Stone or Marble

[Ramesses-Rules]

As a player addicted to wonder-spamming, definitely choose Marble. Just make a list of wonders each enables and ask yourself which list you'd prefer. I have often built Artemis, Parthenon, and Great Library in Thebes and Memphis. That beats anything you can realistically do with Stone in the same time-frame.

 

[kochman]

And for those who don't win only via culture... avoid building wonders, let the AI do it for you while you build the units to take their wonders.

 

[FlyinJohnnyL]

If you have a wonder spammer nearby, trading them or gifting them stone will often prompt them to build some shiny new wonders for you, at the expense of building units. Build your military, wait for them to complete the wonders, and take 'em.

 

[MrCynical]

Marble definitely, mostly because I find the Oracle and Great Library very useful. If you're going for wonderspam there's quite a few others like the Parthenon which are also worth having.

For stone there's only really the Great Wall that I like. Stonehenge is usually built so early that it would be a rush to get masonry and a quarry in place. The Pyramids are rather expensive even with stone - a stack of axes and capturing the Pyramids is far better.

 

[iggymnrr]

Marble. If nothing else, it has better commerce than stone.

 

[Chase_2_Rabbits]

Marble has better synergy with a standard bulb to Lib, Cuirs rush strategy.

As you follow the Aesthetics -> Literature -> Music path, you get discounts on the Great Library & National Epic. Plus the Parthenon, if you can spare the production. Not to mention the Heroic Epic if you've got access to it. You can also build the MoM to get a better Golden Age from your Music GA if you can pick up Calendar. You need Nationalism to be able to Lib Military Tradition, so you get a production boost on the Taj for another 8/12 turn Golden Age.

Stone, you can go for the Mids. Can be hugely useful, but that's about it. I guess on Deity, stone in the capital makes building the GW a consideration? Sucks for most civs to have to tech Masonry & TW at such an early stage though. For the early wonders, having stone or marble isn't always a benefit because you have to hook them up. I've built the Oracle plenty of times without even hooking up marble in my cap's BFC.

 

[lindsay40k]

If I'm doing a Culture game and not IND, I'll take Stone. Nice to be able to run Rep or US to get book learnin' or Cathedrals done. Otherwise, generally Marble.

 

[Manco Capac]

^
A good culture game needs marble over stone.

 

[Koning]

Definitely marble for me.
Can't remember when I built the Pyramids, the Great Wall or even the Hanging Gardens for the last time. The Great Library is usually the first wonder I erect, and masonry a tech is typically backfill when I get the alphabet.

 

[Kid R]

The stone wonders start earlier (early is good in civ for cumulative effect) and with the notable exception of the great library give better GP types.

But to get good value from stone you have to commit to wonder building earlier than is advisable when playing random maps/opponents on tough levels.

So marble is more flexible for any given game but strangely I like seeing BFC stone more. Coz then I can just turn my mind off for 100 turns and start building wonders! If the gambit fails who cares - I just reroll

 

[AdamCrock]

Marble for wonders and peace like : Oracle, GL, Greek Temples on the other hand Stone for : Great Walls (+100% GG), Pyramids and warfare so it would depend on the mood Im in for

 

[lindsay40k]

^
A good culture game needs marble over stone.

Pyramids & HG means GEs and Suffrage. All cathedrals benefit from rush-buying, only two from Marble. Heads often have to be knocked to secure three amazing wiggly river sites, and that often presents the opportunity to grab Marble and a GG to boot.

 

[TheWilltoAct]

Pyramids & HG means GEs and Suffrage.

That seems like a reference.

I would like to say that I appreciate the uniqueness of your approach, compared to something more mainstream as proffered by Tachy. For me it's very interesting to hear alternate approaches. There is an additional consideration of difficulty level, which the aforementioned poster is likely taking into account.

 

[lindsay40k]

Yeah, given the usual Culture game approach of building up three amazing cottage cities, it's very easy to rush-buy your Cathedrals by setting zero research for a while once loads of Towns are sorted out; that means starting the Culture budget earlier with less whipping, which to me is generally worth more than a few extra Wonders.

I've never had much trouble zeroing in on particular Wonders that need Marble, given the GE's and the tech lead your three cottage sites, Rep and rushed GL can secure. Also, the HG means a higher health cap on your three cities; working an extra Town or Artist in all three is worth culture more than a settled GA

 

[SnipedSoul]

I beeline literature in the majority of my games, so marble is really nice for The Great Library, Heroic Epic, and National Epic.

 

[kochman]

Definitely marble for me.
Can't remember when I built the Pyramids, the Great Wall or even the Hanging Gardens for the last time. The Great Library is usually the first wonder I erect, and masonry a tech is typically backfill when I get the alphabet.

This is pretty much how I play too...
Sometimes the AI is stingy with masonry if they know you have marble

 

[Reg Pither]

I apparently have been operating under a false premise for years, it doesn't.
I could have sworn it did...
http://civilization.wikia.com/wiki/Marble

I'm 99% sure that it used to provide happiness in the earlier versions of Civ IV. I can remember being surprised when I played after a particular patch and suddenly noticing it had changed.

Anyway, either marble or stone will do me, although I lean towards stone as, on the settings I play, I always try to get the Great Wall, Pyramids or Stonehenge as soon as possible. Gotta love a speedy Oracle with marble later, though.

 

[Robo-Star]

Marble is stronger for sure. Why do you think devs decided to remove entirely marble from "balanced resources" option?

Marble can appear on balanced resource maps, but it's rare (about 1 in 10 games).

 

[elohssa]

Stone. Mids and/or GW and/or SH early on and you have a big coup. The pyramids (along with GL) is the only early wonder that can give you a huge economical boost. If you fail all those but expand fast then Hanging-Gardens are awesome.

 

[kochman]

Stone. Mids and/or GW and/or SH early on and you have a big coup. The pyramids (along with GL) is the only early wonder that can give you a huge economical boost. If you fail all those but expand fast then Hanging-Gardens are awesome.

I'm going to guess you don't play on a high level of difficulty.

If you spend the early phases of the game wonder building, you will have missed the grand land rush and be crushed by the nearest aggressive AI in the game.