Personal interest in the nine newcomers.

[Loucypher]

So now that we got all the newcomers revealed (though not all the exact details quite yet), I'd say we have enough knowledge now to have at least a good idea of how each civ will play out. With that in mind...how do you rank the nine newcomers in order of your own personal interest?
Here's my list:

1. Poland
Poland is one of the few civs who can give truly insane amounts of XP to units right from the gates (Their UB + Barracks + Armory + Brandenburg + Academy = VERY STRONG CAVALRY) even if that window of opportunity is on the small side. But it's the free policies that interest me, they allow Poland to be more flexible with picking them, and while they don't seem broken since the culture game isn't "fill out policies ASAP" anymore, it still seems deceptively strong.
2. Venice
I like having cash. Having access to double the amount of trade routes and a truckload of puppets to support it will enable Venice to grow to be truly monstrous, though it'll be hard to keep good infrastructure between your cities, as well as proper protection. I think they'll be deceptively hard to play, but also a lot of fun.
3. Assyria
While I'm not normally a warmonger, I like the unique spin Assyria gives to it. I also like to point out that the "lump sum trade requires DOF" fix has likely been done with Assyria exploits in mind - people were already talking about found a city, surround it with military, sell it to another player, attack for easy science. That said, Assyria still seems to be highly capable of interesting tricks, and I like the idea behind their siege unit.
4. Indonesia
The Kris Swordsman might seem a bit lackluster, something giving extra faith is always more then welcomed. Furthermore, I love to colonize islands for my own, which meshes perfectly with their UA. As such, I'm going to enjoy playing as Indonesia and beelining for naval techs. The Kris Swordsman...well at least it looks kickass.
5. Morocco
Like I said, I like having cash. Morocco will have enough of it, and their improvement makes them excellent for a turtling up playstyle on top of it. I also like the way a desert empire with them will look like. All in all, I think Venice is a bit more interesting as the way to play with Morocco seems more clear-cut, but I'll definitely enjoy this one.
6. Portugal
They too have a few interesting tricks up their sleeves, but I'm not as convinced with them as I am with Venice. The bonus the Nau will give is highly important here. The Fedora seems like a cute trick as well, so I'll certainly enjoy them. They just don't seem AS interesting to me as the ones above .
7. Soshone
This one is slightly up in the air for me as we don't know quite yet what exactly their cavalry UU will do, but that scout UU...no matter how it plays out, it's amazing. The extra tiles you get upon founding a city gives more flexibility in the early game, like reaching over to that vital luxury just a bit earlier. Will be interesting to see how it'll exactly pan out.
them.
8. Brazil
I really don't have much interest in playing with them. Golden age manipulation is fun, but it all just seems so unhinged with Brazil. Their UI doesn't seem to be all THAT strong either (Trading Posts in Jungle is still among the strongest things you can do, IMO), and their UU...meh. His leader screen however is awesome, so I'll enjoy facing them.
9. Zulu
As stated with Assyria, I'm no warmongerer. And really, that's all the Zulu seems to do. While I'm not opposed to have warmonger civs in the game, odds are I won't play them often. The Impi does look interesting however, and their UB will be nice to have as well, but it's just not my playstyle.

 

[Rooftrellen]

1. Brazil

The UI seems good (I'm assuming it'll also get bonuses though the game like trading posts) and their culture game seems VERY strong, between carnaval's bonuses to tourism and great artists, the ability to be in carnaval more often late game, and culture from the UI. I see them showing off a lot of what BNW has to offer, as well as being a very dangerous civ.

2. Venice

To be fair, this is based mostly on the fact they are unlike anything else. I like to go wide, so I may hate them, but...interest, yes, lots of it. I can see them taking a long time to get used to.

3. Portugal

I like the money they can generate, and they seem somewhat sneeky, as well. Getting lux resources from city states could be very nice, and they're jsut built to get lots and lots of cash, start to finish. I see them as a strong civ to sneek in for a diplo victory, as well, with all the trading they can do.

4. Soshone

The implications of more land early is astounding. We don't know exactly how everything is going to work yet with the scout and cavalry, but...just the UA alone is enough to make me think about how much I'm likely to like them.

5. Zulu

I'm not much of one for war, but I will go after someone early for breathing room and to get an edge on my neighbors. The Zulu seem to do that well, setting up for a solid mid and late game where they can choose their path, though domination seems most obvious.

6. Morocco

The AI is key here. If the AI loves to trade with Morocco, I'll love it. Manipulating them to trade with one of my cities set up to benefit from international trade...WOW. The UU and UI just leave a bit to be desired, though. There's not enough desert to make me want to fight in it, and most desert tiles are better off not being worked or having something else built on them than that UI.

7. Assyria

Interesting for a sciency civ. Normally the AI doesn't beeline all that much, so there is certainly some tech to be had, but...if you're ahead in tech, nothing. If you're behind, it's harder to take cities, so it's really only good for the beelining.

8. Indonesia

The UU is...odd, but interesting. It seems like it'll be a nice boost overall, and it could make their late game army quite a force. The UB is less interesting. It'll only start to produce faith when religions are already out there...AND have spread to that city. I don't care that much for it. The UA is interesting, but I don't see much use on most maps. I won't want little islands most likely, with no gold to be gained, and getting a lux to counter unhappiness in the city and nothing more seems silly, and getting to another continent takes a long while, and it seems you must FOUND a city there, likely meaning at least one war and some razing to clear land.

9. Poland

The UA seems nice. Each era, you can crack one of those new social policies open or get that one you were waiting for. However, the UB is just ok. Mounted units generally aren't all that great, it requires pastures to be around, and otherwise just gives 1 more gold per pasture. The UU may even be bad. I don't normally WANT enemy units going backwards. I want them to stay put so I can kill them, and what I consider a "bonus" that makes the unit worse on a unit I already consider bad? I may honestly never play with them.

 

[MeowthLover]

1. Portugal
2. Brazil
3. Poland
4. Indonesia
5. Venice
6. Assyria
7. Morocco
8. Zulu
9. Soshone

I really would have liked a civilization that had a bonus to creating Great Works *cough* Italy *cough*

 

[seancolorado]

I still need to let everything sit in and learn a bit more about the Uniques in detail, so I can't really come up with a proper list beyond "I'm just glad Indonesia finally made it."

I will say, however, that I'm eager to try some specific map types: Archipelago with Venice, Portugal, Indonesia, Polynesia, etc. Pangaea with civs with expansion tendencies or bonuses (Shoshone, Russia, etc)

But before I do that, I'll start up a game with new civs only just to see the beautiful leaderscreens

 

[Absolution]

1. Assyria
2. Venice
3. Brazil
4. Indonesia
5. Poland
6. Morocco
7. Portugal
8. Zulu
9. Soshone

 

[Merciorum]

1) Venice (because they are really, really unique, cool and tall).
2) Morocco (because they're also a culturally able and awesome trade civ).
3) Brazil (because they are culture-heavy in a cool way).
4) Poland (because they're Poland. And have an awesome UU and UA).
5) Portugal (because they have awesome trade-power).
6) Shoshone (because they look funkyish, but not that suited to my playstyle).
7) Indonesia (because they don't look too interesting. Not bad, but not that interesting).
8) Zulu (because I don't much like warlike civs. But for a warlike civ, they look quite cool).
9) Assyria (because they look horrendously overrated, not at all suited to me, and a dull conquest-type)

 

[Princeofnigeria]

1. Portugal- the last colonial european super power has arrived. This civ is hand down the most deserving, and I'm glad they've FINALLY made it in.
2. Poland- a personal favorite of mine, and one of the most underappreciated civs. This civ deserved inclusion long before Civ 5. Also very happy they're a cultural side that can fight. MY FAVORITE COMBO!!!
3. Zulu- tradition dictates That these chaps had to be here, and I'm always happy to extend my hand in warm salute to the mighty Shaka.
4. Shoshone- I wasn't too thrilled when I heard these guys were showing up. Not a lot of historical signifigance. Their ability and unit have shut me the hell up. Very excited to play with these guys
5. Assyria- not a fan of science sides, not a warmounger, and don't love the color scheme. I am a fan of historicality though, and the assyrians have most certainly fought an uphill battle into the spot.
6. Brazil- good for you. I'm not entirely convinced the brazillians are ready for prime time, but gosh darn I'm happy to see south America get some new faces.
7. Morrocco- eh. I don't know enough about the history of morocco to get excited, and they honestly sound overpowered. They still warrant a higher spot than the rest for various reasons.
8. Indonesia- very happy they are in, I am... They just sound terrible though. Chandi only helps after other people get a religion, kris I have issues with, and their UA sounds like a horribly weak bastard of the lesser parts of Polynesia and the netherlands.
9. Venice- horrible. Absolutely attrocious. I was completely neutral on their inclusion up until their stats were revealed. Horrible, the first civ crippled worse than india. They have an ungodly slow early game up until the middle ages, have to rely on the piss brained city spamming AI to found good spots for them, and have to waste merchants on buying cities. Also a civ easier to beat on lower difficulties, as less cities will be founded.

 

[digrosz]

1. Portugal. I like peaceful victories, and having traderoutes with all your friends seems to boost that
2. Brazil, I'd love to get a dominating culture, so Brazils Carnival is the
3. Shoshone, going wide is absolute fun and their UA and UU seem to benefit from that
4. Marroco, roughly for the same reason as 1, but their UA appears to be a little less good to me
5. Venice, although the double trade routes are nice, I don't think i can deal with no settlers
6. Assyria, it's absolutely brilliant that you can focus on the war-part of the tech tree, but still be able
to get techs in the other paths as well by stealing them. But as I said, I prefer peaceful civs
7. Poland, their UU seems horrible, and their UA is not that nice anymore with the new Culture Vc
8. Indonesia, i like to play on pangea, so their UA won't be that fitting for me
9. Zulu, unless I am going to kick everyones butt, wich I'm not, they are going to suck

 

[Xandinho]

1-Brazil:My favorite civ, South America needed to be represented by a modern civ. I still hope to see the Grã Colombia and Argentina in the future, it would be great to see: Brazil vs Argentina
2-Indonesia:I love Asian civ, would be very interesting to see Indonesia vs India. Indonesia is a large civ
3-Portugal:With the inclusion of Brazil would be great to see: Portugal vs Brazil. Portugal is a grand naval civ, see intrigues between Portugal and Spain by land in the game is also very good
4-Morocco:I liked the Moroccan desert is always a mystery
5-Poland:I really like medieval civs
6-Assyria:Ancient civilizations are interesting at the beginning, Assyria vs Egypt would be great
7-The Zulu:I like Zulu, but would like to see other civs African: Nigeria, Congo, South Africa
8-Venice:Between Italy and Venice, I would choose Italy. I liked Venice, but think it Italy would be better, Italy is more complete
9-The Shoshone:I did not like Shoshone. If you were to choose a native, the Olmec would be much better. Besides Vietnam, Hittites, Tibet would be much better to replace the Shoshone.

 

[Hyperion529]

1. Venice - I love playing OCC and never mind a nice puppet empire. going for great merchants also sounds like an interesting alternative to the usual GS focus
2. Indonesia - incentives for colonizing other continents, (probably) exclusive resources and trade opportunities, sounds new and exciting to me
3. Shoshone - I wasn't too thrilled for a Native American civ but the Pathfinder looks really interesting, gameplay-wise. i've always enjoyed the scouting and exploring phase very much and this superscout is only going to make it more fun
4. Morocco - trade and culture, good on defensive. i like the flexibility and diversity that comes with this. I also like deserts and use Desert Folklore and Petra a lot in G&K, but well, who doesn't?
5. Poland - I think the UA makes them a very flexible civ too, suitable for all VCs. also, Winged Hussars are cool
6. Assyria - they seem very powerful, but do not fit my regular playstyle. I like to try different approaches from time to time though. they will probably allow for some interesting tactics, especially on higher difficulties
7. Brazil - will be great for the new cultural game and I am excited to try that out, but they seem to one-sided. I'm not sure I will play them more than once
8. Portugal - not bad at all. they probably fit my playstyle and Feitoras look interesting, but compared to the other new civs I'm just not feeling too excited about them
9. Zulu - seem like a rather boring warmonger civ. I like them as opponents, though, and will probably enjoy playing them in the Scramble for Africa scenario. looking forward to drive those pesky Europeans out of the continent

 

[Zilkin]

Funnily enough to last two civs went straight to the top of my list.

1. Venice

Simply because how different playing it will be compared to any other civ.

2. Shoshone

I enjoy early game exploring and the UU adds something extra to that. Together with the extra land getting lucky with ruins could give you extremely strong start.

3. Zulu

Iconic Civilization civ and seems to be nice setup for some early game warmongering.

4. Brazil

Good way to experience the new culture/tourism gameplay in BNW. One the few modern civs, and the first of them from South America.

5-6. Morocco and Portugal

Both have Interesting UBs, and should be great trading civs.

7. Assyria

Throwback from the days when you got techs for capturing cities.

8. Indonesia

Decent UA, and has more interesting UB than Poland for me.

9. Poland

The UA seems good, but seems kinda boring since it's something you just get where as most of the others actually require to actively work for.

 

[SalemSage]

Civs I will actually play:

1. Venice. Really nice aesthetically, and the hypercubeness of it is definitely an intriguing one. I just hope they are viable in multiplayer and higher difficulties
2. Shoshone. The scout and UA are just amazing and will give players a strong start. The cavalry will be nice too, but not so excited about that.

Civs I will either only play once, or have as AIs:

3. Brazil. I like the tourism mechanic, so the Carnival thing will be a nice little bonus. Not too fussed about their other things though.
4. Assyria. I'm a peacemonger so I probably won't really use this one, but looks like they'll be a fun contender as an AI.
5. Poland. Free social policies always nice, I guess.
6. Zulu. Again, won't touch them really, but they'll be a fierce foe to fight, that's for sure.

Civs I'll likely not play as, a resounding 'meh'
Portugal, Indonesia, Morrocco.


needless to say this leak makes me a very happy person, finally two civs that actually really grab my interest

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Assyria: Looks very interesting, but ultimately doesn't cope to my playstyle.

Brazil: Brazil looks fun. I hope to flip cities during Carnival.

Indonesia: Indonesia looks very interesting to me. I like the colors. I like the UA.

Morocco: Looks very sturdy and dependable. I will probably get a lot of use from them.

Poland: They seem kind of bland. The UA is nice, but not exciting. The UU and UB go together, but I suspect they will be better on paper than in the game.

Portugal: Portugal seem very fun. I look forward to playing with them.

Shoshone: Seem very fun. They really mesh well with my typical starting strategy.

Venice: Venice is such a wildcard, I just don't know what to make of them. If they do well at peace, I will probably like them a lot.

Zulu: They are anathema to my playstyle. I have no interest at all.

 

[cpm4001]

1. Brazil - For some reason I'm really looking forward to playing as Brazil. I don't know why. I also think they'll be a good civ to play as when learning about how to work Tourism.
2. Morocco - More Gold and Culture the more trade routes I have? Yes, please!
3. Venice - Venice lets me play as a City-State! Finally! (Oh, and the ability to annex other city-states with your Merchants sounds fun, too...)
4. Poland - Solidarity's gonna be a fun UA. Also looking forward to charging people with my super-promoted Winged Hussars.
5. Shoshone - I get the feeling they're the sort of civ I'll start a ton of games as, but will probably lose interest half-way through.
6. Portugal - Okay, the Fetoria improvement is cool, and I love the Nau's unique ability. Otherwise, I'm not looking forward to them too much.
7. Indonesia - I'm not a big religion player, so their UB isn't that interesting to me. I think their UA is extremely cool but really limits where you can settle new cities.
8. Assyria - Meh. The battering rams look neat, but I tend to focus on science so chances are their UA would do absolutely nothing for me
9. Zulu - Also meh. I'm not a warmonger.

 

[Sikandar]

I wouldn't say that any of the new civs are locked into being warmongers. I had a very good game as the Huns where I never declared war on anyone and only wiped civilizations out once they declared war on me. I used my extremely mobile Horseman to defend my numerous far-flung city-state allies. It was pretty cool.

 

[El Caballerion]

1. Portugal- the last colonial european super power has arrived. This civ is hand down the most deserving, and I'm glad they've FINALLY made it in.
2. Poland- a personal favorite of mine, and one of the most underappreciated civs. This civ deserved inclusion long before Civ 5. Also very happy they're a cultural side that can fight. MY FAVORITE COMBO!!!
3. Zulu- tradition dictates That these chaps had to be here, and I'm always happy to extend my hand in warm salute to the mighty Shaka.
4. Shoshone- I wasn't too thrilled when I heard these guys were showing up. Not a lot of historical signifigance. Their ability and unit have shut me the hell up. Very excited to play with these guys
5. Assyria- not a fan of science sides, not a warmounger, and don't love the color scheme. I am a fan of historicality though, and the assyrians have most certainly fought an uphill battle into the spot.
6. Brazil- good for you. I'm not entirely convinced the brazillians are ready for prime time, but gosh darn I'm happy to see south America get some new faces.
7. Morrocco- eh. I don't know enough about the history of morocco to get excited, and they honestly sound overpowered. They still warrant a higher spot than the rest for various reasons.
8. Indonesia- very happy they are in, I am... They just sound terrible though. Chandi only helps after other people get a religion, kris I have issues with, and their UA sounds like a horribly weak bastard of the lesser parts of Polynesia and the netherlands.
9. Venice- horrible. Absolutely attrocious. I was completely neutral on their inclusion up until their stats were revealed. Horrible, the first civ crippled worse than india. They have an ungodly slow early game up until the middle ages, have to rely on the piss brained city spamming AI to found good spots for them, and have to waste merchants on buying cities. Also a civ easier to beat on lower difficulties, as less cities will be founded.

I agree with just about every one of your thoughts, except VENICE may either be really fun, really boring, really easy to beat when played as an AI, or really overpowered. All I do know is that VENICE will be perhaps the MOST UNIQUE CIV to play as, and because of that, I'm very interested to see what they can do.

 

[SkaisonFire]

I really would have liked a civilization that had a bonus to creating Great Works *cough* Italy *cough*

This.

 

[johnny139]

1) Brazil. They were my first big hope for the game - I've been taking classes on Brazilian history recently and they're just fascinating, a completely unique culture of the sort I really like. You have no idea how excited I was to see them confirmed!

2) Shoshone. New Native Americans! Whoo! Pathfinder seems fun but really I'm just glad to have a new face north of the Rio Grande.

3) Indonesia. I was sort of opposed to them at first - I'd rather have had Vietnam or the Khmer - but their UA really intrigues me. Should be cool to play as them.

4) Venice. I like them - don't love them, but they should be super interesting to play as. I'd probably prefer a non-European state but what can you do?

5) Poland. I loves me some Social Policies, and for free? How can you go wrong?

6) Morocco. I'm sure they'll be useful, but they weren't my first choice for a new African Civ and the trade route power seems a big "generic," so to speak.

7) Portugal. With emphasis on trade routes, another "generic" feeling Civ. I love the Feitoria but nothing else about their abilities really excites me. I suspect Trade Routes will be a lot more interesting hands-on than in previews.

8) Assyria. ...the Assyrians are in this game? I always seem to forget them - probably since they were confirmed alongside Brazil. Not really on my mind!

9) The Zulu. I'm not a war guy... very glad to have them in, of course, can't have Civ without the Zulu, but I doubt I'll play with them any time soon.

 

[KingGustaf]

1. Venice: I enjoy having a vast puppet empire to begin with. And the increase in trade routes and the ability to simply purchase large puppeted cities seems fun. except the gaps in my empire will annoy me. unless city states are really close, or another civ places cities near me for me to conquer...
2. Portugal: This civ has endless possibility to me. SO much cash and happiness, you could really go anywhere with that.
3. Shoshone: the ability to choose what type of ruin you receive seems too good to be true. And the extra land is wonderful! Not to mention the bonus combat within your territory.
4. Brazil: If I would really want to exploit the new Tourism system, I would choose to play as Brazil. I also like getting placed in a jungle, as it is great defense for your cities. And Brazil seems to make more out of the simple jungle than any other civ.
5. Morocco: Same thing, except with desert. I love being in the desert. If you can nab the desert pantheon and Petra, Morocco may be unstoppable with their unique improvement.
6. Indonesia: I love playing as Polynesia on island maps, but Indonesia seems like a fun alternative. idk how much I like the Kris special ability, but they sure as hell LOOK sick.
7. Assyria: They seem good, but I am not a huge conquest fan. It is interesting, though, since their UU is in early game, which is when I normally attack neighbors (if at all). So I would definitely try them once.
8. Zulu: I am not a warmonger at all, which is why I have never even played as Ghengis Khan, but their UU is sweet, and it is an old favorite of the series. I dont want another reason to restart my games, however...
9. Poland: They just seem lackluster to me. With social policies not as important anymore (and there aren't THAT many eras to utilize the ability), they just seem obsolete. And for some reason, I dont really use horses in combat anyway. So Poland is pretty much useless to me.

 

[Kizo]

1. Morocco

Overwhelmingly suited to my play style. Desert Folklore + Kasbah spam + Petra sounds incredibly fun, and being able to defend it with a small army of Berber Cavalry means I can concentrate on culture. Love it.

2. Assyria

Brilliant synergy between war and science. Terrorizing continents and not paying the price long-term for it will be a blast.

3. Brazil

The uniques are all interesting in some capacity, but I'm most looking forward to what they offer in general, that being a viable jungle-start game.

4. Zulu

They're mostly great to have back for what they'll offer as an AI opponent, but they'll probably become my go-to pick when I'm feeling like domination.

5. Poland

Winged Hussar sounds interesting, but to echo what Rooftrellen said, I'm not sure forcing a unit backwards is actually all that helpful. I typically manage to get my opponents right where I want them; sending them backwards complicates things.

6. Portugal

Nothing wrong with them, but nothing inspiring either. Feitoria is neat.

7. Venice

This is the most tentative placement of all, given how it obviously requires hands-on experience to judge. Initial reaction is that relying on AI city placement logic is going to be infuriating.

8. Shoshone

Exciting for 50 turns, boring for the rest. Gameplay aside, the choice of civ is awful.

9. Indonesia

Map-specific UA, unreliable UU, and a faith-producing UB that won't help with the most important aspect of faith: winning the religion race. Teching towards either unique requires teching away from the other. Swordsmen are useless. In the right environment they'll get a good start, but that's about it. I hope to change my mind after I actually get to play them, but right now? Little to no synergy, abysmal civ.