[GS] Favorite/easiest Civ for each victory type

[AsparustheSaiyan]

Domination: Mattias is the strongest by far on a non-island hopper map. Can conquer a huge Pangea map before the Ancient Era is over on marathon setting.
Honorable mention: Montezuma and Mali

Diplomacy : Mattias. The 2 bonus envoys you get when levying a city's units is crazy.
Honorable mentions : Canada and Sweden

Religion: Russia and Mali if they get enough Tundra/Desert area. Russia sometimes has an issue getting Dance of the Aurora, but Mali always gets their first choice of pantheons from my experience.
Honorable mention: Montezuma

Science: Russia and Montezuma
Honorable mention Mali and Korea

Cultural : Russia, Mali and Montezuma
Honorable mention: Pericles

Strongest overall Montezuma (or Russia if on a tundra heavy map)
Honorable mention: Mali, Mattias

28 base attack on their starting unit and the ability to capture units as slaves (workers) combined with workers able to build districts for 5 charges. Build early Holy Sites go with Monumentality race to feudalism and spam settlers/workers. Workers can even build space ports with 5 charges.

Interesting that you said science for Russia. Would you mind explaining please?

 

[Troy Bruckner]

Interesting that you said science for Russia. Would you mind explaining please?

The absurd amount of faith you can pump out with Russia in conjunction with the golden age Monumentality leads to more cities than any other Civ can produce. Even though you are settling in Tundra early if you get the religious perc where your shrines and temples produce food your cities will grow quickly so you can have 3 districts in most of them. It's easy to produce 4 or 5 times (if not more) as many Campuses as Korea. With all the Faith you can buy all of the most important great scientists as well.

 

[Troy Bruckner]

I want to clarify my reasoning on my rankings. I play almost exclusively on Huge Pangea worlds on Marathon setting and usually with only 4 to 6 Civs and 24 CSs. I try not to conquer opposing Civs unless they press the issue and or start right up against me. I have played many many games, but the fastest science victory I have had without exploiting pillaging is the year 600 AD. That was with Russia. I have never been able to get less than 1250 AD with Korea. This was before Gathering Storm mind you, but the basics for my strategy have not changed and if anything it's easier to move faster through the tech tree. With the Aztecs I got down to 750 AD. With pillaging the Aztecs can finish around 1200 BC.

 

[Pietato]

Play the Cree for all victories.

 

[Kmart_Elvis]

The absurd amount of faith you can pump out with Russia in conjunction with the golden age Monumentality leads to more cities than any other Civ can produce. Even though you are settling in Tundra early if you get the religious perc where your shrines and temples produce food your cities will grow quickly so you can have 3 districts in most of them. It's easy to produce 4 or 5 times (if not more) as many Campuses as Korea. With all the Faith you can buy all of the most important great scientists as well.

Science victory as Russia can be really fun. I'd also like to add that Jesuit Education works great with them. Use your huge faith stockpile to instantly create libraries and universities. Get wats for your lavras. Stewardship for +1 science per campus. Using Peter's ability, send your trade routes to the science leader to maximize your science yield from those routes. And if you get a dark age, take the policy card that gives you +75% science for cities with holy sites. All that adds up and makes Russia decent at science Victories via religion

 

[Archon_Wing]

Russia gets science bonuses for trade routes sent to more advanced nations. This is especially strong the higher difficulty you go, as they start out ahead of you by more and more. I suppose it's harder to appreciate them on lower difficulties.

 

[AsparustheSaiyan]

Even on low difficulties though you can get some minor use out of the grand embassy since you will be likely starting near tundra, your pop will grow a bit slower which means you can leech a little bit of science and culture before you inevitably take over.

 

[Victoria]

Aztecs for science
Peri for culture
Nubia for Dom
Peter for religious
No one for diplomacy or score as they are painfully long and dull is not easy nor favourite
Easyand favourite in general, Kupe.

My list anyway.