[NFP] Domination Victory Elimination Thread

[Solver]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [21]
Chandragupta/India [3]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [10] (13 - 3) At this point, the voting is between excellent domination civs, and I'm somewhat less fond of Gilgamesh here. War Carts are excellent with their immediate availability, but Sumeria doesn't have any domination-focused bonuses that would last the whole game. On turn 1, this is the best domination civ in the game. Later, not so much.
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [26]
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [25] (24 + 1) I'll upvote the Zulus based on the same logic. They have something going for domination throughout the whole game, with interesting varying bonuses in different periods. Early on, they can build a cheap Ikanda, which means they get a Great General quicker and for less. The loyalty bonus is significant at this point, in an early war you usually don't have enough friendly loyalty pressure so keeping cities from revolting is a challenge. Then in the Medieval the Zulus become dominant with the Impi, one of the easiest units to mass produce, and they also upgrade to Corps for free by taking cities. This is the kind of warmonger bonus I like, the more Shaka conquers, the stronger his army gets.
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [32]
Tomyris/Scythia [22]
Trajan/Rome [18]

 

[Francel]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [22] (21+1) - their early game unique unit is excellent, but they also get a longer lasting boost for their ranged units as well as buffed mines for production and districts. The xp gain and you can often have crossbows that shoot twice - very strong.
Chandragupta/India [3]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [10]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [26]
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [25] (24 + 1) .
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [32]
Tomyris/Scythia [22]
Trajan/Rome [15] (18-3) - The best thing they have going for domination is legion chop strategy. I think they should go next, because chops could be used for better things or turned into lumber mills. Lumber mills are quite good now. They have a few nice other things, but of who is left, I think they are the least well-suited for domination.

 

[VanTao]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [22]
Chandragupta/India [3]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [10]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [26]
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22] (25-3) - Way overrated and too highly scored, particularly compared to the remaining civs. Yes, on paper, the Zulu’s bonuses are extremely strong. However, you have to survive to Medieval Age to get to them. Good luck trying to do this in Diety or MP. Until then, you don’t have any bonuses except for a half price Encampment.

Yes, once you get to the Medieval Age, the Zulu’s have one of the best power spikes. However, even if other Domination civs’ power spikes are weaker, because most of them come earlier, thanks to Civ being a snowball game, this means that they are normally ahead in tech / size of their armies, potentially negating somewhat the CS the Zulus get with Corps at Mercenaries.

Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [32]
Tomyris/Scythia [22]
Trajan/Rome [16] (15 +1) - I actually think that Rome is still one of the strongest Dominations civs in the game, even if as a Vanilla civ its bonus aren’t as flashy as the remaining civs. In fact, along with Sumeria, Scythia, and technically Aztecs, it’s one of the remaining Vanilla civ, which is pretty note worthy given that it can be argued that the remaining expansion / DLC civs benefit from power creep to compel players to buy (*cough* Gran Colombia *cough*).

Yes, all of a Rome’s bonuses are “boring”. However, free Monuments is arguably one of the best LA, the Legion is one of the best UU, free roads / trade post / additional Gold is great for war mongering, and even the Bath UD is convenient (though definitely Rome weakest bonus). More importantly, for Domiantion, all of these bonuses work together.

Free Monuments give you much needed early Culture to get to key policy cards like Agoge / Maneuver, Tier 1 Government (i.e. - Oligarchy and the combat bonus), and Governor titles. More importantly, it removes the opportunity cost of having to build or purchase a Monument. While your opponent is building / buying a Monument, you are building or purchasing / upgrading a Legion to go kill that opponent.

Legions aren’t as OPpresive as they were in Vanillla or even RF. However, they are still one of the strongest Classical age units, even though you do have to rely on RNG to get Iron. Of course, if you do get Iron, even just one, thanks to the Culture from the free Monuments, the timing should work that you will have gotten enough Governor titles for a Black Marketeer Magnus and 6-8 iron. All of a sudden, just one Legion can be an army of 3-4. Good luck surviving that.

The free roads is actually a really strong Movement bonus. I have found that it decreases movement time on average 20-30%. Particularly for Domination, this is very helpful as you should constantly be sending reinforcements to the front times. The extra gold helps with unit maintenance costs and eventually purchasing / upgrading units.

The Baths give +1 Amenity, which can be helpful as you continue warring. Additionally, the +2 to IZs is appreciated when it can be applied (I don’t build a lot of IZs when I’m going Domination, as the opportunity cost is often not worth it).

 

[Lily_Lancer]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [22]
Chandragupta/India [3]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [10]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [23=26-3] Not stable, rely too much on random issues. (i.e. location of CS, how many units CS produces, is CS captured by AI, etc)
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33=32+1] All its uniques are very helpful for Diplomatic Victories, and Diplomatic Victory and Domination Victory are mostly the same.
Tomyris/Scythia [22]
Trajan/Rome [16]

 

[TCBB]

^ is this guy a joke? He's just downvoted Hungary twice in a row despite that being a no-no, earlier on he was repeatedly moaning 'why has Gandhi gone, he's top tier domination', and now he starts going on about diplomatic victory? No one else bothered by this?

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [22]
Chandragupta/India [0] (3-3) ELIMINATED. I do like Chandragupta. But I think it's clear that he deserves to go now, if only because his casus belli is slightly harder to activate.
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [10]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [24] (23+1) If others feel they can downvote twice in a row, I have no problem with upvoting twice in a row. Just because you had one bad experience with a spawn doesn't prove you right. To start your domination snowball as Hungary, all you need is one city state near you. That is hardly "unstable" or "random issues". And later on, you can also levee the city states far away in order to instantly spawn an OP army on the other side of the globe.
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [22]
Trajan/Rome [16]

 

[Drivingrevilo]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [22]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [7] (10-3) I was also about to downvote Chandragupta when previous post arrived, so I guess I'll continue the Gilgy dogpile instead. Sumer is clearly a very good civ. But alongside Rome, they are the only ones who don't have a long-term domination bonus (unless you count strong science).
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [25] (24+1) Am also a bit surprised at the sudden hate for Matthias. If I were pushed to name my top 3 domination civs, I would have difficulty picking between Alex, Ottomans, Persia, and Mongolia for two of the spots (I don't include Bolivar). But I know who would definitely be included, no matter what: Hungary. Speaking generally, his LA is incredibly powerful, it can be activated at any point in the game, and it lasts for 30 turn (!!!) increments. And more particularly, Hungary's early game swordsmen rush is one of the most devastating strategies you can employ.

(Also, I find it strange for people to complain about RNG w/Matthias. Surely he's the least dependent on RNG, since every single game will spawn at least one city state? And once you have at least one city state, you've basically conquered your neighbour).
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [22]
Trajan/Rome [16]

 

[pjotroos]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [23] (22+1) She qualifies for my top 5 on the strength of all the production boosts (extras on mines, bonus to districts, half-price ranged units), the extra XP to ranged and the Pitati Archers. Ranged are crucial for mopping up the extra units AI gets early, and you'll be taking the first neighbor or two before walls go up. Straightforward, and very effective.
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [7]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [25]
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [22]
Trajan/Rome [13](16-3) As others have said, at this point we're picking between very strong contenders, so it comes down to smaller nitpicks. Taking points away from Rome, as the Legion push is now relying on iron, and I had Rome starts where none was around, grinding their conquest plans to a screeching halt. Everyone else on the list either has a plan B, or does not rely on special resources to get their plan A going, but Trajan is very dependent on that one strategic he has no control over getting.

 

[Weraptor]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24] (23+1) Sustains momentum quite nicely.
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [7]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [25]
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [19] (22-3) Cavalry spam is meh nowadays.
Trajan/Rome [13]

 

[JhGf_123]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [7]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [26] (25+1) One of the easiest domination victories I’ve had on deity.
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [16] (19-3) I think weakest is Gilgamesh but I’ve already bullied him, so next weakest is Scythia or Rome. Both are very dependent on one resource (horses / iron). But I find that legions w/oligarchy does a better job than light cavalry, esp. because legions can use battering rams.
Trajan/Rome [13]

 

[kryat]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [4] (7-3) This one might be the weakest left. He has good pairing of science and early strength, but his advantages start to dip off in the late game. Does anyone actually use the ally bonus?

Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [27] (26+1) I typically would like to spread my upvotes out more, but this is one I strongly disagree with the sudden turn on him. The map dependency is not that strong. All you need is one city state to get going, and I have never seen all known city states get wiped out. Once you’re on a roll, liberate a few.
The other beautiful thing about free envoys is how synergistic it is with Pearl of the Danube, and how flexible it is. Are you meeting more cultural city states early? Build theater squares across the river for faster culture from faster construction, while sending envoys to get better buildings. More science city states? Do the same but for campuses. It doesn’t work for encampments or harbors, but otherwise, it’s a lovely pairing.
Lastly, his UUs are both are very strong (although the second is weaker for dom, without doing some backstabbing later).
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [22]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [16]
Trajan/Rome [13]

@Lily_Lancer, you may want to read the recent patch notes. Holding foreign capitols costs significant favor now. The strategy of removing players to vote against you is weaker now than before.

 

[The Highwayman]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [1] [4-3] Hard to downvote now but I'll give it to Giglabro. Unfavorable spawns can slow or negate the warcart rush. He still has the Ziggurat which is very powerful. But someone has to go.
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [27]
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [23] [22+1] I can't speak about MP, as I've never played it. However, I play exclusively on Deity and can probably wipe the map blindfolded with them at Mercenaries. The good luck wishes should go to those requiring certain strategics. Sure the half price encampments are the only thing going for them early on, but good fundamentals (moderate expansion, good districts, chopping, etc.) will set the table for the feast to come. I don't find it difficult to be even in tech when the time comes. And when it happens, we're no longer even.
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [16]
Trajan/Rome [13]

 

[Vizurok]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [21]
Gilgamesh/Sumeria [0] (1 - 3) ELIMINATED. Due to the changes to map generation since GS, most of the time I find myself surrounded with rough terrain that limits the devastating power of War-Carts considerably, making early rushes less convenient.
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28] (27+1) I intended to abstain from this elimination game to steer away from my homerism, but since a vendetta is taking place, I must back my homie. I kind of see the point presented by @Lily_Lancer that going with Hungary means that you are giving up some control on your domination plans as you are somewhat limited to attack in accordance with CS locations, but the movement bonus makes this concern quite managable. However, as you are always facing a random map, all domination game plans are somewhat map-dependant as you would prefer open terrain in the early rush that limits your options by a certain degree. Honestly, I believe Hungary is the easiest domination civ: you have to gather 200ish gold and an iron source by turn 50 and you have won the game.
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [16]
Trajan/Rome [13]

 

[bengalryan9]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22] (21+1) Such an easy combat strength bonus to take advantage of, and sometimes brute force is all you need. Everything else will follow.
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28]
Montezuma/Aztec [16]
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [38]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [16]
Trajan/Rome [10] (13-3) Me every time I decide to play a game as Rome: "I can't wait to make use of legions!" The map generator every time I decide to play a game as Rome: "Let's make sure there's no iron anywhere around your starting point!" At least others left on the list have other things to offer in domination if you don't get the strategic resources you need (Scythia still gets healing even without her cavalry, Alex still gets free science and has 2 UUs to increase the chance that you'll at least be able to use one of them, Genghis still gets huge combat bonuses even if he doesn't have horses). Trajan is good, but I think his time has come.

 

[Leucarum]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28] So are people finding city states less likely to be eliminated since the new patch? I hadn't noticed much of a difference. Spreading my votes around, but noise about diplomatic victory being ignored I'd agree that Hungary is the least reliable of the remaining domination civs. There are just a lot of factors which can render them underwhelming, even if when the stars align perfectly they can switch to being the most powerful of the lot.
Montezuma/Aztec [13] (16-3) Getting free workers is amazing but their window of opportunity is small and almost vanishingly tiny on deity...
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [39] (38+1) I'll throw another vote to the obvious. I'll be amazed if they don't get a whack from the nerf bat.
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [16]
Trajan/Rome [10]

 

[Sirsquier]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28]
Montezuma/Aztec [13]
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [39]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [17] (16 + 1) Amazing, her UU is kinda awful but her ability and the civ ability make up for it fully. (Two units is OP. So is healing and doing more damage which encourages attacking weaker units to heal) The bonus gold and faith from the Kurgan can be used to buy units.
Trajan/Rome [7] (10 - 3) Honestly this is sad considering that in five they would have been my number two. Besides the legion Rome is very weak domination wise. (Why the heck did they make Rome not amazing at war???)

 

[Jewelrunna]

Alexander/Macedon [33]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28]
Montezuma/Aztec [14] (13 + 1): I will keep defending the Aztecs on this list until they're eliminated. Best snowballing domination Civ, and they have semi-consistently the best unique unit in the entire game. They can start rolling faces from turn one essentially, and they get stronger every face they roll. I will die on the hill that they are better than Suleiman at domination, straight up.
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [39]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [17]
Trajan/Rome [4] (7 - 3): Rome has almost no domination bonuses aside from the Legion, and while Legion more than makes up for that lack of outright bonuses by just been so darn strong, it makes their domination game all that much weaker if they don't have iron. Certainly a very, very good domination Civ, but we're getting into the crème de la crème now, so it's time for Trajan to go.

 

[Kmart_Elvis]

Alexander/Macedon [34] (33+1) Some civs rely on high Science/culture to become more advanced than their enemy. Other civs get bonuses and rewards for fighting and conquering. Alex gets the best of both worlds. Free eurekas and inspirations, free science from building units, free healing, two great UUs to help the snowball start, and no war weariness to interfere with your amenities.
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28]
Montezuma/Aztec [14]
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [39]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [17]
Trajan/Rome [1] (4 - 3): I've upvoted them before, and if this were vanilla Rome, they'd be so much higher. Legions requiring iron really gimped them. Now, they're more of a generalist civ. A legion rush is still viable, but it's more of a take over your neighbors territory and pivot into whatever victory type you want.

 

[JesseS]

Alexander/Macedon [34]
Amanitore/Nubia [24]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28]
Montezuma/Aztec [14]
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [39]
Suleiman/Ottomans [33]
Tomyris/Scythia [14] (17-3): Horse rushes have gotten a lot weaker since rams/siege towers no longer work with them. Having double the amount of horsemen won't do much of anything if you're facing crossbows and walls. Mongolia can stack up +18 combat strength in the Medieval era to keep the horseman/knight rushes going, but Scythia will generally need to tech/culture up to bombards, cavalry, and corps once fortifications show up and they have no economic bonuses to do so.
Trajan/Rome [2] (1+1): Adding an upvote here before Rome goes, even if they're far from the best remaining. The early culture from free monuments really helps with getting flanking/support bonuses and the T1 government online quick. The immediate roads help with mobility through the early to mid game. Even if Rome doesn't have any iron nearby for legions, the economic benefits help them set up a later push. Plus, buying strategics from the AI for a reasonable price is now possible without spamming 1 iron trades.

 

[Codeword Iroquois]

Alexander/Macedon [34]
Amanitore/Nubia [21] (24-3) Archers are good for early domination, but you've only got that bit before walls, which only gets smaller when you play on higher difficulties.
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28]
Montezuma/Aztec [14]
Shaka/Zulu [23]
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [39]
Suleiman/Ottomans [34] (33+1)He is focused on domination. He has a unit that has to be made in a captured city, he gets siege bonuses, and he has that incredibly useful governor (Oh, and free loyalty in captured cities).
Tomyris/Scythia [14]
Trajan/Rome [2]

 

[Civ Chemist]

Really sad to see my boy Chandra gone this early. In my opinion the most underrated civ in the game. 10 turn when you are well prepared for war is actually a lot and you can easily conquer an entire civ in those 10 turns and move on to the next one. Just an example from my last Chandragupt game. I unlocked his war of territoral expansion around T60 and was able to conquer the remaining 7 civs (granted on a pangea map) before T100 (I think T91/92). In fact that was one of my fastest domination victories ever and I was only able to win faster with Hungary and a Fountain of Youth Gran Colombia game. I hope some of you might give him another chance, becuase he is not only a strong domination civ but also incredibly fun.

Alexander/Macedon [34]
Amanitore/Nubia [21]
Cyrus/Persia [18]
Genghis Khan/Mongolia [22]
Matthias Corvinus/Hungary [28]
Montezuma/Aztec [14]
Shaka/Zulu [24] (23+1) Another favourite of mine. Might not have the strongest start, but once he reaches mercenaries he is literally unstoppable. His courser/knights corps are strong enough to take walled cities without having to wait for slow catapults.
Simón Bolívar/Gran Colombia [39]
Suleiman/Ottomans [31] (34-3): Don't really get why he is that high up. Sure all his bonuses are nice to have, but compared to the other civs remaining he seems to be one of the weakest left. He doesn't really have any early game bonuses. Stronger and cheaper catapults are nice, but you are probably not going to be very successful with a catapult rush. It might work once in a while but usually the AI has crossbows by then and having no CS advantage when defending they are going to die pretty fast.

And Ibrahim is ok I guess, but he only grants CS when attacking cities (and ecampments). Again, no CS advantage when defending and you still have to deal with units first before attacking cities. Then we also have to consider the opportunity cost of going with Ibrahim early on. That means you are either not investing in Magnus (Black Marketeer) or Pingala for exta science and culture.

His real power spike come in the renaissance era, and that seems to be pretty late to me. Other civs have already conquered their continent or even won the game (on a pangea map) by then. And then he still has to rely on niter to be effective, which is not a guarantee, especially if you have not started conquest before.
I don't know, maybe I was just unlucky in my few Ottomans games, but I have never really had a game that screams "very powerful domination civ" with them.

Tomyris/Scythia [14]
Trajan/Rome [2]