Diplomatic Policies Elimination Thread

[WillowBrook]

Charismatic Leader 31
Diplomatic League 7 (6+1) I'll force another downvote. I really like to strategically slip this in for extra envoys.
Merchant Confederation 29
Gunboat Diplomacy 30
Cryptography 17 (20-3) may be good but I hardly use it

 

[bcaiko]

Charismatic Leader 32 (31+1) One of the best snowballing policies in the game.
Diplomatic League 4 (7-3) And I'll be one of those downvotes.
Merchant Confederation 29
Gunboat Diplomacy 30
Cryptography 17

 

[Kimiimaro]

Charismatic Leader 32
Diplomatic League 4-3=1 - Weakest of remaining.
Merchant Confederation 29+1=30 - Soon, it'll be battle of favourites, and this is my favourite.
Gunboat Diplomacy 30
Cryptography 17

 

[CPWimmer]

Charismatic Leader 32
Diplomatic League ELIMINATED - I agree, "Weakest of remaining."
Merchant Confederation = 31 = 30+1 With CS Quests boosting random Envoys in city states i'm not even trying to get Suzerain Status with, I find this to be the Diplo Policy I end up using most.
Gunboat Diplomacy 30
Cryptography 17

 

[jacksone kain]

Charismatic Leader 32+1 = 33 - I use it 90% of the game.
Merchant Confederation = 31
Gunboat Diplomacy 30
Cryptography 17-3 = 14 - Nice policy in theory, but it's not as good as the others.

 

[Guandao]

Charismatic Leader 33
Merchant Confederation 31
Gunboat Diplomacy (30+1)=31 My main diplo policy in the later eras
Cryptography (14-3)=11 I barely use this policy, 4th place would be a nice spot for it

 

[Manifold]

Charismatic Leader 30 (33-3) I always use it, but that is why it is a little bit boring
Merchant Confederation 31
Gunboat Diplomacy 32 (31+1) open border, if I remember correctly, is great
Cryptography 11

 

[LethalLeigh]

Charismatic Leader 27 (30-3) gets replaced by Gunboat Diplomacy
Merchant Confederation 31
Gunboat Diplomacy 33 (32+1) first choice for end game cards.
Cryptography 11

 

[Forster]

Charismatic Leader 27 + 1 = 28 Good for the whole game.
Merchant Confederation 31
Gunboat Diplomacy 33
Cryptography 11 - 3 = 8 Never use it.

 

[Felis Renidens]

Charismatic Leader 29 =28+1 - I think this should be the winner. It gets replaced in the end but stays long before it. Your default diplomatic policy.
Merchant Confederation 31
Gunboat Diplomacy 33
Cryptography 5= 8-3 - I love it but it's not top 3.

 

[Siptah]

Charismatic Leader 30 (29+1) The fact alone that both this and it's replacement are going in the lead for the top 3 shows that this policies are the best
Merchant Confederation 28 (31-3) a nice one for third place.
Gunboat Diplomacy 33
Cryptography 5

 

[bcaiko]

Charismatic Leader 31 (30+1) The first and best policy you'll take.
Merchant Confederation 28
Gunboat Diplomacy 30 (33-3) This policy is nice, but it comes late and doesn't (importantly) snowball like its predecessor. By the time it comes online, you'll practically (if not literally) have already won the game.
Cryptography 5

 

[Kimiimaro]

Charismatic Leader 31
Merchant Confederation 28+1=29 - Extra money! A lot of extra money!
Gunboat Diplomacy 30
Cryptography 5-3=2 - Good policy, but not good as the remaining three.

 

[Guandao]

Charismatic Leader 31
Merchant Confederation (29+1)=30 A policy I strongly consider using if I have two diplo card slots.
Gunboat Diplomacy 30
Cryptography (2-3)=0 And Cryptography gets fourth place! Not bad for a spy-related diplo policy

 

[CPWimmer]

Charismatic Leader 31
Merchant Confederation 31 (30+1) This might be my #2 instead of #1, but I feel it needs more support right now than Charismatic Leader
Gunboat Diplomacy 27 (30-3) Due to when the first 2 come online compared to this one, their impact is MUCH stronger. Many games will never reach this point. Good for 3rd place, but not top 2.

 

[WillowBrook]

Charismatic Leader 28 (31-3) solid work horse, but as someone above said, a little boring
Merchant Confederation 32 (31+1) money, money, money!
Gunboat Diplomacy 27

 

[joncnunn]

Charismatic Leader 28 +1 = 29 boring, but most useful overall looking at the entire game.
Merchant Confederation 32
Gunboat Diplomacy 27 -3 = 24 Least useful of the three remaining looking at the entire game.

 

[LethalLeigh]

Charismatic Leader 26 (29=3) Least useful of the three remaining
Merchant Confederation 32
Gunboat Diplomacy 25 (24+1) better then charismatic leader.

 

[Felis Renidens]

Charismatic Leader 27 (26+1) - useful for most of the game, should be no 1
Merchant Confederation 29 (32-3) - I think it should not be no 1. It is useful in certain situation but there are lots of ways to get money. It needs to be taken down a bit
Gunboat Diplomacy 25

 

[kaspergm]

Charismatic Leader 28 (27+1) Neither of the remaining policies are among my favorites from this category, but this one gets the vote because it comes along so early and stays relevant for so long.
Merchant Confederation 26 (29-3) This is one I use relatively rarely. It's a good policy, but there are many other (and better) ways to earn gold in the game, and I feel many of the espionage cards helps me a lot more and does something that's a lot more unique. So a belated stand-up for Cryptography from my part!
Gunboat Diplomacy 25