Power Rankings: Episode 3 – S2

Rosé:

To put it lightly, this was not a good part for the Teutons. First off, the good : the Teutons are alive despite wars on both their eastern and western borders from the USSR and Germany respectively. The bad: Literally everything else, as the Order is our first true rump civ, with only 1 city on the board and no feasible room for expansion. Their remaining city is not exactly fort Knox either, as there is no great terrain to defend them from their increasingly powerful neighbors. Additionally their military is shrinking by the turn with the Soviets, the Germans, and even the Finns joining in on the fray. To all of my homies in the stonk chat, sell TTO, you ain’t getting your money back on this one

Random Strategy

As predicted, Lima did not last very long due to its terrible positioning south of the Mapuche. And now La Paz is in the red too. The Mapuche aren't even trying, they just have a random spattering of units that only appear to be shooting out of boredom more than any grand plan, yet they are still capable of taking the city down. That's how bad Peru Bolivia is! Peru Bolivia do have a settler heading north as well as their capital, which is very hard to siege, so will almost certainly survive but losing cities when you started with so few is of course terrible.

Msurdej:

Somalia takes a massive nosedive this week as a late,unseen peace deal between Mohammed and Cloepatra forces the loss of Hargeysa. With barely a shot fired, Siad Barre has now kneecapped their ambitions, giving away a city for free. Their production levels were slashed by over a third, and their effective science has been crippled. With Zanzibar to the south, Hejaz across the sea, Zaire inching towards the east, and now Cleopatra having Hargeysa, Somalia’s options are severely limited. But take heart Somalia fans, you may just win something yet: The dumbest peace deal in CBR history.

Cloudberg:

Good god Tsouharissen, what are you doing? If you thought the Neutral Nation couldn’t fall any further, you thunkt wrong. The only civ to have never founded a third city, the Neutrals have worse stats than every civ except the Teutonic Order and Peru-Bolivia, both of which are in danger of being eliminated. When Tsouharissen said he was going to be neutral, we assumed that meant he wouldn’t take sides in conflict. But we were tragically, catastrophically wrong: it actually meant he just wouldn’t do anything at all.

Random StrategyIn part 1, Laos declared war on Vietnam, a pointless waste of resources that did nothing but kill a bunch of Laotian elephants for no gains. In part 2, Laos declared war on Vietnam a second time, which turned out to be another huge waste. However, when they tried to peace out they were immediately in trouble: Malacca appears to have been enjoying watching the bloodshed and were outraged to hear about the peace deal! So outraged, that they immediately declared war on Laos for their cowardice. Laos have spent most of this part fighting a guerilla war in the jungle against the Malaccans, but have finally come up with a diplomatic solution to this mess. Laos first gave away Thakhek to the Malaccans; this gift was ill received and immediately burnt down. But then Laos proposed they resume their fight against Vietnam BUT Malacca would join in to help: terms which Malacca accepted. That's right! We're going for Laos vs Vietnam III! Will the addition of a powerful naval ally be enough for victory this time? Either way, it probably won't stop Malacca from continuing to bully poor little Laos.

Altima

On the one hand, their initial Laotian rivals have been hobbled by a Marian peace deal. On the other hand, Vietnam is still on three cities and has miserable stats. Worse, Malacca, a top-ten civ, is on their doorstep as a result of that peace deal. Ho Chi Minh is increasingly pinned down by neighbors in all directions, and we’re increasingly close to the point where his only hope is to pull a Canton and just use cunning diplomacy to survive far longer than he deserves to.

Reformer:

Don’t get it twisted up: VOC’s small rise in the ranks is not on their own merits, but due to the poor displays of those who have fallen below them. VOC’s situation has not radically changed. Malacca is still a monster towering far above VOC, and VOC’s minimal settling remains unimpressive - even their recent settle is in a terrible, terrible spot, on the other side of the Malaccan empire, practically waiting to be consumed at Malacca’s leisure. Through all of this the most saddening thing is that VOC is no longer that civ whose rank isn’t changing...

Shaggy

I’ve got to say, I like the cut of Jerusalem’s jib in this early game. Cramped start on the Mediterranean? Well, Baldwin didn’t want it to be easy early. Have your neighbors start encroaching on the Levant? Just drop Tripoli in the middle of basically everywhere your neighbors wanted to go. Get coalitioned in a Hejaz-led invasion? Ha, Jerusalem don’t care, Jerusalem don’t give a shit. Kosovo’s apparent unwillingness to follow through on their declaration of war frees up forces for Jerusalem to defend their core from Hejaz better. At the very least, they’re holding their own so far.

Altima

Today, today, is one of those days, caught between yesterday and tomorrow as far as Hawaii is concerned. Not much news for Lill’uokalani this part, but she did at least make a promising settle in the Australian region. Could be a good first step to a secondary core in a spot much stronger than her home isles.

Lacsirax:Sound the horns! Prepare the feasts! Commence the royal processions! The Tuareg are no longer last in Africa! Granted, that’s mostly Somalia’s doing - the Tuareg only rose by a rank, after all. But it wasn’t an awful part all things considered; they may have lost Ubari mk 1, but that city was an awful desert outpost anyway. The refounded Ubari and new city Kidal are both in much nicer locations that actually disrupt the Vandal supply line as well. Still, Africa is shaping up to be one of the most competitive continents of the early game, and poor Tin Hinan just can’t get the production and science that her rivals can with her miserable desert start. We’re still counting on miracles for her to pull this one back.

Altima

Rough week for Jamaica this time. Spanish Town has fallen, and with it, one of their two cities on the mainland, leaving them down to just Montenegro Bay and their island cities. This isn’t conceptually unrecoverable, they still have more production and effective science than Bolivia, but it is probably a sign that Jamaica peaked in part one. In order to recover from this setback, they’d need to start actually setting more- more of the nearby isles, more of the continent, just generally “more,”  and Marcus Garvey isn’t a man you can put much faith in that for.

JMAngelo67:

Queen Purea continues to climb slowly up the ladder since her minor fall in Episode 1, leaving the bottom 10. She continues to hold Fa’a’a on the Big Island of Hawaii, which has been growing slowly but surely with the lack of Hawaiian response. The data sheets have also shown that Pora Pora, the fourth Tahitian city, has been settled in New Zealand! Not only that, but it is also settled on the Eastern Coast. This means any potential naval invasions against Tahiti from the Australian mainland will be difficult, and that Tahiti has a base to grow on a far larger piece of land than originally intended.

What keeps Tahiti from rising further is that she is still far behind other competitors, and only slightly ahead of Hawaii in terms of cities. Growing is still extremely difficult for a South Pacific civilization, and Purea will just have to play her cards more quickly and aggressively if she wants to pull ahead in this royale.

Vihreaa:

The Manchu continue to feel the pressure from other countries like Yuan and even Japan as they are rapidly being cornered off into the Korean peninsula. Though only falling 2 ranks this episode, the Manchu are shaping up to be runted soon if they don’t turn things around, they will need to change what they’re doing and soon if they want to stop this. Their best path to avoiding being rumpified soon is likely through carving out Japan’s continental holdings. This would give them some more breathing room for the time being.

Knot:

My goodness, Namibia! That was awesome! Like, did you see the number of civs in the Jacob Morenga Hate Club? Sure, it was early game, but an onslaught against three or four strong early game civs (and Zanzibar) would pretty much eviscerate the average player in this Royale, but you stood up to it. You fought through it and didn’t lose as much as you could have! I mean, the coalition taking away your resources has probably left you permanently behind a lot of the top civs in Africa, but you certainly have some fans now, and it’s certainly not impossible to stage a comeback. I believe in you, Namibia!

Cloudberg:

The Olmecs continue to wander around in the back half of the rankings, waiting to die. Yes, they went up a bit, but mostly because other civs did worse than them. They even built a third city! Hooray! They also briefly damaged a Rio Grande city with like one trireme. Hooray! And that’s about all there is to say about the Olmecs—the land they can expand into is rapidly shrinking, their terrain makes war difficult, and their stats are pretty bad. Their relatively large military might not even be enough to take that one Tongva city, given how many hills and mountains are in the way.

Lacsirax:Four Bears rises a couple of ranks, but it’s the descent of other civs rather than any genius plays from them. Indeed, an episode of no new cities and the resumption of wars with the Dene and the Chinook would ordinarily spell a rapid descent through the ranks. But neither the Dene nor the Chinook currently look disposed to attack - and besides, TAT actually have a larger army than the Dene right now, and pretty comparable production too. If anything, I’d fear the Mississippi more, who have a decent sized army with nothing to do hanging nearby. Still, another city for that fourth bear would be good - three cities for three tribes will not a game win.

JMAngelo67:

Gran Colombia finally digs itself out of the bottom 10, climbing into the top 50… That’s not a high number, but it’s still putting Bolivar on the right track. Settling against the Marajoara and conquering Spanish Town was just the showing needed to give everyone a confidence boost in the fledgling South American Empire. Thankfully for Simon (and to the woes of Jamaican stonk holders), Jamaica is shamefully unprotected, and any would be conqueror with enough troops can march into the Caribbean nation’s continental holdings and take them.

Though Jamaica and Gran Colombia have made peace, giving respite to Marcus Garvey and taking Simon’s opportunity to conquer the beautiful city of Montego Bay… Well, Spanish Town is going to do wonders for this civilization that fared so poorly during the opening of the season.

Knot

Well, when your primary neighbor suddenly decides to cut off their arm and use it as a weapon against you, and then that weapon does nothing more than poke you in the eye, you’re suddenly looking a little bit better. There’s still not many places for Zanzibar to go, and two very scary neighbors to their west, but they could at least kill Somalia before they go. That’s not nothing!

Lacsirax:Great Perm set a record this week! A rather unfortunate one, but a record nonetheless: Berezniki is the city that has lasted for the shortest amount of time before being wiped off the map, at just four turns. That goes a way to explaining Perm’s dip in the ranks, even if they’re now at peace with PARG with no major cities lost to them. But it’s also meant a whole episode of stagnation, with no new cities surviving the part. Add in their middling stats, and they’re more and more looking like the tasty meat between the hefty slices of bread that are PARG and the USSR.

Msurdej:

Mustafa Barzani lost the city of Elih to Uzbekistan this part, and though they managed to flip it once, the city was lost at the end of the part. This, coupled with Barzani’s other fruitless wars, is bad enough. But that isn’t as bad as Kurdistan’s science, which is piddling around the 20-30s with civs like Laos and Peru-Bolivia. If they don’t step up their science game, they will continue to fall behind.

Shaggy

Finland isn’t really doing much other than kind of quietly growing. Most likely, they’ll be a near-future target of the USSR once Lenin wants to keep expanding, which I’m sure will tickle some of the Russian/Finnish historians in the community. Their position isn’t being made any easier as they don’t seem to have the drive to establish a solid core as their neighbors do, and they might be running out of time.

Reformer: Despite the occasional war being declared on this side of North America, nothing has come of them after the Dene-TAT and Mississippi-Rio Grande wars. This can likely be attributed to the rough terrain in the midst of the Rockies, but from what we’ve seen, the AIs straight up seem to not want to fight. For some, this has been good news: Chinook has been able to creep up the Pacific northwest, now reaching into Alaska, while for others, it has been less than good news...Tongva, already almost boxed in, has mediocre stats at best. Even Rio Granded, defeated once, is noticeably stronger. Tongva would need a stroke of luck to truly break out. Or perhaps they can aim for Hawaii?

Skies:At least they have Shinto, right? Losing out in naval warfare to the Chukchi as an island civ has gotta hurt, especially as Honshu remains ununified. That may change, however, as Tanaka does have a navy of some description. The Osakan exclave on the mainland seems to be thriving but given the mad aggression of Manchu and the Yuans it’s probably not going to be that way for long. It does just seem like a comedy of errors and failure to create anything resembling a stable core for Kakuei, and although their stats aren’t bad (on par with Yuan!) they don’t come close to convincing. Japan supporters, have faith- it’s all you have right now anyway.

Random StrategySweden is continuing to ever so slowly grow at snail's pace, unimpeded by other civs. The fact that they are building settlers rather than just stagnating is hopeful, it means that they will end up with the entirety of Scandinavia like they are expected to have, and avoids the main issue with slow settling which is other civs grabbing your land before you. But even so, when you do everything slowly you end up behind everyone - your cities are smaller and less productive, your tech is worse, etc... With a solid core in Scandinavia they can catch up later on of course, but catching up is far from the position you want to be in.

Random StrategySo this part Wales declared war on Iceland, which went nowhere. They declared war on Jerusalem, who aren't even near them. And they teamed up with Spain against the Gauls, a war which the Gauls are winning, though fortunately Wales themselves haven't lost anything due to how hard their cities are to capture from land. While they are busy stalemating at war, Wales are forgetting one very important thing: actually settling the isles! They need to grab that land before Iceland gets it (or those spanish settlers)

Altima

While their Palmarene war didn’t go anywhere, principally because jungles are hell, this still hasn’t been a bad part for Marajoara. Why? Because at some point P’küee decided, “I want to have the highest effective science in this region.” And he succeeded, bringing his nation to 60 effective science! I’m actually feeling pretty good about them right now, that’s actually pretty good for this point in the game. The next highest in-theater is Paraguay’s 50. Here’s hoping they manage to translate this tech lead to a real lead.

JMAngelo67:

The Anangu take a short tumble this week as their rank further reflects their lack of significant settles. As the Kulin have plopped down another city along the eastern coast of the Australian subcontinent in Queensland, the Anangu are still sitting on their measly four cities. What keeps the Anangu for circling the drain is their military, which far outclasses the Kulin military. Should a war begin now, the Anangu may very well cripple the Kulin permanently; however, seeing as there has been no indication of a war between the Aboriginese peoples of Australia occurring, we are going to just sit and wait and let the Anangu slowly fall as the Kulin grow in power...

Cloudberg:

Palmares drop 10 spots this week, since they took a beating at the hands of their neighbors. They pointlessly gave away a city to Paraguay, which got razed, and almost lost another city to Marajoara. As more cities are founded, their expansion options are becoming increasingly limited. While they certainly aren’t out of the game yet, their window of opportunity is closing, and they’ll need to rebuild quickly and pack in as many cities as possible if they want a chance to rule South America.

Msurdej: Tamar continues their downward slide in the ranks, as they continue to settle. And by settle, I mean settle exclaves. While their third group of cities is closer than the ones up in the north, it’s still closer to another civ than Georgia’s core. This time the civ in question is Uzbekistan, who may not be as dangerous as the USSR, but still have the potential to cripple Tamar’s empire.

Cloudberg:

New Netherland continues to close in on the exact middle of the rankings as the world starts to sort itself into the strong civs and the weak civs. New Netherland, being neither, ends up somewhere in between. Stuyvesant founded another city this episode, which is nice, but other civs founded more. Mississippi and Rio Grande are encroaching on his lands from the southwest, but he still has room for plenty of additional cities, thanks in large part to the Neutral Nation completely dropping the ball. Certainly, if the Neutrals weren’t so terrible, New Netherland would be a lot lower. But right now it’s clear who has the upper hand in that relationship. Between the Neutrals and Iceland, it’s clear that Iceland is the bigger threat. In fact, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Stuyvesant to try to take out that colony while he still can!

Vihreaa:

It seems the Hejaz are finally starting to hit their stride, as they finally start to see some movement in the ranks, jumping up 12 ranks to a commendable 31st. In this history of the royale, we are yet to see a strong civilization from the Arabian peninsula, and the Hejaz could be a strong contender to change that stereotype. With a divided north between Jerusalem and Kurdistan, Hejaz could expand north to grow their empire, as they have already settled most of their home peninsula. Their biggest threat right now is likely the Ptolemies, who are looking to become one of the strongest empires in Africa, at least in my opinion.

Knot:

Punjab got mad at Chola stealing the spotlight in India last part and got revenge by burning two of Raja’s cities to the ground, and they don’t look to be done. Suddenly, Chola’s core stuck at the bottom of India isn’t looking quite so strong anymore.

Now you might think Chola is done for, and that could absolutely be the case if they don’t get out of this war with Punjab soon, but the funny thing is they have three settlers ready to go. They could literally settle two cities in the exact same spots as the ones that just got burned and basically undo all of Punjab’s work. Will that save them? Maybe not, but it certainly could, and it would be very funny to see.

Vihreaa:

Paraguay continue living another part, roughly maintaining their status in the middle of the pack. Most of the PR’s agree that South America is one of the weakest continents at this part in the game, which can act as both a blessing and a curse. This could prove to be a positive for Paraguay, as they are able to conquer the continent easier than civs on other continents, but it also could leave them open to foreign invasion if this general weakness persists. Regardless of this, the future is still up in the air for Paraguay, whether they rise or fall, I’m sure they will do it in a manner that will entertain us in the sub.

Random StrategyWhoever is in charge of peace deals, I want them fired. So you might remember that the Gauls had their UU, the oathsworn, set to be finished at the start of this part. This would have been powerful to defeat Germany and take back Vienna, especially since Germany was fighting with only archers and spearmen. Unfortunately, 1 turn after the research was finished... the Gauls made peace with Germany, without even taking Vienna back... BOOO! The Gauls instead decided to attack the Two Sicilies, a pretty bad option considering they are a naval power protected by the Alps. Two Sicileys did manage to flip Alesia using their boats. And then the Gauls immediately made peace the next turn without taking their city back! You have the most powerful land military in the world! What are you doing getting into a naval war and then giving up as soon as your land military finally has something to attack (even if it's your own city) ??? The Gauls are currently at war with Wales (another naval civ, so not good) and Spain, who they are beating up, though unfortunately the Gauls burnt down their gains... sigh. And the rest of Spain is protected by the Pyrenees. The Gauls are still amazingly powerful at land war, but they are horribly misusing this power and making terrible decisions which is costing them cities and making them fall behind. And their power spike is going to run out sooner or later...

Skies:

Well, Namibia didn’t really collapse instantaneously as planned. One of Moshoeshoe’s many hats off to Jacob Morenga then. Given their neighbours are still at war with half the continent, it could be worse for Lesotho. Yes, they’re being wrapped up by Zaire like a flaming, malevolent blanket, and their stats are that of a civ ten places below them, but they’re the Southern African Civ! They can’t lose, right? They’re researching Optics now, since they can, uh, see a better future! Yes, that’s it!

Vihreaa:

Lightning may strike twice in the same place, but it doesn’t look like it will be happening in Spain. At 5 cities, Spain has already filled out most of the Iberian peninsula, and the Vandals already have settled 2 cities on their home peninsula. Falling to 26th place, their defeat is not imminent, but there are many other civilizations in Europe that currently appear better situated to rise in the ranks.

Skies:

Well, Bhutan really started a big fight, didn’t they? Yet, it may be that which comes back to haunt them. In setting up Punjab v Chola, they basically guaranteed themselves having to deal with the winner in the future, especially now that they’ve made peace. They did manage to keep hold of their Indian Ocean port so I guess that’s a win. Also their stats look very good but still not as good as Punjab. A shame really, since in any other BR they’d probably be doing just fine. Alas, that’s the way the cylinder crumbles sometimes. Perhaps they’ll Wang-chuck a spanner in the works and surprise us yet?

LonelyRS

Sure, the dream of unquestioned first place in North America may have long since faded for the Rio Grande, but disputed first’s almost as good, and if not that, there’s always… er… fourth? Still, though, the Vaqueros of the Gulf have managed to come back strong from losing a city to the Mississippi, and between their serviceable internal numbers, quietly impressive city spam (seven’s about as many as any civ can support, given how quick the leaders of the world have been to resort to arson), and willingness to take risks and start fights, the early favorites in North America are looking like standouts in the middle of the pack. Sure, much of their destiny depends on whether or not they decide to actually realize what potential they’ve been left with, but then, doesn’t everyone’s this early in the game? Make no mistake: the Rio Grande are absolutely still threats to win the whole thing. And if their war against the Olmecs looked more like a stalemate every minute, and their capital’d be three tiles away from falling should the Mississippi roll back into town, well, we call that an acceptable level of risk.

LonelyRS

Who needs the American Northwest, when you have the American Northeast? There’s no other explanation for Thanadelthur’s dogged persistence in sending settlers across the Canadian tundra, in the desperate hopes of finding a paradise lying in wait beyond the forests of Nunavut and the spearmen of the Mississippi. Nobody tell her about Hudson Bay, it’ll be funnier that way. Regardless, though, despite seeming intent to split the topmost part of the continent between themselves and the Chinook rather than claim their birthright, the Dene’s position is just as good a stepping stone to conquest as any other. The Three Affiliated Tribes below them look only slightly less weak and squishy than they were on the day they first put down roots in Old Sepoosha dreaming of a better tomorrow, and in a chaotic region the Dene’s position with their backs to the great cloudy wall barring access to the Arctic circle should ensure they don’t have to watch their borders too closely while they launch operation Seboomsha Two: Doing It Right This Time. Just a shame about the military, though. 1500 troops is a fine amount, but when it’s spread across an empire as thin and expansive as theirs, it looks laughably insufficient for conquest of any sort.

Vihreaa:

Kosovo is probably my least favorite civ currently in the game. Now you may be wondering, oh Vihreaa, beloved maker of maps that aren’t really even that impressive but is best known for releasing them quickly and consistently, why would you ever hate Kosovo? Let me assure you, it’s for personal reasons only. Kosovo is the only civ that I cannot use the fill tool to fill in their border color when they expand, because of how similar their border color is with the natural terrain, so I have to do some wonky stuff to fill it in, and it’s a pain. Other than that though, as much as it pains me to say, Kosovo are doing alright, though they may have dropped a bit in the rankings. They command a comfortable 7 cities right now, nestling themselves in southeast Europe. Currently a regional power, Kosovo doesn’t necessarily have many easy civilizations to expand towards, so they have their work cut out for them.

Cloudberg:

Islam Karimov seems to have awoken from his stupor and realized that he needs to expand. He finally founded an extra city and then took a city off of Kurdistan (which everyone saw coming given the boldness of the forward settle). Another Uzbek settler is also headed northeast, seeking new lands. In light of this fact, Karimov begins to edge back up the ranks, as the rankers gain a tentative hope that Uzbekistan was just slow to start and is now getting the ball rolling for real. They still don’t make it back into the top 20, however, because they’re still behind the curve in terms of expansion, and they have some seriously strong neighbors: no spoilers, but Punjab is really eyeing that #1 spot with a series of chad moves, and Karimov will need to watch his back.

Msurdej:Several smart moves rocket Ferdinand more than a dozen spaces up into the top 20. The first is several key settlements, nabbing Sardinia and parts of Greece. A daring raid on Alesia has led to the city’s capture. And most importantly, savvy diplomacy by Two Sicilies has led them to get out of nearly all of their wars. While they are still at war with Wilhelm, the mountains in the Alps will give them a good way to defend until Ferdinand can sign peace, and focus his efforts on being a master of the Mediterranean.

Knot:

Two parts ago,  Burkino Faso flew from their middling 24th spot to 1st place in what might have been an overreaction to their strong settling and good stats. Last part, Burkino Faso plummeted from that 1st place spot to 44th in what might have been an overcorrection to the overreaction once we saw Burkino Faso lose a war to Nigeria. Well, now Burkina Faso is rising back up the ranks to a solid 19th place. I do not know if this is an overreaction to the overcorrection of the overreaction, but one thing I do know is, Burkina Faso’s looking dang solid. In what’s looking to be a strong Africa with players like strong contenders like Zaire, the Vandals, the Ptolemies, Nigeria and even Lesotho, Burkina Faso is keeping up pretty well, and this is after losing a war to Nigeria. I think odds are good they’ll be a major player in the game, but considering their PR journey so far, it’s certainly possible we’ll see an overcorrection of the overreaction to the overcorrection of the overreaction next part.

Cloudberg:

Iceland holds steady in the high teens after an episode of rather modest expansion. Iceland settled North America, but we knew that was coming, and it was already baked into their ranking. Otherwise, they didn’t expand much, instead focusing on a successful defense against Wales, who never stood much chance of conquering anything. Fortunately, Iceland still has plenty of space to expand thanks to the incompetence of the Neutral Nation and Wales, so we currently have no reason to believe that Iceland won’t continue to grow. The beginnings of an ocean-spanning empire are already becoming visible.

LonelyRS

Take half the Chola empire and nobody raises the fuss, but start one war with the Manchu...

Yep, that’s right: the Yuan are back on the warpath, again, due to circumstances entirely out of their control, again, and seem destined to fight a solid defensive battle until the newest civ to get the bright idea to take one of their cities picks up their toys and goes home, yet again. This time the aggressor is Mandukhai, who, evidently experiencing remorse over peacing out with the other Yuan last time around, has deemed it worthwhile to start up the meat grinder once more in the game’s earliest days. You’d be forgiven if you thought that she was intentionally trying to sabotage both rivals’ chances at ever accomplishing anything meaningful in the game. If they ever manage to escape the cycle of violence, the Yuan could make something of themselves: they have a fine army, tons of room to expand, and the Manchu if they ever get tired of taking control of lands without force. But they’ll need their neighbors to forgive and forget their cylinder-starting war first, and that’s looking like it’s going to take a lot longer than anyone previously thought.

Reformer:

The only proper view of Taiping we got was to highlight the blunder that was their war against Laos. Besides the pointless bloodshed in the jungle, Taiping flew under the radar, but they have not been at rest. Hong Xiuquan has been busy making his nation top 10 material through stats alone - and the free land STILL available in China shows that this could be a long-term trend. All they really need to do now is settle all that free land, and they’re set for the time being...just, please do it before Bhutan or Laos does so.

Rosé:

Mapuche is ranked super high up for the sole reason that there is currently a continental sized (mass not volume) blackhole of power in the region. The original part 0 rankings depicted that either Gran Colombia or Mapuche would control the region, and with Bolivar wounded by Paraguay and Jamaica (we at the power ranking team wish the nation a speedy recovery) and Mapuche seems to be on a path to dominate the region. So with all this information, shouldn't Mapuche be a top 5 superpower? well... no. While they are likely to take a city off of Peru-Bolivia in their current war, the nation has seemed to make a lot of enemies, the relevant ones being the Palmares, the Marajoara, and Gran Colombia. This will likely not result in a massive power shift, although it might be enough to at least temporarily distract the nation within it's necessary growing stage. But the most important factor is that South America honestly is the arbitrary weak region of this game. The Mapuche's statistical ranking is a mere 42nd, below even some of their lower ranked neighbors, with the only difference being that Mapuche still has the space to make up for it, although that space needs to be occupied quickly if the nation wants to stand the test of time.

Shaggy:

We’re currently thinking that Kulin seems to have a better shot at winning out in Australia. That should automatically secure them a top 30 position long-term. Their stats are good and they aren’t doing much. Their rank movement is more a factor of other civs doing things than any change from Kulin. Not sure what else there is to say about Kulin…

JMAngelo67:

The Chukchi rocket up to 13th place, exciting any who bought Chukchi stonks. Power Rankers on the PRCast (watch it on YouTube or every other Wednesday the week after the episode releases at 7PM EST on Twitch) had been divided on Lawtiliwadlin’s capabilities on succeeding in such a complex geographical war when the Chukchi navy was barely a glint in the eye of the observer.

Rather than suffer or potentially lose their northern Japanese city, the Chukchi instead gained tiles in northern mainland Japan through their Unique Ability, as well as gained a city on the mainland that had previously threatened the Chukchi’s smaller island cities. The Japanese have been absolutely decimated by the Chukchi offensive. Could this be the beginning of a true Siberian powerhouse? The one we have been hoping for since the times of Sibir, Yakutia, and the Khamugs?

Rosé

After a relatively inactive part for an inactive nation, the Northern Yuan declared war on the Regular Yuan in Yuan battle to end it all (thank you thank you I'll be here all week). Since these two nations are relatively even on paper, I decided to quickly make a classic info-graphic of The Tale of the Tape. Looking at the side by side comparison, The one decisive lead that Northern Yuan has over Yuan is that Northern Yuan's military is significantly larger, although with their productions being as equal as stated, the war will likely end up in a stalemate, with one or two cities flipping in the process. There is a large variable of strategic competence at play however, so we could see a stomp from one side or the other, or just an instantaneous white peace, only time will tell.

Lacsirax:The first Rumble in the Jungle is pretty comprehensively won by Zaire, capturing and (unfortunately) destroying the Namib outpost of Reheboth. While it’s frustrating they destroyed the city, it has put a definite kibosh on any of the upstart southern African civs staking a claim on the Congo basin for the time being, forcing them to compete with each other in the uncharacteristically crowded region. Zaire also shoot up the ranks thanks to some great settles around Lake Tanganyika, establishing some nice border regions and preventing any Zanzibar-flavoured expansion in the region. All in all, a very decent part for the Zaireans. There’s only one slight issue - the continued ascent of a little neighbour to the north...

Rosé:

Nigeria has risen to the top 10, as the map continues to close, Nigeria seems to have a steady grasp on Western Africa. Unlike some civs who are just ranked high cause everyone around them sucks at life (looking at you Mapuche) this spot is well earned. Most of their stats range from high tier to top tier, but the one that's really significant is their first place effective science of 105 units (beakers ?). For comparison, the second place science gaining civ Malacca, has 83 beakers, or roughly 20% smaller. However, Nigeria has two beefy neighbors in its way that could stop prove to be a massive thorn in their side, those being the Vandals and Zaire, both of which being potential top 10 powers. This is honestly a miracle considering how the nation was considered down for the count just two counts prior.

Knot:

There were apparently some things that happened in Africa this part, but Cleopatra wasn’t paying attention. She was too busy continuing to settle like a madwoman and building the best food yields in Africa. Honestly, the best thing for Cleopatra right now is for Zaire, the Vandals and Nigeria to continue to distract themselves with petty squabbles. She still has a ton of space to settle around her, and she has plenty of weak neighbors to prey on in the Middle East if she gets bored. The longer she can watch the fireworks from afar, the longer she can quietly propel herself up the rankings.

Msurdej:In the land of North America, any sort of competence is often awarded. And for the Chinook, that competence gets them into the Top 10 for the first time. Their good stats continue to be some of the best in the region, but what remains to be seen is how good they are at war. Their wars this part, with the Dene and the Tongva, proved fruitless. Now they’re at war with the TAT, but with the Rockies in the way, it seems unlikely Comcomly will be able to make a glorious victory.

Cloudberg:

The Vandals slip a rank after taking a bit of a beating this episode, thanks to a messay war with Spain that did a lot of damage but didn’t result in any cities changing hands. Although the Vandals came out of the war a bit battered, this doesn’t seem to have had much of a long-term effect, as by the end of the episode they were back to having among the best stats of any civ in the game. The bigger reason for their drop might actually just be the fact that they’re running out of room to expand peacefully, due to new settlements by the Tuareg and Burkina Faso. Granted, they still have plenty of options for conquest and a military which is perfectly capable of fighting offensive wars, so it’s not gonna hurt them too badly. I would also note that due to a bug of undetermined origin, the Vandals have 12 trade routes, which would be OP except that the AI always uses them to generate gold which they then fail to spend.

LonelyRS

What? Lenin, you mean to tell us that you don’t want to sate our bloodlust, and provide Seabricks with a second straight comically early elimination? Boo. Drop three ranks, and let that be a lesson to you.

Perhaps the thought process for seeing the Soviets slip out of the top three wasn’t quite that arbitrary, but when the difference between sixth and third in the ranks, seven tenths of a place, is that razor thin, what explanation for such a cruel twist of fate can one hold on to other than an unwillingness to satiate the audience’s hunger for violence? The redder Russia’s every bit the superpower it was when last you tuned in, in a cushy spot and great position to tilt Europe, Asia, and the Middle East along one axis and with an empire expansive and powerful enough to back up whatever talk they may provide while they go about doing it. But it’d behoove Lenin to be careful in his future conquests: enemies abound, and with twin superpowers pounding on the doors of the buffer states keeping him from them, the stage should be set for a truly titanic throwdown in the European Plain before long. Though, if the Soviets want some training before the promised day arrives, they’re hardly bereft of options. With every city Georgia settles around a different side of Lenin’s empire, they grow more tempting a target.

Reformer:

With things picking up pace in Eurasia, Mississippi’s quiet part amounts to a small drop in the ranks. Of course, at these heights, such a fall is significant, but they are retaining stats worthy of a top 10 civ, and likewise, their position is still excellent. The New Netherlands are expanding in a north-south line, leaving much of the inner US unsettled still, all available for the Mississippi with little other competition. The slow pace of the Neutrals and the TAT are a godsend, especially the meandering snail’s pace of the former. With all other directions so non-threatening, Mississippi’s most dangerous neighbor is, ironically enough, Rio Grande, whom they already defeated once. Rio Grande has gone on an expansion spree, including two cities on the Gulf of Mexico, spreading eastward, just barely squeezing on past the Mississippi borders. For now, these cities are difficult to defend for Rio Grande to defend, and thus, any Mississippi supporters ought to hope that Mississippi gets to work and declares another war. To wait is to allow for Rio Grande to improve their position and expand even further, the worst possible outcome for Mississippi...

Shaggy:

Mansur Shah has been pleasantly surprising so far, and this week continues the trend. Their show of force against Laos has further solidified them as the foremost power (so far) in Southeast Asia even despite their naval bent. It’s a bit surprising really, but given that Vietnam and Laos have been so preoccupied with each other and that VOC hasn’t been terribly aggressive, Malacca has had a bit of a free ride to the top. If they can start rolling through onto the mainland and can maintain steady waves of troops landing on shore, then I don’t see much resistance up until they hit Taiping. You go, Malacca!

Skies:Domination. It’s a lot of things in this game. The win condition. The overall goal. What we’re seeing from Germany. What we *expected* from Germany. Wilhelm II is justifying his conclusion in never-before-seen terms as the German army comprehensively dismantled the Teutons (although the Soviets helped) to claim the first capital capture of the game.Wilhelm is hungry, you can see that by the chasing down of even the last Spanish civilians in the far west, if not by his food stat. Furthermore, not to indulge a stereotype but the German industry is quite literally second to none, and the Gauls seem hell-bent on inting straight into them. It’s all coming up Deutschland at present, and if they can get an inroads to Spain or the Two Sicilies I’m sure they’ll take any opportunity they can get to ravage another pitiful empire. Before peacing out without getting the kill to avoid warmonger penalties, of course.

Vihreaa:

Well well, it looks like Punjab may be our flavor of the week for high ranking civs in the power rankings. After an impressive beatdown on the Chola, Punjab have effectively cemented their power in the Indian subcontinent. With an impressive 9 cities currently, Punjab has carved out a solid core to expand upon. With much weaker civs as their neighbors, perhaps Punjab will remain in the top tier of the power rankings for more than one part. If you’re asking me though, I think that they are here for at least a while. I mean, it can’t be a coincidence that they have such similar colors to the Boers, right? ;)

Skies:ALL ABOARD THE KOLCHAK EXPRESS! DESTINATION: FIRST PLACE, AGAIN! AND THERE AIN’T NO BRAKES!With the Vandals tied up with Spain, Kolchak leads All-Russia to the top of the standings once more. Top tier army, lots of cities, making war progress against Perm, what’s not to love? Especially with the Uzbeks going south and Northern Yuan going east, and Manchu being so scared they just gave them a free city. At the minute PARG are filling the Kazakh-shaped hole in the CBRX pattern, but can they one-up their Central Asian predecessors and turn early form into late-game ruthlessness? Don’t worry about the burning millions either- you need to power the love train with something, after all.