So now that we got all the newcomers revealed (though not all the exact details quite yet), I'd say we have enough knowledge now to have at least a good idea of how each civ will play out. With that in mind...how do you rank the nine newcomers in order of your own personal interest?
Here's my list:
1. Poland
Poland is one of the few civs who can give truly insane amounts of XP to units right from the gates (Their UB + Barracks + Armory + Brandenburg + Academy = VERY STRONG CAVALRY) even if that window of opportunity is on the small side. But it's the free policies that interest me, they allow Poland to be more flexible with picking them, and while they don't seem broken since the culture game isn't "fill out policies ASAP" anymore, it still seems deceptively strong.
2. Venice
I like having cash. Having access to double the amount of trade routes and a truckload of puppets to support it will enable Venice to grow to be truly monstrous, though it'll be hard to keep good infrastructure between your cities, as well as proper protection. I think they'll be deceptively hard to play, but also a lot of fun.
3. Assyria
While I'm not normally a warmonger, I like the unique spin Assyria gives to it. I also like to point out that the "lump sum trade requires DOF" fix has likely been done with Assyria exploits in mind - people were already talking about found a city, surround it with military, sell it to another player, attack for easy science. That said, Assyria still seems to be highly capable of interesting tricks, and I like the idea behind their siege unit.
4. Indonesia
The Kris Swordsman might seem a bit lackluster, something giving extra faith is always more then welcomed. Furthermore, I love to colonize islands for my own, which meshes perfectly with their UA. As such, I'm going to enjoy playing as Indonesia and beelining for naval techs. The Kris Swordsman...well at least it looks kickass.
5. Morocco
Like I said, I like having cash. Morocco will have enough of it, and their improvement makes them excellent for a turtling up playstyle on top of it. I also like the way a desert empire with them will look like. All in all, I think Venice is a bit more interesting as the way to play with Morocco seems more clear-cut, but I'll definitely enjoy this one.
6. Portugal
They too have a few interesting tricks up their sleeves, but I'm not as convinced with them as I am with Venice. The bonus the Nau will give is highly important here. The Fedora seems like a cute trick as well, so I'll certainly enjoy them. They just don't seem AS interesting to me as the ones above .
7. Soshone
This one is slightly up in the air for me as we don't know quite yet what exactly their cavalry UU will do, but that scout UU...no matter how it plays out, it's amazing. The extra tiles you get upon founding a city gives more flexibility in the early game, like reaching over to that vital luxury just a bit earlier. Will be interesting to see how it'll exactly pan out.
them.
8. Brazil
I really don't have much interest in playing with them. Golden age manipulation is fun, but it all just seems so unhinged with Brazil. Their UI doesn't seem to be all THAT strong either (Trading Posts in Jungle is still among the strongest things you can do, IMO), and their UU...meh. His leader screen however is awesome, so I'll enjoy facing them.
9. Zulu
As stated with Assyria, I'm no warmongerer. And really, that's all the Zulu seems to do. While I'm not opposed to have warmonger civs in the game, odds are I won't play them often. The Impi does look interesting however, and their UB will be nice to have as well, but it's just not my playstyle.
Here's my list:
1. Poland
Poland is one of the few civs who can give truly insane amounts of XP to units right from the gates (Their UB + Barracks + Armory + Brandenburg + Academy = VERY STRONG CAVALRY) even if that window of opportunity is on the small side. But it's the free policies that interest me, they allow Poland to be more flexible with picking them, and while they don't seem broken since the culture game isn't "fill out policies ASAP" anymore, it still seems deceptively strong.
2. Venice
I like having cash. Having access to double the amount of trade routes and a truckload of puppets to support it will enable Venice to grow to be truly monstrous, though it'll be hard to keep good infrastructure between your cities, as well as proper protection. I think they'll be deceptively hard to play, but also a lot of fun.
3. Assyria
While I'm not normally a warmonger, I like the unique spin Assyria gives to it. I also like to point out that the "lump sum trade requires DOF" fix has likely been done with Assyria exploits in mind - people were already talking about found a city, surround it with military, sell it to another player, attack for easy science. That said, Assyria still seems to be highly capable of interesting tricks, and I like the idea behind their siege unit.
4. Indonesia
The Kris Swordsman might seem a bit lackluster, something giving extra faith is always more then welcomed. Furthermore, I love to colonize islands for my own, which meshes perfectly with their UA. As such, I'm going to enjoy playing as Indonesia and beelining for naval techs. The Kris Swordsman...well at least it looks kickass.
5. Morocco
Like I said, I like having cash. Morocco will have enough of it, and their improvement makes them excellent for a turtling up playstyle on top of it. I also like the way a desert empire with them will look like. All in all, I think Venice is a bit more interesting as the way to play with Morocco seems more clear-cut, but I'll definitely enjoy this one.
6. Portugal
They too have a few interesting tricks up their sleeves, but I'm not as convinced with them as I am with Venice. The bonus the Nau will give is highly important here. The Fedora seems like a cute trick as well, so I'll certainly enjoy them. They just don't seem AS interesting to me as the ones above .
7. Soshone
This one is slightly up in the air for me as we don't know quite yet what exactly their cavalry UU will do, but that scout UU...no matter how it plays out, it's amazing. The extra tiles you get upon founding a city gives more flexibility in the early game, like reaching over to that vital luxury just a bit earlier. Will be interesting to see how it'll exactly pan out.
them.
8. Brazil
I really don't have much interest in playing with them. Golden age manipulation is fun, but it all just seems so unhinged with Brazil. Their UI doesn't seem to be all THAT strong either (Trading Posts in Jungle is still among the strongest things you can do, IMO), and their UU...meh. His leader screen however is awesome, so I'll enjoy facing them.
9. Zulu
As stated with Assyria, I'm no warmongerer. And really, that's all the Zulu seems to do. While I'm not opposed to have warmonger civs in the game, odds are I won't play them often. The Impi does look interesting however, and their UB will be nice to have as well, but it's just not my playstyle.