[R&F] Civilization Ability Elimination Thread

[Kmart_Elvis]

This Thread is Moderator Approved.

With the end of the year almost on us, and Gathering Storm set to release earlier next year we have time to have one last elimination thread for Rise and Fall. Previously we've voted on which civ has the best Leader Ability, what's the best Infrastructure to build, and what Unique Unit reigns supreme. What we haven't covered yet is the Civilization Ability each civ gets. As an bonus, once this game is completed, I'm going to tally up the cumulative scores of all 4 elimination threads to create an overall list of the civs. So, let's get to it.

- Give a reason for your votes.
- Vote roughly once per 24 hours. Voting significantly earlier must be explained.
- Add one point, take away three points. Posts with missing upvotes or downvotes will be skipped!
- Voting several times for same leader, whether positively or negatively is OK! However, it is strongly encouraged to spread your positive and negative votes across different civs and not engage in any strong unfair brigading. Try and vote objectively.

Rankings:
Top Tier
1) Australia - Land Down Under
2) Greece - Plato's Republic
3) Japan - Meiji Restoration
4) Kongo - Nkisi
5) Nubia - Ta-Seti

Great Tier
6) Netherlands - Geraldo Rivieren
7) Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment
8) Mongolia - Ortoo
9) Zulu - Isibongo

Good Tier
10) Scythia - People of the Steppe
11) Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns
12) Russia - Mother Russia
13) Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion
14) Germany - Free Imperial Cities

Average Tier
15) Persia - Satrapies
16) Cree - Nihitaw
17) Rome - All Roads Lead to Rome
18) Sumeria - Epic Quest
19) Brazil - Amazon

Below Average Tier
20) Norway - Knarr
21) Mapuche - Toqui
22) France - Grand Tour
23) Arabia - The Last Prophet
24) Indonesia - Grand Nusantara

Bad Tier
25) Poland - Golden Liberty
26) England - British Museum
27) China - Dynastic Cycle
28) Spain - Treasure Fleet
29) America - Founding Fathers

Trash Tier
30) Georgia - Strength in Unity
31) Korea - Three Kingdoms
32) Khmer - Grand Barays
33) Egypt - Iteru
34) India - Dharma

List of Civilization Abilities
America - Founding Fathers: All Diplomatic policy slots in the current government are converted to Wildcard slots.
Arabia - The Last Prophet: Automatically receives the final Great Prophet when the next-to-last one is claimed (if one has not been earned already). +1 Science per foreign city following Arabia's Religion.
Australia - Land Down Under: +3 Housing in coastal cities. Building a Pasture triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles. Campuses, Commercial Hubs, Holy Sites, and Theater Squares gain +1 to their yields in tiles with Charming Appeal, and +3 with Breathtaking Appeal.
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: Can spend Builder charges to complete 20% of a district's Production cost.
Brazil - Amazon: Rainforest tiles provide +1 adjacency bonus for Campus, Commercial Hub, Holy Site, and Theater Square districts. Rainforest tiles provide +1 Housing for Neighborhoods built adjacent to them.
China - Dynastic Cycle: Eurekas and Inspirations provide an extra 10% of the cost for researching technologies and civics.
Cree - Nihithaw: Gains +1 Trade Route capacity and a free Trader with Pottery. Unclaimed tiles within three tiles of a Cree city come under Cree control when a Trader first moves into them.
Egypt - Iteru: +15% Production towards districts and wonders if placed next to a River. Floodplains do not block placement of districts and wonders.
England - British Museum: Each Archaeological Museum can hold six Artifacts instead of three and can build two Archaeologists instead of one. Archaeological Museums are automatically themed when they have six Artifacts.
France - Grand Tour: +20% Production towards Medieval, Renaissance, and Industrial Wonders.
Double Tourism from Wonders of any era.
Georgia - Strength In Unity: When making Dedications at the beginning of a Golden Age or Heroic Age, receive the Normal Age bonus towards improving Era Score in addition to the other bonus.
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: Each city can build one more district than the population level would normally allow.
Greece - Plato's Republic: Gain an additional Wildcard policy slot in all Governments.
India - Dharma: Receive the Follower Beliefs of all religions that have at least one follower in a city, not just the majority religion.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: Coast and Lake tiles provide a +0.5 adjacency bonus for Holy Sites, Campuses, Industrial Zones, and Theater Squares. Entertainment Complexes adjacent to Coast or Lake tiles provide +1 Amenity.
Japan - Meiji Restoration: Districts receive a +1 adjacency bonus for each adjacent district, instead of +0.5.
Khmer - Grand Barays: Cities with an Aqueduct gain +3 Faith and +1 Amenity. Farms receive +2 Food if adjacent to an Aqueduct.
Kongo - Nkisi: Relics, Artifacts and Sculptures provide +2 Food, +2 Production, and +4 Gold. The Palace has four extra slots for Great Works. Receive +50% Great Writer, Great Artist, Great Musician, and Great Merchant points from all sources.
Korea - Three Kingdoms: Farms receive +1 Food and Mines receive +1 Science if adjacent to a Seowon.
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: Conquering a city grants a free Eureka for each Encampment or Campus in the conquered city and a free Inspiration for each Holy Site or Theater Square.
Mapuche - Toqui: All units trained in cities with an established Governor gain +25% combat experience. +10 Combat Strength bonus against civilizations that are in a Golden Age.
Mongolia - Ortoo: Sending a Trade Route immediately creates a Trading Post in the destination city, instead of when the Trade Route is finished. Gains an extra level of Diplomatic Visibility with civilizations they have a Trading Post with. Mongolian Units receive +6 Combat Strength for each level of Diplomatic Visibility they have over their opponents, instead of the usual +3.
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: Rivers provide a +2 adjacency bonus for Campuses, Theater Squares, and Industrial Zones. Building a Harbor triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles.
Norway - Knarr: Norwegian units gain the ability to enter Ocean tiles with Shipbuilding, instead of Cartography, and pay no additional Movement costs to embark or disembark. Naval melee units can heal in neutral territory.
Nubia - Ta-Seti: +50% Production toward Ranged units. Ranged units gain +50% combat experience. +1 Production for Mines over strategic resources, and +2 Gold for Mines over bonus and luxury resources.
Persia - Satrapies: Gains +1 Trade Route capacity with Political Philosophy. Internal Trade Routes provide +2 Gold and +1 Culture. Roads built in Persian territory are one level more advanced than usual.
Poland - Golden Liberty: Building an Encampment or Fort triggers a Culture Bomb, claiming surrounding tiles. One Military policy slot in all governments is converted into a Wildcard policy slot.
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: Founded or conquered cities start with a Trading Post and, if within Trade Route range of your Capital, a road to it. Your Trade Routes generate +1 Gold for each Roman Trading Post they pass through.
Russia - Mother Russia: Founded cities start with eight additional tiles. Tundra tiles provide +1 Faith and +1 Production, in addition to their usual yields.
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: Happy cities gain +5% Science and +5% Production, and generate +1 Great Scientist points in their Campuses and +1 Great Engineer points in their Industrial Zones. Ecstatic cities double these bonuses.
Scythia - People of the Steppe: Building a light cavalry unit or Saka Horse Archer grants a free second copy of that unit
Spain - Treasure Fleet: May form Fleets and Armadas with Mercantilism, instead of Nationalism and Mobilization. Trade Routes between cities on different continents grant +1 Food and +1 Production for internal Trade Routes, and +6 Gold for international Trade Routes. +2 Loyalty per turn for cities with a Mission improvement adjacent to the City Center and not on your original Capital's continent.
Sumeria - Epic Quest: Capturing a Barbarian Outpost also grants a Tribal Village reward. May levy city-state units at 50% of the usual Gold cost.
Zulu - Isibongo: Conquering a city will upgrade the conquering unitinto a Corps or Army, if the proper civics are unlocked. +3 Loyalty per turn to cities with a garrisoned unit, increasing to +5 Loyalty per turn if the garrisoned unit is a Corps or Army.

 

[Kmart_Elvis]

America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [20]
Australia - Land Down Under: [20]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [20]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum:[20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [20]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [20]
India - Dharma: [20]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara:[20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [20]
Kongo - Nkisi: [20]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [20]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [20]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe:[20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Human Crouton]

America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [20]
Australia - Land Down Under: [20]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [20]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum:[20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [20]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [20]
India - Dharma: [20 - 3 = 17] - I never even notice if I'm getting any bonus from this. Even if one wanted to take advantage of this UA, it would take a significant amount of micromanaging to get a very unimpressive result.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara:[20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [20]
Kongo - Nkisi: [20 + 1 = 21] - It's overpowered, multi-faceted, and non-interactive; but it's usefulness cannot be denied. The extra GPP makes it obnoxious to play against. Terribly designed UA, but the most powerful.
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [20]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [20]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe:[20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Legacy of Smiles]

@Kmart_Elvis I think you read my mind!

America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [20]
Australia - Land Down Under: [20+1=21] Play Australia and place a campus next to two mountain tiles to get a +5 campus, no fuss. My last Australia game had 10+ adjacency campuses...
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [20]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum:[20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [20]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [20]
India - Dharma: [17-3=14] Saw an interesting post the other day on Reddit which said this ability discourages India from going for a religious victory. Try to use this and you won't have a majority religion in your cities so won't be able to build Apostles.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara:[20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [20]
Kongo - Nkisi: [21]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [20]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [20]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe:[20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[bbbt]

[America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [20]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [20+1 = 21] A super early free trader is quite strong, and the free tiles with trade routes is pretty fun to watch in action.
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum:[20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [20]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [20]
India - Dharma: [14-3=11] I hate to be unorignal, but I seriously can't see any worse ability than this. A suitable UA under a different religion implementation, passive and inconsequential under the current.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara:[20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [20]
Kongo - Nkisi: [21]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [20]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [20]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe:[20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[kingofsealand]

[America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [20 - 3 = 17] every time I've used this I've found the benefits somewhat anemic. Discourages early HS building leaving you with less faith and limited belief choices. If I want a religion I'd rather go for it and maximize the benefit. Plus the ai snatching away the last prophet withthis is so annoying.
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum:[20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [20]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [20]
India - Dharma: [11]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara:[20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [20]
Kongo - Nkisi: [21]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [20 + 1 = 21] I love that adjacency bonuses are never hard to find with this ability. Curious to see how GS will affect it.
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [20]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe:[20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Wyvern_Parade]

America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum:[20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [20-3=17] Sure you can chain golden ages, but sometimes I would rather go into a dark age so I can get a heroic age during the following era. Also, with other more powerful abilities I can dominate the game enough to not have to worry about era score too much.
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [20]
India - Dharma: [11]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara:[20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [20]
Kongo - Nkisi: [21]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [20+1=21] In case the 50% production and XP for ranged units wasn't already OP enough, they threw in some production and gold bonuses to make sure you bought the DLC.
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe:[20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[TomKQT]

America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum:[20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [17]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [20 + 1 = 21] - Unlike other fixed bonuses, which may not be of any use for you for a long time, this is a great flexible bonus that you can use however you want and change it very frequently. And it is active for the whole game (except for the very first few turns until you unlock policy cards). But then immediately you don't have to choose between +1P or +1F/+1G - you can have both.
India - Dharma: [11]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara:[20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [20 - 3 = 17] - I don't build aquaducts. And I don't think this is a strong motivation for building one at least when playing as Khmer.
Kongo - Nkisi: [21]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe:[20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[KayAU]

America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [17 - 3 = 14] For me, this has proven practically useless. I tend to get Golden Ages and overshoot the threshold just about every time.
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [21]
India - Dharma: [11]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [21 + 1 = 22] This is just awesome. Considering that theming bonuses also apply, your Archeological Museums can produce up to +12 food +12 production +24 gold, in addition to culture and tourism.
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe: [20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[The Highwayman]

America - Founding Fathers: [20]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [20+1 = 21] 1 turn spaceports, buy districts with gold without governor, buy districts with faith, chop out your district in a completely different city, steal a district from another Civ without taking a city, build something else while still building your district, ignore rising district costs, have a UU that generates free builders early game to jump start this. Save your chops for wonder/buildings. An ability that impacts every game, every playstyle, and never obsoletes. Have I mentioned districts are very powerful?
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [21]
India - Dharma: [11-3 = 8] The worst Civ ability in the game. You have no control over this. Even if (when) religion is spread, it will likely have little to zero impact since the AI takes crap beliefs most of the time. A big reason why India is one of the worst Civs in the game.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20]
Scythia - People of the Steppe: [20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Republic of San Montuoso]

America - Founding Fathers: [20-3=17] - I prefered the old Founding Fathers, with the old legacy system which was thematic, flavourful and unique. Now it's just another "Get a new/different Policy Card". It basically guarantees a +1 Wildcard per government (except for Autocracy and Democracy, where it's 0 and +2). Greece is more potent on it, and Poland's has more abilities besides the Wildcard bonus.
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [21]
India - Dharma: [8]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [20+1=21] - The amoust of GI and GS I get with Scotland is just ridiculous. It synergizes extremely well with the Golf Course. The best for me is that it encourages to a Science Victory without giving bonuses too flat for it (unlike Korea, extremeley strong but without a lot of flavour).
Scythia - People of the Steppe: [20]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[local_hero]

America - Founding Fathers: [17]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [20+1=21] - More districts faster and you can lock down districts costs early.
Greece - Plato's Republic: [21]
India - Dharma: [8-3=5] - Could have been nice if religion worked differently, I first thought that most Civ abilities are strong and that this will be a difficult elimination game. This though stands out as really bad. You have no way of spreading religions to yourself that you don't have. Some religious beliefs are not so good etc. And some beliefs work when they are the majority religion in your city. So you want to have all religions to have presence in a city while havin a majority. Such a hassle for so little pay off.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenestic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [21]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Weraptor]

America - Founding Fathers: [17]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [21]
India - Dharma: [5-3=2] It kinda works for Chandragupta, but it's pretty mediocre.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [21+1=22] This + Grants + Oracle in a city with Campus and IZ
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[BarbarianHunter]

America - Founding Fathers: [17]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [22] (21+1) --- A extra wildcard @ building the Forbidden palace is great. A wildcard @ the beginning of the game is stellar! What I like to do is play the revelation card and found a religion. That leverages my wildcard ability into 2 (or more) abilities. At standard speed (60 GPP's) it's probably workable. With online speed (30 GPP's) it's nearly a sure thing. Of course, once I have my great prophet I need to decide something else to do with my free extra wildcard...
India - Dharma: [ELIMINATED] --- Speaking of religion, as another poster said, this actually hurts if you have one.
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [20]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [20]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [22]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Jkchart]

America - Founding Fathers: [17]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [22]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [17=20-3] It's just not terribly useful, even though it is fun.
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [21=20+1] Okay but who DOESN'T love free roads? And extra gold is pretty grand too, IMO.
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [22]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

EDIT: Changed downvote to Norway because India was eliminated as I was writing post.

 

[OmegaDestroyer]

I'm actually findings this a far more difficult competition to judge compared to the units and districts . There are a lot of great abilities in this game (and a few duds).

America - Founding Fathers: [17+1=18] I'm a big fan of this ability. Diplomatic polices aren't as useful as Military, Economic, or Wilds, so it's nice to be able to use the slots for something else.
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [22]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [20-3=17] An incredibly lackluster ability.
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [17]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [21] Okay but who DOESN'T love free roads? And extra gold is pretty grand too, IMO.
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [22]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Leathaface]

America - Founding Fathers: [18-3=15] I always pick Charismatic Leader so the wildcard slot doesn't do much for me.
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [22]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [20+1=21] You can get incredible adjacencies with this ability, a definite top 3 ability IMO.
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [17]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21]
Norway - Knarr: [17]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [21]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [22]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Kmart_Elvis]

America - Founding Fathers: [15]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [22]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [21]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [17-3=14] Just so underwhelming. People play Korea for the Seowon's adjacency, not for this bonus.
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [21+1=22] you'll want to settle near rivers anyways, but this gives nice bonuses to your science, culture, and production. Makes Netherlands a pretty versatile civ.
Norway - Knarr: [17]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [21]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [22]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Josephias]

America - Founding Fathers: [15]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [21+1=22], Let's start upvoting this one. Currently playing with the aztecs and its versatile and powerful. Combined with UU bonus, it makes you actually glad to have a warmonger neighbour that provides a supply of free sacrifices… err.. slaves…. err people that is convinced to work for you...
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [20-3=17] Yes, it is science and culture, but i'm not sure that 10% in the inspirations makes such a difference. And it is symply BOORING compared to others.
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [22]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [21]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22]
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [14]
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [22]
Norway - Knarr: [17]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [21]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [22]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]

 

[Sagax]

America - Founding Fathers: [15]
Arabia - The Last Prophet: [17]
Australia - Land Down Under: [21]
Aztec - Legend of the Five Suns: [22]
Brazil - Amazon: [20]
China - Dynastic Cycle: [17]
Cree - Nihithaw: [21]
Egypt - Iteru: [20]
England - British Museum: [20]
France - Grand Tour: [20]
Georgia - Strength In Unity: [14]
Germany - Free Imperial Cities: [21]
Greece - Plato's Republic: [22]
Indonesia - Great Nusantara: [20]
Japan - Meiji Restoration: [21]
Khmer - Grand Barays: [17]
Kongo - Nkisi: [22+1=23] Those numbers. What were they thinking with those numbers????
Korea - Three Kingdoms: [14-3=11] There are a few UAs in this game that were given their current names just for the sake of it. I am still trying to figure out what this UA's mechanics have anything to do with Korea's Three Kingdoms. What makes it even worse in case of Korea, is that it reaaaaally feels like a leftover bonus from Seowon. It's almost like they couldn't add any more strength to Seowon, so they had to move the farm and mine portion to UA. In the end - underpowered UA with questionable accuracy that's carried solely by the OPness of Seowon.
Macedon - Hellenistic Fusion: [20]
Mapuche - Toqui: [20]
Mongolia - Ortoo: [20]
Netherlands - Grote Riverien: [22]
Norway - Knarr: [17]
Nubia - Ta-Seti: [21]
Persia - Satrapies: [20]
Poland - Golden Liberty: [20]
Rome - All Roads Lead To Rome: [21]
Russia - Mother Russia:[20]
Scotland - Scottish Enlightenment: [22]
Spain - Treasure Fleet: [20]
Sumeria - Epic Quest: [20]
Zulu - Isibongo: [20]