[GS] Rate the civs in the hands of the AI - elimination thread

[OmegaDestroyer]

Amanitore/Nubia [20]
John Curtin/Australia [16](15+1) Far more dangerous than Korea throughout the course of the game. Australia will always be far down the science & culture tracks with solid defenses.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [28]
Poundmaker/Cree [18]
Seondeok/Korea [17](20-3) I have started far away from Korea many times and it has had zero impact on my games. She's only a threat early on and then fizzles out. Science is nice but if you don't actively seek out a science victory or any other victory, what difference does it make?
Teddy Roosevelt [2]

 

[Icicle]

Amanitore/Nubia [21] (20+1) Same as before!
John Curtin/Australia [16]
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [28]
Poundmaker/Cree [15] (18-3) I'm sorry buddy, it's not you, it's me.
Seondeok/Korea [17]
Teddy Roosevelt [2]

 

[Arithmion]

Amanitore/Nubia [21] (20+1) Same as before!
John Curtin/Australia [16]
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [28]
Poundmaker/Cree [16] (15+1) He's not gonna win, but I feel like he deserves to be ahead of Korea.
Seondeok/Korea [17]
Teddy Roosevelt [0] Eliminated: Very solid, just putting the nail in the coffin again. These are all great civs, top 5 ain't too shabby, he's just not the best.

 

[TCBB]

Amanitore/Nubia [21]
John Curtin/Australia [16]
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [25] (28-3) It’s just lazy to repeat the ‘he doesnt get distracted by religion’ cliché. Apart from an early warrior rush against the human, a religious victory is the most likely victory condition for the AI to achieve. On Deity, the AI get tons of extra faith, they’re obsessed with building holy sites, and they can easily overpower a human player’s religion with apostles. But guess who’s the only leader completely locked out of this option? Mvemba. This is something he should be deducted points for, not praised. I mean, what option does that leave him for winning? Science, the longest victory type and therefore the easiest to prevent - and he’s not even the best at Science, either!! (cf. Korea) You can praise him all you want for ‘consistency’, but if he never comes close to winning then he’s just another AI in my book.
Poundmaker/Cree [16]
Seondeok/Korea [18] See above: if anyone is likely to achieve that actually-very-rare-but-technically-possible Science victory, its Korea. If I had to rank the remaining civs, I’d go 1.) Australia, 2.) Korea, 3.) Cree, 4.) Kongo, 5.) Amanitore. I’m only going Korea because I’ve upvoted Australia two times in a row now (though tbf, in retaliation against the same few people who are downvoting him again and again — not really in the spirit of things, is it).

 

[The Highwayman]

Amanitore/Nubia [21]
John Curtin/Australia [16]
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [22] [25-3] Not getting distracted or 1 turned on stonehenge or another religious wonder is a benefit to him, but he's not a threat to show up at my doorstep with any advanced units past the standard 5 warrior rush at turn 20.
Poundmaker/Cree [16]
Seondeok/Korea [19] [18+1] More consistent in teching, since she's programmed to beeline and spam her campus.

 

[Piranga]

Amanitore/Nubia [18] 21-3. Just posting here because I just witnessed her get completely eliminated from the game by Gilgamesh. The entire time she didn't move her army of archers out of the city state lands she was trying to conquer. Meanwhile Gilgamesh's units were less than a turn away from counterattacking.
John Curtin/Australia [17] 16+1 I disliked Australia being added into the game. Now I hate that he's got one of the most capable AI's so I have to deal with him myself whenever he's in a match. He's always the most powerful AI in my games it seems.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [22]
Poundmaker/Cree [16]
Seondeok/Korea [19]

 

[bengalryan9]

Amanitore/Nubia [18]
John Curtin/Australia [18] (17+1) Yeah, I'm going to keep upvoting him because he's the best. He's got it all.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [22]
Poundmaker/Cree [13] (16-3) TBH I think the only reason he has so many points left at this point is because he's slipping through the cracks as far as downvotes are concerned. His civ ability is a nonfactor as the game progresses and worth less than it is in human hands anyways simply because he starts with more cities and thus more tiles. His leader ability is meh and his unique unit isn't going to scare you at all. The mekewap is good, but enough to keep Cree around, especially in a thread where we keep attacking Australia and others for not knowing how to properly plan out tile placements? He's not the only one too high (see: Amanitore), but we'll start with him.
Seondeok/Korea [19]

Also, FWIW, I still strongly disagree with the idea that a religious victory is the most likely outcome for an AI to achieve. Their best bet is a science victory even if it does take them a long time to get there.

 

[Jewelrunna]

Amanitore/Nubia [15] (18 - 3) Now if this were a tier list in a player's hands, Nubia would be at the top of the overall pack for me. But with the AI, I dunno man, I never see Nubia do that well in my games. In theory Amanitore's great, but I guess with the combination of the desert start bias and the bad unit AI, she always underperforms in my experience.
John Curtin/Australia [18]
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [23] (22 + 1) Increasing the gap here a little bit, because I think Kongo's probably the best in the hands of the AI. Crazy tall cities, crazy yields from cultural artifacts, and honestly, the fact that they can't found a religion works to their advantage. Mvemba doesn't fall into the honeypot trap other AI's do by building holy sites, and instead kicks off a huge science lead that he maintains for the rest the game. The same is true for Korea, who almost always builds a Seowon first, but for my money, Kongo is a more well-rounded bag.
Poundmaker/Cree [13]
Seondeok/Korea [19]

 

[ADHansa]

Amanitore/Nubia [15]
John Curtin/Australia [18]
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [24] (23+ 1) The powerhouse in most of my games were they are present
Poundmaker/Cree [10](13-3) Usually gets ahead of the curve but not so hard to deal with when i catch up.
Seondeok/Korea [19]

 

[Leucarum]

Amanitore/Nubia [15]
John Curtin/Australia [15] (18-3) Most overrated civ in AI hands (not in player hands) left on the list in my experience. With this few left, not many choices on who to downvote.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [24]
Poundmaker/Cree [10]
Seondeok/Korea [20] (19+1) Usually the leading science AI

 

[Drivingrevilo]

Amanitore/Nubia [12] (15-3) Glad to see others finally agree about her. Yes, Pitati Archers are vying for the best UU in the game. But she shoots herself in the foot by sending them alone without any melée units; she is very slow to upgrade crossbows into field cannons; she often spawns in or right next to the desert; she loves to go down the religious route (which many of you consider a heinous crime); and, while she does decent in tech, I've never seen her snowball exponentially like I have Curtin or Seondeok.
John Curtin/Australia [15]
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [24]
Poundmaker/Cree [10]
Seondeok/Korea [21] (20+1) An up-vote purely to lay off giving another to Curtin, who – for reasons listed many times already – I think should be in first place. Apart from the obvious things to mention (something something Seowon), I think the Hwacha deserves some praise. It is just as strong as the Field Cannon, but arrives several techs earlier: and when its Deity Seondeok we're dealing with, that means she gets to them stupidly quick. It basically means that, if I see Korea spawn, I have to decide between a.) rushing her immediately before she gets Hwacha, in the hope that she doesn't reach them mid-war, or b.) waiting until after they've become redundant (e.g. once I've got Cuirassiers & Cavalry), which runs the risk of her being so far along in the tech tree that its really hard to catch up.

 

[thekingofsalem]

Amanitore/Nubia [12]
John Curtin/Australia [16] (15+1) Guys Curtin is far and away the best. He has substantial bonuses to every single yield, especially Production, which is the most important thing in the game, and his bonuses last the entire game. I have seen him do...terrible things...in my games.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [21] (24-3) Sure Mvemba can get out to science and culture leads and gobble up great people, but what does he actually do with them? He's not going to scare you with his army. He's a tough opponent in a culture game but that's about it.
Poundmaker/Cree [10]
Seondeok/Korea [21]

 

[zandermander]

Amanitore/Nubia [12]
John Curtin/Australia [17] (16+1) I'll send Curtin another upvote -- Australia always seems to be powerful, making good use of the yield bonuses they receive.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [21]
Poundmaker/Cree [7] (10-3) Basically agreeing with the other posters' reasons for downvoting Poundmaker. Great civ, but the worst of the select few that remain.
Seondeok/Korea [21]

 

[Icicle]

Amanitore/Nubia [12]
John Curtin/Australia [18] (17+1) Is good.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [21]
Poundmaker/Cree [4] (7-3) Several downvotes in a row but I don't want to chose who to downvote next!
Seondeok/Korea [21]

 

[JimmyLex]

Amanitore/Nubia [12]
John Curtin/Australia [19]. +1 Strongest overall AI

Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [21]
Poundmaker/Cree [4]
Seondeok/Korea [18]. -3. Latest game Korea finished 4th in science. AI just doesn’t seem to take advantage of her strengths.

 

[Arianrhod]

Amanitore/Nubia [9] Can be a threat if the cards line up right, but is fairly useless when they don't. "Annoying to conquer and dangerous early on" just makes them a spicier Teddy, who has a stronger peak but a weaker endgame.
John Curtin/Australia [20] Even his theme song is a powerful weapon to get players to forfeit.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [21]
Poundmaker/Cree [4]
Seondeok/Korea [18]

 

[Chefofrats]

Amanitore/Nubia [9]
John Curtin/Australia [17] (20-3) - I seriously do not see him do better than Kongo in my games. The argument about his powerful military is not convincing - Germany usually build a big army too, yet they were already eliminated. The fact Australia plays aggressively, negating their production bonus from being attacked, and never liberates cities - which is one of the best things about the civ's traits - simply does not let me accept the statement that AI plays Australia well.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [22] (21+1) - Nothing has changed, I still think they are the best civ in the hands of the AI.
Poundmaker/Cree [4]
Seondeok/Korea [18]

 

[Drivingrevilo]

Amanitore/Nubia [9]
John Curtin/Australia [18] (17+1) Funny that @Arianrhod: I absolutely love 'Waltzing Matilda'. It's between that or the Maori for my favourite Atomic era theme. Anyway, back to topic. Alongside the stuff I say under Kongo below, I'd point out @Chefofrats that 'Australia doesn't liberate cities' is not really relevant. Yes, a lot of Civs don't utilise aspects of their design (e.g. Hungary & city states; or Scotland/Georgia/Chandragupta & their special casus belli), for which they have been punished here. But the difference with Australia is that he also gets a tonne of other bonuses that more than make up for this, including one which is easy to activate and just as powerful (+100% production when attacked).
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [19] (22-3) You say nothing has changed @Chefofrats, and I agree: I still see Australia as the best in the game, and definitely better than Kongo. We can probably identify four key traits for a 'good' Civ: strong production, strong defence, strong science, and (to a lesser degree) strong culture. The only one Mvemba consistently beats Curtin on is culture. He is possibly capable of equalling him in science – though from my personal experience, I've never seen Kongo tech snowball like I have Australia or Korea. But crucially, Mvemba is indisputably worse at production and defence: you simply can't claim otherwise. That doesn't mean he's "bad" at either trait; but for this stage of the vote, it's these difference that distinguish between the best (Australia) and the rest.
Poundmaker/Cree [4]
Seondeok/Korea [18]

Edit: proper scoring restored

 

[The Highwayman]

Amanitore/Nubia [9]
John Curtin/Australia [15] [18-3] The AI doesn't luck into his bonuses quite as often as some others luck into theirs.
Mvemba a Nzinga/Kongo [19]
Poundmaker/Cree [4]
Seondeok/Korea [19] [18+1] Turns out campus spam isn't such a bad idea.

NOTE: Kongo's score above is incorrect. Should have been at 22.

 

[Drivingrevilo]

@The Highwayman, apologies, I didn't factor in Chefofrats votes properly when I posted (he posted just before I did). So Australia should be on 15 and Mvemba on 19