Power Rankings: Episode 53 – S1

LacsiraxAriscal

This is it. Your final formal power rankings of the first series of CBRX… though there may be a special one in the works once it’s all over, wait and see. From 61 contenders, we’re down to our top 5, one for each major continent. And in fifth place, it’s North America’s beleaguered titans, the Iroquois.

That’s not to say they’re a safe bet for fifth place. For the past two episodes we’ve been expecting Hiawatha’s empire to crumble under a hailstorm of coalitions, with the Kazakhs battering the icy northwest, the Uruguayans sweeping up through central America and the Moors raiding the European colonies. But they’ve been unbelievably tenacious, clawing back their losses on every single front once the enemy’s armies reached their production base, their unpuppeted core. The Kazakh peace deal was a terrible loss of territory, but since total war they’ve managed to reclaim some of the western provinces once again.

Still, with by far the least territory of the remaining powers, and a production score that’s less than half of fourth place Zimbabwe (and ⅙ of the top dog Kazakhs), the Iroquois are the only civ for whom I can no longer see a path for victory. Don’t expect an immediate collapse - they may well outlast another civ or two through sheer stubbornness alone - but don’t expect the formerly top ranked civ to return to the sub with a gold medal.

Knot

It would be unlikely for Zimbabwe to piece something together in the final part. They are currently besieged to the north by the Moors, and the west & South by Uruguay, and they’ve already lost a bunch of cities. Fans of Zimbabwe shouldn’t give up all hope. They might be able to push back the Moors, and march into a possibly self-destructing Kazakhs. We’ve definitely seen crazier things happen before. However, it’s more likely that Zimbabwe’s land becomes the dueling grounds for Uruguay and the Moors to determine the last civ standing if the Kazakhs are split evenly between the two. Frankly, that might be Zimbabwe’s greatest contribution to this game.

MsurdejWith only one part left, it seems like the Moors are not in it to win it. Their beachhead on Uruguay lands have vanished, replaced with Uruguay having a beachhead on their lands. The borders with Zimbabwe and the Kazakhs are in constant flux, and the Iroquois… aren’t really a threat. With a crumbling production base, and total war declared, it seems unlikely Abd-ar can pull a concentrated effort against any one force. But maybe, with enough fan power, and a little luck, the Moors can still get on the medal podium and hold onto the bronze.

LonelyRS

Another day, another dollar. Once more the Kazakhs top our list as we enter the final days of the CBRX, lording over the ranks for the fifteenth straight part as they—wait. Hold on a second, let me just check that this is… Yep. It’s true. Huh.

The Kazakhs are no longer your number one civ.

Somehow, someway, Ablai Khan has managed to take the ridiculously good position he got after the fall of the Qin and muddle his way through several parts’ worth of wars without showing much in the way of improvements, as every other civ in the top five has gotten progressively bigger and meaner. A surprise? Not if you were expecting a repeat of their pre-Endgame performance, but after what they did to start this new phase of the game off it certainly qualifies as one. Even so, though, mere missed opportunities and poor luck when it comes to conquests is hardly the issue at hand, here. No, the real thing that’s kneecapping the Kazakhs, the scourge of empires that has slain gods and mortals alike, is an issue deeply familiar to even the most passive of observers. It’s unit composition. Are hovertanks cool? Indisputably. Are they much, much less cool when you build your entire army out of them? I don’t think I really need to answer that question. What’s worse, the Kazakhs have almost entirely neglected to forego a navy so they can concentrate on those suckers, and now are at the point where they aren’t really building much in the way of units in the first place. Filling armies with just one unit is a dubious proposition at the best of times. When you’re one of the three civs left in the game that shares a border with all four of their neighbors in the midst of total war, it’s downright disastrous. There’s still a way back to the top for the Kazakhs, and their odds of victory are still very, very good. But if they’re going to win, the road back’s going to have to start with addressing their hovertank problem.

Knot

On the dawn of the final part, Uruguay has finally reclaimed it’s #1 spot. A position that they haven’t held in over twenty parts, but the return by the cursed sun has been earned. Uruguay managed to make ground on almost every front in total war. They’ve landed in India, and in Africa. They’re holding their own in North America, they pushed the Moors out of South America, and they remain the undisputed champion of the seas. They have the most cities by a wide margin. They have the second best production, trailing the Kazakhs by only 40K. They have the most military, being the only civ with over 2 million soldiers. Every other civ remaining had a penultimate part full of highs and low, and each has a weakness. At the moment, there is no obvious flaw in Uruguay. The name that put fear into the hearts of power rankers is back.

All is not lost however. The Kazakhs are still a force to be reckoned with, even with the lack of complete dominating stats. The Moors are positioned well enough they could fight back and gain a production base of their own. Even Zimbabwe and Iroquois are not so far gone as for their fate to be completely defined. The cursed sun has risen to its highest peak. The question remains if anyone will be around in the end to watch it set. We shall find out very soon...