[GS] Your top policy cards

[Disgustipated]

I am curious what cards people are using. For the sake of the thread we'll say from early middle game on. I think early game it's pretty clear what are the best cards, though you can discuss those if you want. I feel this is different enough from the other policy card thread to warrant it's own thread.

And I'm wondering if I'm using suboptimal cards, so I do want to gauge opinion of higher level players. We can assume just a general level of performance, not necessarily going for any particular victory condition. Because when I go for cultural victory, I slot the 3 tourist cards (even the great musician one- Satellite Broadcasts which I don't know how good that actually is).

Rank your favorite 3 or 4 cards to use for each category, military, economic, diplomatic, and wildcard. If you are like me, I often have economic policy cards in the wildcard slots, feel free to mention those. I find there just are so many good economic cards, I never have enough slots.

My picks
Military: #1 conscription/levee en masse, because you generally need a large army to stave off being attacked, #2, professional army/force modernization, just a no-brainer save on costs- I might swap this around with Limes, retainers

Economic: urban planning in the early game (I probably hold on to this too long. Serfdom/Public Works I keep on a lot. I'm too lazy to keep switching this in and out, and often just leave it in most of the game. Not optimal, I know, I just find myself constantly wanting builders. Triangular Trade I really love to run for a long time. Rationalism. After Ideology I find myself using 5 year plan a lot.

Diplomatic: I know people say this card isn't great, but I go for every city state edge possible, and am often running Charismatic Leader, and definitely gunboat diplomacy, only exception is when I temporarily slot in diplomatic league. Wisselbanken unless going for domination victory, having alliances is important to me. And Merchant Confederation I like to run, but often don't have the slots for it (I choose Wisselbanken over Merchant Confederation).

Wildcard: I find myself not using many of the purple cards, and I usually have Wisselbanken or an economic policy card in here. If playing someone like Dido on multiple continents I try to slot in Colonial Taxes. I like Economic Union after Ideology. Sometimes I run Scripture if I have a lot of holy sites (I don't usually build these) and want the faith for something. Republican Legacy is pretty good. Sometimes liberalism. If I'm in Classical Republic, then I usually have Conscription in here.

What are your thoughts on Mercantile Legacy? I just realize I haven't been using that one. Not sure how good it is.

 

[MarigoldRan]

Recorded history campus card. Classical Republic legacy card.

 

[BenitoChavez]

I forget the card names

Military - My standard cards are the ones that reduces the unit maintenance costs and slotting in the cards that reduces costs for unit upgrades, or for extra production for a specific unit type as necessary. Some more situational one are reduced production costs of walls, science for renaissance walls and military academies, and that fascism card that gives culture/gold for military academies.

Economic - I usually go for the +1 faith +1 gold to get an early pantheon. Then switch to +1 production in all cities, +50% production for settlers, or +50% production for workers as needed. Later on +2 charges for workers, double adjacency cards for campuses, industrial zones, commercial hubs, and ports are really good. I also slot in the +4 gold +1 faith for trade routes if I have a lot of those. I'll switch to any +tourism cards late in the game if I'm going for a culture victory.

Diplomatic - I usually start off with the first envoy counts at two initially. Switch to the +2 influence later. Then switch to the one that boosts spy levels and mission speeds later. If I have a second slot I'll put in the extra production/food for trade routes to allies or extra gold for each envoy.

Wildcard - Sometimes I'll slot in +Great People Point cards if I really really want a specific great person or if I'm playing a culture game/Eleanor, but mostly I use these slots for Economic or Military cards.

 

[aguliondew]

Better Reporting (UI) is a mod that show which policies enable you to gain the most resources.


Midgame is the time when I select policies based on my situation. I go for the early pantheon too with god king.Their not a policy that I focus on around midgame. I just go for my government first and get whatever policy fit my endgame goal. If you are warmongering the colonial policies give you a ton of gold/growth.

 

[Disgustipated]

Better Reporting (UI) is a mod that show which policies enable you to gain the most resources.

I really should install some mods, haven't used any in a long time. Based on that screen shot, this looks like a must have mod. I realize how few policy cards I actually use. I often just use the same ones every game. What the heck is Communications Office? I never even heard of that one LOL.

 

[Zyxpsilon]

That BRS mod by @Infixo became the single core reason why i now focus more on such ruleset variations to determine an "effective enough" stragegy with (and because of) whatever Policies are available.

As for optimal choices.. to me -- it is all related to whichever current gameplay conditions happen and eventually, can help with any pre-selected Victory goal(s) and emergency switches.
GP stuff & steady Gold flow are my mainstay & the pivotal moment(s) where staging formal Wars can/should begin -- i tend to enhance various tactics, like fending off some silly/annoying Religious AI carpeting defensively or even, pillaging intensity.

I also feel obligated to always revise the stash upon every Civic cycle and thus, keep watch for those alarm [!] tags. Just one key swap and dynamics are twisted in my favor.

 

[Archon_Wing]

For the sake of sanity, I'm not including cards with +% production to X because those are obviously BiS when used and then you take them off. Likewise the upgrade cost ones are also "duh" and just get taken on and off as needed

Military
Logistics (+1 movement if in friendly territory)
Conscription (reduced military maintenance)
Retainers (+1 Amenity for garrison)
Wars of Religion (+4 against civs with a different majority religion)
Raid/Total War (More yield from pllage)

Honestly, I think Military cards are the best and there are a lot more situational ones that can come in handy as needed

Economic
Urban Planning (+1 production in each city)
Serfdom (+2 Builder Charges)
Natural Philosophy (100% campus adjacency)
Aesthetics (100% theater adjacency)

For the most part I use them to boost science, culture, or production. Or whatever's to come by

Diplomatic
Wisselbanken-- Allied trade routes give food and production
Merchant Confederation-- Gold per envoy
International Space Agency (+5% science per CS you are suzerain of)

I really don't care about diplomatic slots. Merchant Confederation is nice on those starts that lack gold though.

Wildcard
Strategos -- (+2 Great General points)
Republican Legacy (+1 Amenity and housing in every city with a district)

Honestly, I don't remember these exist 1/2 the time.

 

[Deadly Dog]

Hard to say which are "top" for me as I use a lot of them and change them up lots. For example, before Political Philosophy I run Discipline and God-King when I have to but am always looking to run with Survey and Urban Planning when I can. I try to always have a civic ready to be researched in 1-3 turns, so I can switch to say Survey if I am coming up on a village or NW (exploring with tile yields displayed), or Serfdom if I'm about to settle a city and have the Ancestral Hall, then switch the card out again after just a turn or three. So the cards I use most aren't necessarily the ones I get the most excited about, if that makes any sense.

Generally don't run + amenities and housing cards unless I have a plan to make the card obsolete, so my civ doesn't get dependent on the card.

Oligarchic Legacy and /or Logistics when at war.

Scripture before/during a monumentality GA.

Naval Infrastructure if I have at least 3 good harbours with shipyards.

Raj, sometimes, esp if playing a small civ but lots of CS allies.

Machiavelliansim for envoy killing.

Its not unusual that my civ benefits greatly from Colonial Taxes/Offices

Other than that I just try to be smart so use upgrade cards, diplo league, serfdom and land surveyors for just a few turns and get as much done with them as possible then go back to "banking" cards (conscription, charismatic leader, rationalism etc.)