making it harder to spam Jaguars to update later for Woodsman Infantry, and for two, the culture they get from kills no longer directly contributes to a culture victory. They're still decently powerful and can grow immense cities, but they did get bumped down a notch.

5- The Iroquois (Hiawatha):
While the AI does amazing with them, I don't think they're that hot. The production boon is nice, but the way their UA works is a bit annoying. Faster trade caravans are nice though, I'll give them that. They're just not that spectacular outside of that. Mohawk Warriors do get them major style points, though.

5- The Ottomans (Suleiman):
The Ottomans are much like England. While they do have two land UU's, one of them is rather poor. The other, while strong, is not Longbow-Level...and that alone nudges the Ottomans under England for me. On sea levels they're a terror, but on land-based maps they're relatively tame.

There's my rankings with reasonings. You know, a lot of people say that Vanilla Civs are rather dull, but really only Germany and Japan are. Its mostly UB's that have a somewhat dull design.

 

[evilcat]

Protip: If you want scores in bold, then provide bolding space for others, it is really overall faster that way.

Note: Every civilizacion with double UU gets -3 to score. UU comes and goes after the era, and hardly every is even big deal, while UB or UI will last forever!

THE LIST:

4 America (Washington):
UU are ok (dat bomber), however UA is lacking, it is not like i need to buy lots of tiles per game.
9 Arabia (Harun al-Rashid):
Gold, more gold, religion spread (and desert start). And camels are not bad.
6 China (Wu Zetian):
CKN is great, paper is nice, but overall the civ is very locked into war.
8 Egypt (Ramesses II):
Free temples which gives hapiness, yes please. Wonder spam never hurts. UU is hard to use as usual.
6 England (Elizabeth):
Longbowman is very strong, SotL more situacional, but extra spy very versalite.
6 (Napoleon):
Strong culture player, but extra gold helps in many acts.
2 Germany (Bismarck):
Land discout is ok, but converting and cheap pikemen give a large tendency to spam cheap units and so give more xp to enemy. Not impressive. Everything Germany does, more balanced civs do better.
5 Greece (Alexander):
Befriending every single CS never gets old. However cavalry is not much use.
7 India (Gandhi):
Elephants comes and goes (meh). Buy extra hapiness and benefit from going super tall is nice, and so is fort even if it is just random stats attached to building.
3 Japan (Oda Nobunaga):
Samurais are ok, zero dosnt matter. UA which you dont want to use.
6 Persia (Darius I):
Immortals are pointless even with spear. Composite are still better. UA and UB at least do something.
7 Rome (Augustus Caesar):
Free hammers always good, legions are great both in power and ability to laid road. Baliste is like wtf?
5 Russia (Catherine):
While not impressive, quite versalite. But still any gain is just too small to atter.
8 Siam (Ramkhamhaeng):
Versalite nation. A bit of bonuses to everything.
4 Songhai (Askia):
Is ok, but not very versalite, and not very impressive.
6 The Aztecs (Montezuma):
Locked in war, but how good at it. Kinda shame that early agression is a no-no.
5 The Iroquois (Hiawatha):
Like Aztecs but more limited, and map dependant. Funny thing is that AI always creates some big empire with it.
3 The Ottomans (Suleiman):
The only big thing about this nation is Suleiman headgear. Otherwise some unimpressive UU, and situacional UA which we dont want to use.

 

[ballingforlife]

Bold! Why did you rate them like that if you don't mind me asking?

I used to play them a lot but BNW has nerfed them a lot more than one would think. The only way they can win a culture victory and still be figthing as there UA entails, would be in the manner of stealing Great Works. This is long after the Jaguar is gone. The jaguar becomes obsolete a little faster because of the earlier iron find. In some situations the floating gardens are strong but not in enough. I think that their nerfing is undervalued.

 

[Keirador]

Request: along with ranking, could people provide the difficulty level they typically play on, or whether they typically play against the AI or humans? That'll change things.

I play against the AI on Immortal or Deity.

THE LIST:

3 America (Washington):
The +1 sight is cool, the UUs are fine, but ultimately this is a poorly-designed and deeply boring Civ. Buying tiles is rare for me so cheaper tiles is not much of a money-saver, the Minuteman is not very important for winning a war in its era (ranged units are more important), and by the time the B17 comes along things are probably already settled. The only thing America is any good at is early scouting. Needs a make-over.

10 Arabia (Harun al-Rashid):
I don't think the extra copy of a luxury resource that UB gives is so great; eventually you run out of Civs to trade with. The UA definitely got nerfed in BNW, but it doesn't matter. Beeline to Camel Archers and enjoy clearing your continent of opposition. Beef those distant conquered capitals back up to a high-pop with your long-range caravans running food routes. Arabia's UU is one of the best in the game (all mounted ranged units, Cho-Ku-No, Merchant of Venice), and it's UA and UB are as good or better than some of the civs with awesomely powerful UUs. Desert start biases are very powerful when combined with the right faith and Petra, and double oil means that after you clear your own continent, you've got the Battleships and Bombers to clear the other guy's, too.

9 China (Wu Zetian):
The papermaker can keep an economy limping along just fine while your Cho-Ku-No and Great Generals clear your continent. The double attack of the CKN mean they get promoted twice as fast, so the Range and March promotions come quick.

7 Egypt (Ramesses II):
Who doesn't love wonderspamming? Awesome on lower difficulties when going after Wonders is less of a huge terrifying gamble, but at higher difficulties even with Egypt's bonus you're just not going to get that many. The UU comes at a really bad time; if you utilize it at all you're missing Wonders. The UB is solid.

3-8 England (Elizabeth):
Completely map-dependent, obviously. The only non-water bonuses England have are tepid. Longbowmen are one of the most powerful UUs in theory, but too easily foiled by hilly or forested terrain to be game-saving. The extra spy got a buff from BNW thanks to the Diplomacy function, but it's still underwhelming. If you've got a lot of water, she's certainly a force to be reckoned with.

4 France (Napoleon):
In my opinion, France took a huge nerf in BNW. Too tightly geared to a tourism victory, which on higher difficulty levels usually requires a bit of warring (ironically), which France has no knack for.

1 Germany (Bismarck):
Go home, Germany. You're drunk. A bad Civ that got worse when BNW made early warfare more prohibitively expensive. The best way to go to war is with a small, affordable army of very powerful, very veteran units, and Germany lends itself toward a huge army. Pointless, horrible, embarrassing Civ. Badly needs a makeover.

6 Greece (Alexander):
Hoplite is meh, but the Companion Cavalry can be devastating if used right. The UA isn't really a buff to CS relations, it's a buff to the gold you would spend or the effort you'd put into quests to get CS allies. If I'm focused on allying CSes, I'll go with Siam, which actually gets a buff to those relations.

3 India (Gandhi):
Elephants are too early to be super great, Mughal Forts are difficult to fit into an overall Indian strategy, and it seems that with each expansion that's come out, Happiness is less and less of a challenge. Happiness is just not a problem in tall peaceful empires, a happiness buff is really only important to a warmonger who's nabbing enemy cities. . . and India's UA specifically encourages tall. In Vanilla I might have rated India a 5 or 6, but by BNW, with so many different ways to reap Happiness, the UA seems uninteresting.

2 Japan (Oda Nobunaga):
The AI doesn't understand fighter combat so the Zero is pointless. Samurai is barely better than the unit it replaces. If the Japanese UA is really coming in handy for you; you're already losing.

8 Persia (Darius I):
Tough one to rate, because if Golden Ages aren't managed expertly, Persia is second-rate. If you focus your entire gameplay around achieving Golden Ages and getting wonders and policies that extend or trigger free Golden Ages or offer lots of happiness, you can actually spend the majority of your game in a Golden Age, leaving Persia pretty overpowered. 50% longer GA stacks with Chichen Itza, making a GA triggered by wonders, policies, or happiness last 20 turns. Important to play tall to keep happiness up.

Oh yeah, I guess Persia has a UU and UB, too. Both are fine.

5 Rome (Augustus Caesar):
Better in theory than in practice, because it creates some conflicts about what exactly your capital is supposed to be doing in the early game. If you're not building settlers in Rome, there are no other cities to benefit from the 25% production bonus. If you're not building all the buildings in Rome, your other cities don't get the production bonus. If you're not building your legions and ballistas, you lose the opportunity to actually use these units. And all this assumes you don't want any Wonders in Rome at all. Overall, just too much going on in the Classical Era and not enough going on thereafter. Optimal strategy is probably to plunk lots of cities down ASAP and let that production bonus kick in much later in the game, but I don't see the synergy or joy in Rome.

7 Russia (Catherine):
Some players seem to struggle with resource limits more than others; I frequently find that many of my games have few convenient sources of strategic resources. Russia never faces that problem. The Krepost provides lots of territory and the UA is just stellar. An under-appreciated benefit to double strategic resources is that you can trade them or GIFT them to allies to convince them to fight proxy wars. Extra production from strategic resources is a critical early game boost. The UA is also a game-long and very versatile advantage; being able to field many more nuclear weapons than your enemies can keep the AI at bay if you're pursuing a peaceful victory.

6 Siam (Ramkhamhaeng):
The Wat is great but boring, the Elephant doesn't matter. Siam's all about the UA. +50% faith, food, and culture from City-States is mighty powerful and lends Siam to a lot of possible strategies. This used to be an 8 or 9, but BNW nerfed Siam's advantage in competing for a Culture victory since no Tourism comes from City-States.
Note: I usually play with Diplo victory off because it's too easy and most games end that way.

8 Songhai (Askia):
I'm a bit surprised at the love Songhai isn't getting. Getting 75 gold per barbarian encampment is a huge boost to the very early game (which can be everything), especially if you play with raging barbs on. Allows you to purchase your first settler real easily, making Songhai one of the first Civs to settle a second city and you didn't even need to sacrifice growth in your capital. This is a UA that keeps on giving, too, as when Songhai goes to war it can keep its economy booming running solely on conquest. Mud Pyramid Mosque is a nice buff, Mandekalu Cavalry is next to worthless, but the UA alone is completely underappreciated.

5 The Aztecs (Montezuma):
Took a nerf from BNW thanks to early war being harder and permanent war being harder (because trade routes are so hard to protect). Culture was also nerfed. The Aztec UB is underappreciated, though, and can lead to some very nice growth if your cities are all on water.

1 - 7 The Iroquois (Hiawatha):
How much forest you got? Completely map-dependent, from 100% useless to extremely lethal. Struggles from no early-game buffs whatsoever, since the start-bias means there's often no nearby food bonus resource. Not sure how the AI always turns them into a vast, not-always-forested empire.


2 The Ottomans (Suleiman):
Odd to me that one of the most cultured civilizations in its time (these are the folks that build the Blue Mosque, people) was given 2 militaristic UUs and a militaristic UA. Janissaries are powerful but it's ranged units that win wars, and the Ottomans don't got none. The UA is only really good for turning around a bad situation. If you went to war with the fleet you wanted to win the war, you don't need captured ships. Needs a makeover.

 

[Enrico Swagolo]

6 - 'Murica (Washington):

Nice. Minuteman is a nice UU but nothing super, +sight combined with easier land acquisition is nice. Overall, average.

10 - Arabia (Harun al-Rashid):

Camel Archer is insane, UA is good, Bazaar is insane. Any

7 - China (Wu Zetian): slightly overrated but a very good civ anyway. Papermaker is good, Chu-Ko-Nu are great, UA is good.

9 - Egypt (Ramesses II): a meh chariot archer replacement, insane temple replacement, great UA, insane for both Tall and Wide play if you spam temples.


9 - England (Elizabeth): everything is great. Longbowman is great, Ship of the Line is great, UA is great.

3 - France (Napoleon): don't like the new France. Chateau is okay. Unique ability is horrible and only giving you up to 23 tourism assuming you somehow built all national wonders and world wonders in your capital. Musketeer is meh.

2 - Germany (Bismarck): Poor Bismarck! His UU is now rendered obsolete because Zulu came in with their crazy Impis - to beat one Impi you need two Landsknechts, and they'll cost you much more maintenace than a single Impi costs Zulu. Also Impi is on a superior upgrade way.

Panzer is there. Kind of too late to matter, especially since horse/tank units don't really matter. UA is now just weak with little to no early game aggression.

5 - Greece (Alexander): not a fan of Hoplite and Companion, but the UA is good.

5 - India (Gandhi): UA is going to save you a lot of happiness, Mughal Fort is okay, Elephant is meh.

3 - Japan (Oda Nobunaga): weak UA, Zero is not really neededl, Samurai is okay but not too hot.

7 - Persia (Darius I): Immortals are very good but unfortunately they are on the route to become Lancers... Good UA. Good UB giving you more gold and happiness.

5 - Rome (Augustus Caesar): a good civ. Nice uniques that unfortunately give you no extra promotions after upgrade, rendering them not too good with the nerfed early game warfare. UA is going to save you a lot of production.

1 - Russia (Catherine): Cossack is meh. Krepost is the worst unique building in the game. UA is nothing extraordinairy.

8 - Siam (Ramkhamhaeng): everything is very good here.

3 - Songhai (Askia): Mandekalu are such a bad UU you are unlikely to even feel they exist because Trebuchets/Crossbowmen are supposed to be things you attack cities with.

UB is nice if you take Tradition opener into Liberty, and then take free culture building policy with Right Techs to get the Temples to secure yourself a religious lead, otherwise it's meh. Definitely not as good as Egypt's +2 happiness temple.

UA is neat early game against barbs and neat when conquering, giving you a bit more gold. Amphibious and War Canoes on your stuff... Are nice, but would definitely prefer replacing it with no penalty when crossing a river.

8 - The Aztecs (Montezuma): great UU and UB, good UA.

7 - The Iroquois (Hiawatha): great UU and UB, nice UA.

5 - The Ottomans (Suleiman): good UU with it's heal but it doesn't really heal fully anymore. The Lancer one is meh. UA would be better if Sully had some naval UU, but it's okay.

 

[Merciorum]

2 America (Washington): Kinda dull. Not particularly useful nowadays.

9 Arabia (Harun al-Rashid): Very powerful for a faith/trading game. And very versatile.

8 China (Wu Zetian): Good warmonger, and some gold too. If conquest fails, you have a reasonable chance of another victory.

7 Egypt (Ramesses II): Dependent on a tech lead, but very versatile and effective if it has one.

8 England (Elizabeth): Situational, but very good on a water map. Has great UUs. Kinda versatile with its spy. Still, situational.

6 France (Napoleon): Far, far too dependent on a tech lead and a good start location. Without it, you're totally screwed. However, the Chateau is great, which pulls it up. And if you get the wonders and a good culture income, the game is as good as yours.

4 Germany (Bismarck): Ottomans on land. Made redundant by others, and the UA isn't nearly as effective on land.

2 Greece (Alexander): Completely redundant now that there are so many trade-route-exploiting civs. Irrelevant UUs. A shame, because they were one of my very favourites in Vanilla.

9 India (Gandhi): My personal favourite. Awful in G+K, but very, very good for a tall game (or a wide game which expands later). Culture is the obvious choice, but Diplo and Science are good too.

7 Japan (Oda Nobunaga): Very good for combat. It is best used as an expansionist civ looking to dominate a large amount of the map, but not necessarily for a conquest victory; not bad for science. I welcome the change, though.

8 Persia (Darius I): Immortals and the Satrap's Court make up for a good-but-dependent UA. One of my favourites.

6 Rome (Augustus Caesar): Good for going wide. Not much else to say here. Science is probably the best victory.

6 Russia (Catherine): Very versatile but not quite as good in specific areas as other civs. Conquest-leaning.

9 Siam (Ramkhamhaeng): Dependent on good CS relations, but if you have them, you are very very powerful. Another of my favourites.

8 Songhai (Askia): I've never really used them, but I can see how they can be powerful.

8 The Aztecs (Montezuma): Everything they have is good, though there is little synergy between the elements. As versatile as Russia but better.

4 The Iroquois (Hiawatha): Kinda irrelevant with BNW. Not awful, though.

9 The Ottomans (Suleiman): For a naval game, they are very deadly. Plus, they have my favourite UU in the game (Janissary). They are situational, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It does really annoy me that they are portrayed in this way, though. They were the foremost naval power in the Mediterranean, but at a time when its importance was diminishing. They deserve a faith/culture/happiness bonus more.

EDIT: Changed a couple of scores.

 

[Petiscator]

5 - America (Washington):

'Murika. Hmm... UA is nice, but not great. Minutemen are good. B17 too... yeah, +1 sight is good, but they are kind of bland...

8- Arabia (Harun al-Rashid):

UB is great, UU is awesome, UA is good. I like Arabia, they're pretty solid!

6- China (Wu Zetian):

I don't really know why does everybody love China. I mean, besides their Paper Maker (which is indeed lovely) their UA is totally focused on warmongering, and it was nerfed in BNW. I like the Chu-ko-nu though.

5- Egypt (Ramesses II):

Monument Builders is quite handy, but fades a bit on higher levels (even then, you'll get 20% on your NC!). UU is meh. UB is good.

5-10 England (Elizabeth):

Depends on the map. On a water map, they're perfect. On a land map, they aren't so good. Still, they are pretty solid! Longbow is the second best UU (IMO), the Ship of the Line is the best water UU (IMO), +2 movement for naval units is perfect on watery maps/not so great but still handy on pangaea, and I'm very very fond of the extra spy.

5- France (Napoleon):

Ugh, I dislike new France. Old France was better, I guess, but what can I do, BNW is a different game after all. UA is bad. UU is good. UI is very good but sort of limited... Perhaps I haven't played them much? I'm still not convinced...

2- Germany (Bismarck):

I'd give them a 2 if it weren't for the Landsknecht, I love that unit. So cheap :O even if it has 0 bonuses... UA is very bad. Panzers come very late, but are ok.

8- Greece (Alexander):

Hellenic League FTW! One of the nicest UAs! I love the Companion Cavalry too. The Hoplite is... well... meh, but it is so cool!

4- India (Gandhi):

Not very convinced on this one yet... UA keeps restraining early expansion. War Elephant is very nice. Mughal Fort seems good. It is the UA that makes me want to puke a little bit...

2- Japan (Oda Nobunaga):

2, because I like the Samurais a tiny bit. Zeroes suck. Very hard. Bushido is not very good.

9- Persia (Darius I):

Yummy civilization! One of the best UAs, Achaemenid Legacy's +1 turns combat into a whole other thing. +10% :c5strenght: is cool too. +50% lenght of is great! Immortals are ok. Satrap's Court has synergy with UA.

8- Rome (Augustus Caesar):

Oh, glorious Rome... I'd rank them higher, but Ballistas are a bit sucky. Legions are great! Stronger than a pikeman, builds roads... nuff said. UA is better than it looks too!

7- Russia (Catherine):

Judge, come on, I'm waiting for you. I actually love playing Russia. +1 production on every strategic is amazing in the early game. Double horses and iron means selling stuff without sacrificing happiness, later, double the regular amount of Cossacks. Double uranium is self explanatory. Cossacks are great, with Krepost + stuff they can even get Charge I or II, which means a stupidly great fast unit. Krepost might not be so great, but it makes buying tiles a bit easier and you'll claim the strats tiles faster.

8- Siam (Ramkhamhaeng):

Great UA, great UU, good UB.

4- Songhai (Askia):

Sucky UU... sucky UB... Ok UA...

7- The Aztecs (Montezuma):

Great civ. Awesome Jaguars. I love the UA, helps to fill the early policies quite faster than normal. UB is one of the best!

4- The Iroquois (Hiawatha):

Very meh UA, good UU, sort of ok Ub... don't like them a lot.

6- The Ottomans (Suleiman):

I love the Sipahis, I love the Janissaries, the UA is perfect for watery maps.

 

[kukatr]

I play against the AI on Immortal or Deity.

5 Rome (Augustus Caesar):
Better in theory than in practice, because it creates some conflicts about what exactly your capital is supposed to be doing in the early game. If you're not building settlers in Rome, there are no other cities to benefit from the 25% production bonus. If you're not building all the buildings in Rome, your other cities don't get the production bonus. If you're not building your legions and ballistas, you lose the opportunity to actually use these units. And all this assumes you don't want any Wonders in Rome at all. Overall, just too much going on in the Classical Era and not enough going on thereafter. Optimal strategy is probably to plunk lots of cities down ASAP and let that production bonus kick in much later in the game, but I don't see the synergy or joy in Rome.

In every thread people says that on those difficulty levels you have to forget the wonders. So, you can use Rome's unique ability and/or units.

 

[Keirador]

Do you play those levels? You're not gonna get every wonder, but on Immortal I can reliably snag 2 - 4 in the Ancient/Classical eras. There's also still the conflict between building settlers in the Capital to have cities (which means you're building fewer buildings in the Capital, so less of a bonus and fewer Classical UUs), building buildings in the Capital (which means you're building fewer settlers, so fewer cities to get the bonus and fewer Classical UUs), and building your UUs in the Capital (meaning fewer settlers and fewer buildings).

It's not terrible; I gave it a 5. It's just middle of the pack for me.

 

[True_Candyman]

I used to play them a lot but BNW has nerfed them a lot more than one would think. The only way they can win a culture victory and still be figthing as there UA entails, would be in the manner of stealing Great Works. This is long after the Jaguar is gone. The jaguar becomes obsolete a little faster because of the earlier iron find. In some situations the floating gardens are strong but not in enough. I think that their nerfing is undervalued.

Fair points, i ought to give them a try. The jaguar doesn't quite become obsolete of course, since it passes on all it's goodies as it upgrades

 

[SolDelta]

I love how polarising the Ottomans are. I reckon they're my favorite military focused civ (well, 2 UU civ anyway.) You can carve out a lovely naval empire very early, particularly if you pump triremes early and farm coastal barbarian encampments. I love that you can come out of most naval engagements with a better navy than you had previously. Then, come gunpowder and metallurgy, you can make a huge push into whatever civ you wish and absolutely decimate opposing armies. You can be very well set up for any victory you choose with a giant puppet empire by the time ideologies come into play at the latest.

 

[ballingforlife]

Even though I gave, say, America a higher rating, I still actually prefer the play style of the Aztecs.

 

[MantaRevan]

Spoiler :

- America (Washington): 5
America is pretty much vanilla for me. Extra sight is nice, but the bonus towards purchasing tiles isn't really huge and can't really be utilized without pissing everyone off. I'd rather be the Shoshone and just get the tiles. The UUs are pretty meh.

- Arabia (Harun al-Rashid): 8
I liked G&K Arabia better. I'm not big on religion, and I usually preferred the Arabian ICS. I recognize that Arabia is still pretty good, and they have really solid UU and UB, though.

- China (Wu Zetian): 7
Dat war theme! I love the combat bonus from the GGs a lot, and the paper maker builds on one of the best buildings in the game. Add that to the Chu-Ko-Nus and you find that China does a good job at improving at the things that were already good. But as warfare got nerfed, so did China.

- Egypt (Ramesses II): 7
I love wonders. End of story.

- England (Elizabeth): 8
I used to poo-poo on England for being so bad, but they have REALLY good UUs and the extra spy makes them really useful for the diplomacy game(diplomats in capitals).

- France (Napoleon): 9
Chateaux are a welcome addition for France as far as I'm concerned, and city of lights can be insane with the theming bonuses.

- Germany (Bismarck): 4
The most charitable thing I can say about Germany is that it's better than Japan at what Japan is supposed to do. The UA actually helps you economically a little, so there's a plus side. But Bismarck's UUs are almost worthless, making them a bottom tier civ.

- Greece (Alexander): 6
Greece gets extra points for having an UA directly relevant to a victory condition, but their UUs are sort of lackluster to me. Alright for an early rush I guess.

- India (Gandhi): 3
Under standard game conditions, there really isn't a good reason to play India. The Mughal Fort got a decent boost, but their UA still pigeonholes them into a specific playstyle, and is one of the only UAs that can actually hurt the user. The War Elephant is still unimpressive and you should give India a pass outside of an OCC.

- Japan (Oda Nobunaga): 3
Do you like war? If you said yes, play a better civ. If you said no, then play a better civ. As much as I want to play Japan, I can't do it. The devs were right to mark them for a remake.

- Persia (Darius I): 9
Persia is good for whatever. Nothing about them is weak, honestly. They have a good UU, a really good UA, and last time I checked, I remember being impressed by their UB too.

- Rome (Augustus Caesar): 6
I like Rome in theory because I like the idea of having a strong central capital. Unfortuanatly, I'm not crazy about the UUs that much, especially in BNW where an early war can cripple your entire civ.

- Russia (Catherine): 6
I really like the Russian bonus on luxury resources. In fact, this is the thing holding Russia up since their Krepost bonus is negligible and I never use calvalry enough to care about Cossacks.

- Siam (Ramkhamhaeng): 8
Siam's UA has gotten better and better as city states became more important to the game, allowing them to build an outstanding economy. I don't know if the Wat Legalism exploit still exists, but I've always loved this civ.

- Songhai (Askia): 4
Maybe I just hold it against the vanilla dark horse for not being Mansa Musa, but I could never get behind Songhai. Sure, the UU is really good, but their UA is really lackluster and the mud pyramid mosque only adds up to about 2 .

- The Aztecs (Montezuma): 6
If you're looking to have a lot of fun with this game, look no further. The Aztecs allow you to make a justified Honor start to stack culture for kills. That said, the culture for actually killing a unit doesn't really amount to much in the long run. But the Floating Garden and an army of upgraded Jags can make for really big cities and rivals that can't exactly stand up to you.

- The Iroquois (Hiawatha): 4
Meh. I guess the warpath can save you a little gold, but all you really get here is swords that don't require iron. Plus longhouses aren't all that thrilling to be honest.

- The Ottomans (Suleiman): 4
I'm not one to turn down free prize ships, but the Ottomans really make a case for it. The Jannisaries are still really good, but otherwise the Ottomans fit a very specific niche that plenty of other civs fill better.

-Mongolia (Genghis Khan): 6
In most games you want to avoid beating up the city states, so the UA the mongols get seems a little out of place. But the Khan is incredibly good from what the civilopedia says about it, so that appears to make the Mongols a decent civ(if a second-rate China).

 

[Pythakoreas]

Spoiler :

- America (Washington): 5
America is pretty much vanilla for me. Extra sight is nice, but the bonus towards purchasing tiles isn't really huge and can't really be utilized without pissing everyone off. I'd rather be the Shoshone and just get the tiles. The UUs are pretty meh.

- Arabia (Harun al-Rashid): 8
I liked G&K Arabia better. I'm not big on religion, and I usually preferred the Arabian ICS. I recognize that Arabia is still pretty good, and they have really solid UU and UB, though.

- China (Wu Zetian): 7
Dat war theme! I love the combat bonus from the GGs a lot, and the paper maker builds on one of the best buildings in the game. Add that to the Chu-Ko-Nus and you find that China does a good job at improving at the things that were already good. But as warfare got nerfed, so did China.

- Egypt (Ramesses II): 7
I love wonders. End of story.

- England (Elizabeth): 8
I used to poo-poo on England for being so bad, but they have REALLY good UUs and the extra spy makes them really useful for the diplomacy game(diplomats in capitals).

- France (Napoleon): 9
Chateaux are a welcome addition for France as far as I'm concerned, and city of lights can be insane with the theming bonuses.

- Germany (Bismarck): 4
The most charitable thing I can say about Germany is that it's better than Japan at what Japan is supposed to do. The UA actually helps you economically a little, so there's a plus side. But Bismarck's UUs are almost worthless, making them a bottom tier civ.

- Greece (Alexander): 6
Greece gets extra points for having an UA directly relevant to a victory condition, but their UUs are sort of lackluster to me. Alright for an early rush I guess.

- India (Gandhi): 3
Under standard game conditions, there really isn't a good reason to play India. The Mughal Fort got a decent boost, but their UA still pigeonholes them into a specific playstyle, and is one of the only UAs that can actually hurt the user. The War Elephant is still unimpressive and you should give India a pass outside of an OCC.

- Japan (Oda Nobunaga): 3
Do you like war? If you said yes, play a better civ. If you said no, then play a better civ. As much as I want to play Japan, I can't do it. The devs were right to mark them for a remake.

- Persia (Darius I): 9
Persia is good for whatever. Nothing about them is weak, honestly. They have a good UU, a really good UA, and last time I checked, I remember being impressed by their UB too.

- Rome (Augustus Caesar): 6
I like Rome in theory because I like the idea of having a strong central capital. Unfortuanatly, I'm not crazy about the UUs that much, especially in BNW where an early war can cripple your entire civ.

- Russia (Catherine): 6
I really like the Russian bonus on luxury resources. In fact, this is the thing holding Russia up since their Krepost bonus is negligible and I never use calvalry enough to care about Cossacks.

- Siam (Ramkhamhaeng): 8
Siam's UA has gotten better and better as city states became more important to the game, allowing them to build an outstanding economy. I don't know if the Wat Legalism exploit still exists, but I've always loved this civ.

- Songhai (Askia): 4
Maybe I just hold it against the vanilla dark horse for not being Mansa Musa, but I could never get behind Songhai. Sure, the UU is really good, but their UA is really lackluster and the mud pyramid mosque only adds up to about 2 .

- The Aztecs (Montezuma): 6
If you're looking to have a lot of fun with this game, look no further. The Aztecs allow you to make a justified Honor start to stack culture for kills. That said, the culture for actually killing a unit doesn't really amount to much in the long run. But the Floating Garden and an army of upgraded Jags can make for really big cities and rivals that can't exactly stand up to you.

- The Iroquois (Hiawatha): 4
Meh. I guess the warpath can save you a little gold, but all you really get here is swords that don't require iron. Plus longhouses aren't all that thrilling to be honest.

- The Ottomans (Suleiman): 4
I'm not one to turn down free prize ships, but the Ottomans really make a case for it. The Jannisaries are still really good, but otherwise the Ottomans fit a very specific niche that plenty of other civs fill better.

-Mongolia (Genghis Khan): 6
In most games you want to avoid beating up the city states, so the UA the mongols get seems a little out of place. But the Khan is incredibly good from what the civilopedia says about it, so that appears to make the Mongols a decent civ(if a second-rate China).

Nice to see someone who spells plural Chateau "Châteaux"