Best BTS Warmonger (not counting Rome)

[Hereditary Rule]

Most players would probably agree that the Roman UU dominating half of the game (the most important half usually) makes Rome the best warmonger civ.

Not counting Rome (and also not counting Unrestricted leaders), who would you say is the best or your favorite? Take into account the ability to war in all eras (if you think it's important), traits, UU, and UB.

I don't have a definite favorite but I think my top 3 are:

Aztecs, Mongols (either leader), and Cyrus.

The Aztecs are AGG for a bonus to melee and gunpowder units throughout the game, and SPI allows for an instant switch to Vassalage and Theocracy when you want to make troops. The Sacrificial Alter can greatly boost army production by allowing insane whipping. The Jaguar can serve as an excellent healer, a raider unit, or a city attacker.

The Mongols both have free promos on their melee and gunpowder, a good second trait for warring, and have a nice Horse UU, making a lack of metal even less of a burden to them.

Cyrus' CHA + IMP allows for some crazy promos when you settle a lot of generals, and the Immortal is a solid early UU to generate some early generals.

I still need to play a game with Toku just to try his gunpowder units.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

If we're just going with civs I'll take mongolia, persia, and sumeria next. Strong, early UUs with good UB synergy (other than for persia, although the persian immortal smackdown is super effective). Keshiks IMO are on par with prats and the UB adds a lot of utility to the already strong vulture rush.

Aztecs gotta be up there too.

 

[CornPlanter]

I love Alexander. Being aggressive and philosophical he can conquer everything pretty early. No need to wage war in all eras (Ofcourse it depends on map et cetera et cetera. He's just my favourite warmonger and I find it easiest to conquer everything with him, that's it).

If we are talking civs only, then probably Persia, Mongolia and Aztecs. Byzantine maybe.

 

[Bleys]

I give the nod to Persia. Immortals are so good. Cyrus with Horses in the BFC or 1st ring 2nd City is a force to be reckoned with.

After that, I like both the Keshik and the Numidian Cav. Hannibal is underrated as an early-game warmonger, sometimes, but he is more than all that and a bag of chips. Keshiks are just . . . fun, heh. Love motoring through the jungle with those babies, mowing down barbs and AI cities alike, heh.

Hmm, I notice I have this tendency toward Mounted unit UUs, since I also think the War Chariot is the icing on the cake for 2 very very strong leaders in Egypt. Still, Praets are king, especially in tight quarters.

 

[Hereditary Rule]

Sorry for the confusion - I meant to say take the Civ, leader, uu, ub, pretty much everything into account.

 

[futurehermit]

Assuming war chariots then I would have to say Egypt, for sure. Kublai I always do well with. Persia is also good.

 

[ds61514]

I think Egypt (Hatshepsut specifically) is better than Rome. The ability to find and hook up your UU after researching one tech makes for a fast, consistent rush. Hatty also has a better axe rush than Rome. Once Praets become obsolete Egypt just dominates with Spiritual-assisted promotions and drafting.

BTW am I the only one who thinks quecha rushes are horribly overrated in emperor+/normal speed? One axe and you are done for.

 

[Gliese 581]

Huayna Capac on many levels because getting a second capital in the early bcs is often all the warfare you ever need.

 

[CivCorpse]

I think the the best war monger for ALL ages is Cyrus. Not because of the UU 9which is just peachy) but because settled GG's give a bonus to every single unit built. And that bonus is further boosted by the Cha trait. My biggest issue with playing the Mongols is that if Horses are not available early. Either through rex or early conquest, then they basically have no UU or UB. Atleast the other leaders/civs with mounted UU's have UB's that are not horse dependant. Well maybe Justinian, but you get the bonus all game so you have time to go get some horses even if Cataphracts are obsolete by the time you do.
RE: Tokogawa. Tough leader to get started with but by the medievil period he can really get rolling. Waiting for gunpowder units is wasting him. True you get 3 free promos but Drill1 sucks and CG1 is useless to assault troops. Most of which have the C1 from being upgraded from axes/swords/samurii. By the time I am using gunpowder it's all about the cannons. But Toko is a beast come samuri time. C1 + 2.5 first strikes is just yummy. That and if I take a city with Toko, it is mine to keep. Just one xp civic gives me CG3D1 Longbows and C2Formation Pikes from any crappy little city I build them in if it has a barracks(1/2 price).
Hannibal is also a good leader the whole game. Even without horsies he has a strong trait with Cha for extra promotions. And Financial will help him keep the new lands. It also helps keep troops atleast up-to-date, if not an era ahead.

 

[CivCorpse]

Oh, and don't forget the best warmonger for any Civ is TMIT

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Oh, and don't forget the best warmonger for any Civ is TMIT

Traits:

Insane (all opponents - 10% research, -20% research for self. Double production speed for bunkers only)

Horse Archer (yes, it's now a trait. All HA's start with combat I. Double production of stables and bunkers).

4x production bonus to bunkers. Enjoy the abuse!

 

[mirthadir]

Elizabeth, HC, Hannibal, Shaka, and Churchill:

Elizabeth: So she isn't a good rusher, who cares? She is philo so you can manage some nice bulb runs without going into caste/pac. She's fin so you should be able to expand further or research faster; cottage spam works well. Redcoats are ownage; march right through enemy gunpowder - you can war even when coming out of isolation.

But the real beaty of Elizabeth is the UB/traits combo. Quick bulb astro, trade and bulb lib/pp, take sci meth off of lib, and then research communism. The AI hates researching communism after you've gotten the free GSp so you should have an easy shot at the Kremlin. Now we reach the fun part; mature FS/US/Fin cottages have the highest output in the game for normal improvements. With the Kremlin skewing the -> conversion we actually get more out of working cottages; the brokerage just compounds this. There is no leader in the game who can get higher yields from a tile than Elizabeth and she easily can rushbuy anything in quantity to take down any opponents (redcoats, cannons, infantry, tanks, or nukes) anywhere she can squeeze one citizen.

HC: Quecha are broke in close quarters. Solid traits allow you to recover with ease with your knew cap(s) coming online quick thanks to terraces.

Hannibal: Early rush unit that gets highly promoted and generates many GG points. This synergizes well with Cha leading to freakishly good units all over. Fin let's you run wild longer and take less time to recover. The UB makes a great way to finance expansion. Early high happy cap, moderately early UB - all good there.

Churchill: He's Elizabeth without the rocking late economy. Cha is solid the whole way through, protective gives you pinch redcoats even with draftees, and you can field some wicked cannon/arty/air/tanks/navy with Cha and many settled GGs. Much more solid early and doesn't need the Kremlin to truly maximize his potential.

Shaka: Owns the early REX rush. Yes I know the UU isn't top tier; but you get two move warfare at the loss of only one point of base strength (vs archers); agg gives the suicide imps handy access to cover. Cheap UB that pays for conquest? Medic impis upgrading with easy Woody III/Medic III/mobility, just icing on the cake.

Overall I find Elizabeth to be the strongest regardless of difficulty or settings. Very few UUs come close to the power of a tech lead (not even prats); she can get an easy economic lead and with Kremlin rushbuy she can quickly amass the new units for ownage. Highest long term potential with phenomal ability to dig herself out of a hole; just can't compare.

 

[Fei Kelei]

Shaka has a very strong early game thanks to his UB, and while Impis aren't great at actually taking cities, there's almost no resource they can't plunder. Other leaders might have stronger UUs or better promoted armies, but there's a lot to be said for being able to afford keeping more of what you conquer.

 

[Belisar]

Traits:

Insane (all opponents - 10% research, -20% research for self. Double production speed for bunkers only)

Horse Archer (yes, it's now a trait. All HA's start with combat I. Double production of stables and bunkers).

4x production bonus to bunkers. Enjoy the abuse!

UB: Insurance company; replaces bank, -10gpt per turn, no negative events

 

[Gwynnja]

Lot's of love for cyrus but no mention of the flip side, Darius? Darius has the traits to out tech your opponents and continually attack with better units while at the same time keeping your ever growing economy afloat.

Shaka's cheap barracks act as a mini court to support a growing empire, and impi's will crush any the archers and chariots scrambling to garrison the cities. They can travel 4 spaces if they have woody II! Put a general on one and give him mobility and woody II and he'll fly through the jungle up to 6 tiles at a time. Great Great Great uber medics.

Boudica and Tokus traits spell WAR;

Justinian's Cataphracts make Guilds worth beelining and spiritual allows you to jump in and out of theocracy/vassalage;

Honorable Mention: I love any combination of CRE/ORG/CHA/SPI for warring: Zara, Hatty, either Khan, Brennus, Hannibal, Asoka, Monty, and Raggy

 

[Gwynnja]

double post

 

[PhroX]

Asoka

I was wondering if he'd get a mention. One of the best IMO. Spiritual is pretty much as good as having a "true" military trait - being able to swap into Police State/Vassalage or Nationalism/Slavery/Theocracy instantly is so powerful for warmongering. And of course, ORG pays for all the places you've captured. His UU, while not war-orientated, is always useful, and his UB is more of a military one (cos warmongers are the kinda people who are going to build Jails).

 

[gfm]

Traits:

Insane (all opponents - 10% research, -20% research for self. Double production speed for bunkers only)

Horse Archer (yes, it's now a trait. All HA's start with combat I. Double production of stables and bunkers).

4x production bonus to bunkers. Enjoy the abuse!

UU: Cheesy-AP win-Missionary (replace Missionary) - magically spreads AP religion where you want it one turn before Religious Leader elections
UB: Mega-Computer (replaces University) - reduce wait time between turns by 75%

 

[futurehermit]

Either through rex or early conquest, then they basically have no UU or UB.

The Mongol's UB is GREAT for cavalry rushes. Ownage.

 

[madscientist]

War-Mongering depends really on how well the human player is. But I will bite here

1) Ghengis: traits, UB, Generals. Even when the UB goes obsolete all those settler GGs well make up for it.

2) Shaka: The UB is pretty damned good and cheap allowing quick empire expansion.

3) Ragnar. Coastal assaults are pretty severe with the UU which retain the Amphibious bonus upon upgrade. Teh financial trait assures and conquered coastal city immediately becomes cost effective.

4( Boudica: I prefer her over Cyrus because of the free combat I promotions.