Power Rankings: Episode 13 – S4

Orange:

Alright first eulogy time! So, the Shawnee had a rough game to say the least. They were almost immediately attacked and had their second city taken, only ever focusing on a religion that didn’t even go anywhere. By the time they even thought about making a second settler, they got their only spot blocked by Thule. Really they were forever limping along, no chance of being anything, just a matter of time before Osage came back. And that’s what happened. Though right before then they did get into a fight with Mexico and for a brief moment had two cities again, a stunning display for the worst civ. But it was not to last, Osage came in right after and while they put on a valiant defense, it was nothing compared to the Osage hordes. So with that, they fell, first on the chopping block. It’s impressive they lasted 13 parts. Cheers for that, may the next one drop quicker.

Orange:

On that note, Big River! Still at three cities but the last shot we got of them also showed a very large trireme armada headed straight for them. So perhaps we’ll see that next drop next part or maybe the one after it. Or they could manage to hold out and let a later Bora-Bora war take them over that would be good yes I’m not biased at all.

Anyways rip Big River they are gonna go down fast.

NopeCopter:

Rozvi. My idiot child. You had such potential (well, not really, but I can dream), all squandered. Granted, it wasn’t exactly your fault - your commitment to an unwinnable war was a foolish maneuver, but none could have expected Ndongo’s sudden invasion. But you have not achieved either the (modest) success of Ndongo nor the glorious death (well, basically death) of Maguindanao. Instead, you sit there. Rotting. A sick, twisted testament to what could have been, sabotaging your own sister by modding blood in the process. How cruel. Well, I suppose at least the Rozvi can’t die first anymore, and they’re having more impact on the game than most rump states could ever hope to. But their true potential will remain forever unrealized.

ECH:

A scan of slide 99 last episode presents a potentially dire situation for a civ 3rd from last amongst living civ and who feature in the bottom 5 of most important statistical categories, as a combined Roman and Kanem-Bornu assault approaches their Nile core of Cairo and Damanhur. Now, I’m a little skeptical about the chances of Cairo especially falling: joint attacks by civ duos have a bad habit of confusing the AI; Cairo is a decently strong 26 strength capital and there’s only one catapult anywhere near the front; and the Mamluks do have a small reserve of bowmen that will harass these melee troops for a while. However, the numbers are certainly on the side of the offensive, and even if they fail, Shajar is going to have to bear the sight of her limited troops dying and cities starving, weakening their position further. Not a position that exactly sparks optimism, it’s fair to say.

Leman:

More like Snore-ida. Florida didn’t do much of note this week, which isn’t all that surprising given that there really isn’t all that much they could do at this point. Except die. That would be interesting.

Shaggy:

Oof. Mag loses Kuta Watu in fact and Tamontaka in spirit this episode as they continue to get battered down by the coastal clusterfuck that is the cylinder’s Southeast Asian archipelago. With peace made with Noongar and Wahgi having the focus of a squirrel, Mag has a bit of breathing room, but they will just be completely screwed if they lose Lamitan.

Nathanmasse:

The Kalmyks find themselves in a race with their larger neighbor Kazakhstan for Elista.  They have a decent chance too as Kazakhstan is also fighting the Afsharids and could have their melee units picked off.  Perhaps, if they are successful, the Risorgimento movement will spread to all land once owned by the Kalmyks.

Leman:

Bukhara is not a popular civ. They’re currently barely holding off Kalmyks and Kazakhstan, and while, yes, so far Bukhara has managed to not take any major blows, if Bukhara wants to come back in this game in any meaningful way, they need some rest. Sadly, this episode they didn’t get any.

Shaggy:

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” is not a saying that Ismail ibn Sharif is familiar with, as he seems to think luck manifests by building more composite bowmen. Tangier dropped to the black and stayed there for most of the episode, but was unable to be taken as the Alaouites seem to be allergic to melee units. Sierra Leone seems to have an effective target priority strategy in their defense of Tangier given that one of the three Alaouite spearmen this side of Atlas Mountains is at red health and one other hasn’t been able to approach the city untouched either. I guess all of the copies of How To Fight Wars Good have been checked out of the local Alaouite libraries, must be all of the armchair generals getting news from the front.

ECH:

No mentions, barely a city even seen, and the only thing anyone is noting about them for the most part is their astoundingly longstanding economic woes. For those unaware, the Crow have been in varying depths of bankruptcy since Episode 7, which started in-game at 500BC, and they remain bankrupt at the end of Episode 13 at 1090AD. This is what those with education in financial matters refer to as ‘bad’. Hell, this part was actually good in this respect, as their balance has been brought to -5 as opposed to the -20 or -30 type figures they’ve had in recent times. Their science has been severely stunted over the past few parts due to this, as if their situation wasn’t awful enough, and the fact this civ was so completely overlooked this part is not a good sign. Truthfully, I cannot work out a reliable means for the Crow to improve their station as things stand, so I hope Joe Medicine Crow has something up his sleeve.

Leman:

Tehuelche is another one of those civs that sort of forgot how to play the game early and still never really bothered to learn. Hey, at least Rio Grande exists so, by technicality, Tehuelche is not the worst South American civ. Those islands are part of South America, right?

Nathanmasse:

Another quiet episode for the Finns.  I'm not sure whether to be disappointed by their lack of action or relieved that their situation has not gotten worse.  Their carpet is thick enough they should be able to hold out for a little while if anyone attacks and perhaps Civil Service is just what they need to keep holding out.

Msurdej:  

Good news Seneca fans, Cornplanter managed to grab a city! Off the #1 civ the Faroe Islands no less! But don’t get too excited folks. Trøndur isn’t letting it slide so far, and the city of Sandur remains in the red. Furthermore, with Shawnee’s elimination, The Osage have a much better invasion point than previous parts. Personally, I doubt Seneca will continue to rise. But then again, I put them the lowest on the Part 0 Rankings.

Shaggy:

Sound the alarms! Burgundy has the full trifecta and is being invaded from all sides! The least of these threats are the Visigoths, who seem content with taking Pyrenees potshots in the general direction of Asturica at the moment. Amiens and Nancy are also valid targets should they actually focus on them. Speaking of Amiens, it is the most vulnerable Burgundian city to a naval invasion and should be an English target as well once they swing their navy around Brittany. Norwich and York should act as suitable beachheads for the English land units to cross the Channel towards, so filling the empty tiles around them will be the real test of Burgundian engineering in that theater. And in the east, Bavaria is really pushing into Beaune and even parts of Dijon! Beune’s walls are currently under bombardment, though luckily there are a few Great Generals nearby and even more units on hand to defend. It will most likely be surrounded by both Bavarian and English troops, though it remains to be seen whether that will help or hinder each of those respective invasions. Beaune, however, is really the only eastern buffer that Burgundy has. Should it fall, Dijon would be greatly exposed to both English and Bavarian incursions. It may be make or break time for Burgundy, but only time will tell.

JDT:

For a bloodsucker, Bathory has been oddly pacifistic. Only 2 gained cities in 13 parts. Guess she sucks herself more than anything. Also must be sleeping in her coffin, very little action this part, with stats staying stagnant. Or maybe her neighbours just have a lot of garlic.

Msurdej:  Dai Viet had a pretty quiet part in this episode.The war with Singapore is continuing, and they continue to exist with little chance of expanding. But on the plus side, they finally finished steel, and have gained both production and population. Little victories that probably won’t amount to much.

Orange:

The capture of Malkerns certainly deserves a nice buff for eSwatini, they’ve just been slowly expanding their empire from the rough beginnings and honestly they are looking solid for it, seven cities now. Though of course, they are still at war with Ndongo, and Ndongo does still have a massive force outside Nhlagano, but to be fair, the city has 22 strength and a mountain protecting the north so this naval based invasion likely isn’t going to do well. But, you never know.

Shaggy:

Nathanmasse:

I used to really like Taino's chances: they founded a religion; they got in an early DOW and even took a city from their neighbor; but those days seem far behind them.  Their navy appears content to sail single-file into range of Seneca's one coastal city.  Meanwhile, Mexico's strength in the Caribbean grows with every passing turn and New Holland's encroachments surely cannot go unanswered.  It is only a matter of time before someone decides to put them out of their misery.

Orange:

Gucci Khan, look at me. You need to take back Lhasa. YOU NEED TO DO THAT. Like, it’s right there, they literally can’t go through the mountain passes to fight with you. Why did you give it up in the first place? Please just go take it back. Take it back and then go take on Siam or something. But please just retake Lhasa.

Reformer:

Big excitement! The Hundred Years’ War has begun in earnest as Burgundy faces the wrath of all their neighbors at once. England is of course one such neighbor. Whether England will actually GET anything out of this war is another thing. Beaune, for one, is probably not an option for England to try and snipe, at this point. Bavaria seems to have it under control. On the opposite side of France, Amiens is the only navally accessible city, and England is indeed rushing their navy over to try and besiege the city. Doubling down with some land units would be helpful here, But I expect the English army will head inland, towards Autun and Dijon. In the end, Burgundy SHOULD be crippled by this war, which will be helpful in the short-term, but if England fails to get anything at all from this war, they will be completely, utterly fucked in the long-term. It’s do or die, Henry.

NopeCopter:

Vijayanagara’s rank remains exactly the same despite their scarier neighbor suddenly facing down an invasion from the much stronger Afsharids, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, some of us have our doubts about whether the Afsharids can even pull off an invasion of Harappa - the Persians don’t exactly have the best military track record, and the Hindu Kush mountain range is infamously hard to maneuver through. More importantly, though, it really doesn’t matter much for Vijayanagara. They couldn’t break through Harappa, and they’re not going to break through the Afsharids. Best case scenario, a Harappan rump state is left behind for Vijayanagara to consume at their leisure. Worst case, either nothing changes or the Afsharids replace Harappa as the power hemming Vijarayanagara in, which means about the same thing here. Vijayanagara’s chance of becoming a major power, if such a thing exists, lies in the sea, anyways - and both the Qarmatians and Siam are looking about the same as always.

Leman:

Qarmatians have started a fairly inconsequential war with Mogadishu, and while nothing bad has happened yet, I can’t imagine this will lead to anything good either. Qarmatians are looking fairly thin on their front lines and Mogadisu controls the Gulf of Aden, so there is no real hope of a miraculous upset like against Pontus or Afsharids. But, on the bright side, there’s no fear of real damage here either.

Orange:

This, might finally be it. The successful Bavarian war that will catapult them into stardom. They’ve been needing this for ages, after multiple unsuccessful wars against Burgundy and Royal Hungary despite the army they’ve built. But this one, this one is gonna be the one. Beaune is on half health, the Bavarian army around it is strong (two catapults!) and the Burgundian army is completely gone from the city (and distracted by the west and south). The state of things is perfect, now Ludwig just needs to follow through and take Beaune and then go for Dijon.

CelestialDalek:

It’s finally happening! Mogadishu is going to attack the Qarmatians, take all of their cities, and cement themselves as a world power. Never mind the fact that Hajar, where they’re attacking first, is well-defended and they only have one city that can make ships to attack it. If they attack Eswatini and Vijayanagara next, they can cement their grip over the Indian Ocean and become a feared naval civ. Anyways, back to reality, nothing will happen in this war and they’ll die miserably in like episode 29 or something.

ECH:Not too interesting a part to report on Nivkh, but then again, is it ever an especially interesting part to report on Nivkh? Even the war that ended this part, an objective victory as they captured a city and lost none, was instigated by Ikko Ikki themselves, and the peace deal was - as so often in these seasons - inanely timed right when hopes were rising for a second city capture. My guess is Nivkh goes back to their specialty: sitting in the Russian Far East with surprisingly decent stats that inflate their rank beyond their achievements, with nowhere to go as long as all their neighbors are stronger than them. Hey, who knows, perhaps Goguryeo will truly fumble the Shang war and an opening can be exploited?

Orange:

Damanhur is gonna be ganked and I don’t think the Mamluk bowmen will be enough to stop them. K-B’s empire is gonna be really funny looking, stretching across the Sahara. And maybe, just maybe, there’s a small chance they can snipe Cairo from Rome. Just gotta keep hoping Saba-D’mt doesn’t attack again.

Shaggy:

Well, now Harappa is fighting the stronger of its neighbors. And in classic subcontinental fashion: slowly. Mehrgarh is at about half health from just Afsharid trireme attacks, though if Harappa can eliminate those units then there aren’t many more waiting in the wings to reinforce from the sea. Dholavira remains untouched but there just aren’t enough Harappan units in the city limits to take advantage of its defensive placement. Should we see a Harappan push back to the mountains then I’ll be more confident in their defense. Until then… their lands are feeling a bit sparse unit-wise.

NopeCopter:

Kazan drops a few ranks this episode mostly due to the circumstances surrounding them. Both Latvia and Kazakhstan seem to be on the upswing after looking exceedingly vulnerable for a couple episodes, which is a bad sign when you’re a weaker power sandwiched between those two. Their stats are also looking worse, which is never a good thing. Kazan isn’t exactly out of the running just yet, and frankly after that start it’s amazing they’re still this high at all, but their moment is looking more and more like it’s passed.

Nathanmasse:

The Visigoths return for another attempt to bring Burgundy down a peg.  This time they're backed by England in the north and Bavaria in the east, so their prospects are pretty good. It will still be difficult to cross the Pyrenees but as they say, third time's the charm, right?

Shaggy:

With the capture of Prophetstown and Genundowa this episode, Osage becomes CBRX Season 4’s first eliminator! Yes, the elder gods keeping Shawnee alive finally had to take a vacation and Osage capitalized. In addition to allowing us viewers to revel in the digital bloodshed, those captures will make the Osage borders that much prettier. Whether this means that Osage can capitalize on a neighbor (*cough* Seneca *cough*) being distracted with another war or that the warmonger penalties from  their murder of Shawnee instigate an invasion (Pueblo/Crowalition anybody?) is still up in the air.

ECH:Jumping up to the halfway rank one finds the vainglorious Romans, who would probably not be happy to discover they somehow went entirely unmentioned this episode! It was a surprise to me too, but in retrospect, the core of interest around Rome comes from the final shot of the Mamluks we saw; with a Roman and Kanem-Bornu invasion heading for the Nile. Rome certainly has reformed its army and is taking a Northern bearing, straight towards the massive breadbasket-city of Cairo. Are the swordsmen centurions and quick Singulares horsemen hardened enough to snatch a jewel of the IRL Roman Empire’s crown? Given my sense of each civs popularity here, I suspect Trajan has many rooting for him.

Leman:

Nobody mentioned Mongolia, but their position is probably going to remain exactly the same until they die. And that is their stats are fine but not great, and they are bordered by three monsters (Selkups, Shang, and Goguryeo). At some point, one of those three monsters is going to take them out, and I don’t think there’s much Mongolia can do about it. Sucks to be them.

CelestialDalek:

Celebrate, for Ikko Ikki kept the horrible island tundra city of Miyukizuka in the war against Nivkh! They also did some religion this part. It’d be a perfect time to attack Goguryeo… *nudge nudge*

Reformer:

Shhhh…he’s asleep. Be quiet.

Leman:

I know Singapore is a controversial civ, but I kind of like the plucky underdog dork doing well. It's like they saw Timmy’s Cinderella story last season and were like “I can do that.” And yeah, they haven’t won the whole thing yet, but they are making really solid moves so far. War against Noongar, seems to be a perfectly timed opportunity. They’ve grabbed a weak city just taken from Maguindanao and probably are going to pick up at least one more. And Dai Viet kinda sucks so gains can be made there too. I like it. Go Singapore!

Msurdej:  

Guess who’s mid? Kazakhstan. Guess who’s also broke? Kazakhstan. With a staggering -46 GPT (Kalmyks come close with a -41), and 0 money in the bank, Nursultan is at risk of losing a lot more. His happiness is just barely positive, and that could change soon if he loses resources. Even if he manages to capture Elista (which if he’s not paying his army, is unlikely), it would most likely lead to bigger discrepancies in the budget.

ECH:

Zheng stayed where they were despite a broadly successful episode, effectively utilising the Amphibious buff from their UU Tie Ren pikeman to grab Kuta Watu on Leyte Island. They are maybe a tad stretched right now, harassing Maguindanao and now Noongar alongside Wahgi to the point that Mag’s capital dropped to as low as 6 pop. The fact that their Infoaddict rank (a score derived purely from stats) has dropped to 34th is telling; and I can’t help but think a rebuild and/or refocusing at this point wouldn’t be a bad idea for Koxinga. Notably, they are in the process of researching Astronomy right now, permitting them ocean travel and their UU caravel the War Junk, although unfortunately for them caravel units are nerfed to serve as recon vessels. Real tenuous times for Zheng, but these able seamen may have the guts to navigate a fair course…

Leman:

Well, oof. Noongar faces a pretty difficult two-front war. Palawa is actively pressuring their core while Singapore snaps off their Indonesia colonies. Even Wahgi is taking pot shots! I’m pretty sure that Palawa, Wahgi, and Singapore won’t be able to destroy Noongar, but there’s a real worry amongst the PRs that this war will be enough to cripple Noongar enough that they stop being a real contender in the long-run. I’m not so sure about that, but Noongar is definitely in crisis-mode right now.

Reformer:

Pontus is just vibing. They joined the anti-Burgundy coalition, but that’s it, y’know. They’re chilling, working on improving their stats, preparing for the next big war. They’ll be ready next time!

NopeCopter:

Fun fact, I actually happened to get three whole civs voted into X4! Considering I’ve only ever released four civs, I’d say that’s pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it seems I have been cursed for my hubris, as two of these civs are already basically dead and the third is blowing an early lead in impressive fashion. Speaking of which, Ndongo! Honestly, Malkerns isn’t really a devastating loss so much as it is an embarrassing one - imagine losing a city that was gifted to you for free by that very same civ. Apparently I still fall on the optimistic side of the Power Rankers on Ndongo (which is shocking to me considering I think they’re pathetic), and many people are beginning to believe that they’re absolutely doomed. This is honestly a fair assessment, since 8 cities isn’t as good as it used to be and there aren’t a lot of easy military targets, but I do think that it’s a bit early to count Ndongo out entirely.

The disastrous war against Eswatini is more an issue of geography than anything, especially with Ndongo’s lack of coastal cities to build a navy from. I don’t think Nhlagano is going to fall from a Trireme assault, and trying to attack around a mountain is always a pain, so Ndongo’s best option would probably be to call off the invasion and instead finish off the Rozvi (or at least wait for Eswatini to do it for them) before coming back. Mogadishu’s terrain is impenetrable from the west, Saba-D’mt is way stronger than Ndongo by now, and Kanem-Bornu has been shrugging off attacks from Saba-D’mt, so south is definitely still Ndongo’s best bet - just… not like this. They should probably do something about that MASSIVE stat drop they’re experiencing, too. I don’t think Ndongo’s out of the game just yet, but I’m definitely starting to see shades of Angola and Zaire, and I’m clearly not the only one.

Leman:

Siam is a science beast, which is a little weird because their other stats are completely unremarkable. They were the first civ to enter the Renaissance, and I don’t think that really means much, but it does show that Siam is at the front of the pack. It remains to be seen how they will use that solid science, though. Taking another crack at Dai Viet seems good.

Reformer:

Sierra Leone starts off the war against the Alaouites pretty embarrassingly. Tangier is under siege (though the Alaouites still don’t know what a melee unit is), Kenema is completely untouched, and the best offensive SL seems to be capable of is sending half a dozen triremes to attack Rabat, which only has one coastal tile for naval access. Not a great look overall. But we ought to be patient here. I find it fairly possible that SL will get their act together, clear the siege on Tangier, and attack Kenema. And judging by their rank, the rankers as a whole are banking on that happening, too.

Nathanmasse:

Bora-Bora is in an exciting position.  Still the strongest navy in the region, they have an opportunity to strike at Wahgi or Palawa while they're distracted in the east.  As with the late DOW on Maguindanao, they may instead seek the diplomatic bonuses and join in the war on Noongar which may not yield cities but would keep everyone in the area on good terms.  But they will need to act quickly; there is only limited time until their neighbors catch up, with Wahgi well on their way to researching Compass.

Shaggy:

Latvia spent this part getting better stats and positioning in Europe through little fault of their own. A bit of diplomacy and a bit of irrelevant warring, as is tradition. Someone should probably tell them that horses are better used on land rather than crossing coastal tiles, though. I’m sure the horses would appreciate it.

Leman:

Damn, the Dzungars were so cool a few parts ago and they’re so boring now. It's kind of rough that the mountains completely ruined a perfectly doable invasion of Bukhara, but perhaps the Dzungars are going to have to wait for something like Artillery. Too bad their science is atrocious.

Msurdej:  

Well, the Ume-Sami didn’t do much for this part. Mostly working with Latvia and fighting Bukhara. Getting some of their army back after their last military fight.  Would be Interesting to see if they’ll attack the Finns any time soon, but otherwise, I don’t like their odds.

NopeCopter:

Mexico continues to look just as terrifying (in theory) as ever. They’re no longer quite on top of the military scores, with the Faroes managing to take back their crown, but they’re still far, far ahead of third place. Their other stats are solid, too - nothing crazy but not bad in any one area, either - so it really does just come down to positioning for them as always. The Osage did finish off the Shawnee (bummer, since it lets the Osage bulk up more), but the Seneca have been fending off the Faroes well enough (good, since it means Mexico could maybe take them out later), so really, nothing has changed for Mexico. They look good, and they’ll probably continue to look good for many, many episodes to come. A shame that merely looking good doesn’t really mean anything.

JDT: The Afsharids are in an interesting predicament. They have pretty good stats, and fairly weak neighbours, with positional advantages on all of them. So what gives? Why weren’t they steamrolling Bukhara as hard as we expected them? They still won of course, but could’ve won much more. The answers are twofold - mountains and army composition. The mountains of Iran make traversal of troops much harder of a task from their core, while the Afsharids own horseman-heavy composition often prevent easy capture of cities. The Harappan offensive is a hope to change their fate. They have been pounding them thus far, with Dholavira surrounded and Mehrgahr in the yellow. However, they also have the Great Wall, and more connected cities. Will this go well? Let's hope and see.  

Leman:

I think Yellowknives are great. It’s just intensely unfortunate they’re trapped between Pueblo and Thule and those civs, statistically, are way stronger than them. They have opportunities, but those opportunities, I feel, can only really be acted upon while they don’t get attacked by either of their neighbors.

Nathanmasse:

For a civ on the verge of entering the top 10, the Qarmatians sure are giving Saba a run for their money.  Their high rank is mostly from the potential upside of them entering a Golden Age soon and the fact that many of their neighbors are weaker.  But I would like that potential energy to become kinetic before they join the ranks of the top 10.

JDT: The Wahgi go down by 2 as their invasion of Maguindanao stalls somewhat. The triremes that got them through the initial invasion have proven to be an inadequate roadblock at finishing the job, which isn’t exactly ideal given that everyone else is also trying to mug Mags. We have also begun to doubt their aggression and positioning, given that they have not made out with the lion's share of the conquests and are butting heads with many other top powers and strong middle powers around them. Make no mistake though - this is more than likely a trip than a fall. Their stats are still very strong and their position isn’t that bad in spite of being in The Group Of Death.

Shaggy:

They are losing ground in the Arctic Gogurt War but remain steady in their ranks as those cities were trivial arctic settlements and not the primary fishing waters of the Selkups. I expect that to be the end of the interesting parts of the Arctic Gogurt War as Mongolia is just kind of there in the middle. Also we have a man on the inside with the Selkups so we might get some juicy bits of diplomacy out of them going forward, stay tuned.

Msurdej:

In a stunning reversal of their earlier wars, Palawa has begun taking Noongar to task. Founding three cities this part, Tarenorerer seems determined to claw her way back. While much of the assault on Noongar hasn’t made good progress, Ballardong is under siege, and seems the most likely to flip. Still, with all the pressure Yagan is under, it’s possible Palawa can get more out of this war.

CelestialDalek:

Another very sleepy part for Thule, and they’re still up near the top. The problem is they don’t really have anywhere to go that doesn’t offer any resistance: Yellowknives are also highly ranked, a naval war with Nivkh would be a bit annoying, and, uh, those are their neighbors. The upside is that their stats are still great, and it’d be an upset if they lost to the Yellowknives in the eventual grudge match. Until then, they’re still a solid top 10 civ.

CelestialDalek:

All things considered, Tiwanaku is doing pretty well. They’re in 6th. Who could really damage them? A war with Ecuador or New Holland would probably be a terrain-induced stalemate. Bora would munch their Pacific holdings, but lose their oh-so-precious mainland cities. Mexico isn’t in a position to do anything, and Tehuelche is… uh… yeah, no. The biggest problem is finding where to expand next, which in practice means out-teching and rushing Ecuador. We’ll see how it evolves, but because of their massive deforestation efforts note that there isn’t really any defensive terrain for them.

Reformer:

New Holland spends the episode bullying the Rio Grande remnant stuck on antarctic islands. Not very nice, must be said. And aggressively pointless, too: NH has not succeeded in flipping any island, the islands are kind of shit and thus won’t be super valuable for NH, and of course they would come with an elimination penalty. Though…I can’t see NH losing to Tiwanaku and Ecuador, even if the two do team up against NH. So I guess it’s not that big of a deal. But still pointless! Either way, it is notable that NH is currently, as of the end of the episode, sending a fresh fleet southward. It is hard to say whether this time it’ll be enough. The fact that this nonsense is the only thing to talk about…should be enough said about how interesting NH’s episode was.

CelestialDalek:

After being semi-humiliated in the Anti-Shang Coalition and ending up losing Yanshi, it’s time for Daji to wake up and start murdering people. What better target than Goguryeo? The initial push of attackers is massive, but Goguryeo has some defense. Perhaps this is why Daji chose to attack Yodong first, as most of the defense is centered around there. I could easily see Shang coming out of this war with a couple extra cities, and that combined with their good stats and military competence merits a 4th place ranking.

Reformer:

Danger, danger! Achtung! Shang has declared war! Every Goguryeo border city is under attack! …But only Yodong has taken damage. The Shang-Goguryeo war was a subject of much debate among the rankers, and in the end the rough consensus is that Goguryeo will come out of this war perfectly fine - at most, they’ll lose one city. Shang is struggling to actually deal damage, and Goguryeo defenders have made their way to the front. The immediate Shang wave of units is still going strong, but it is wavering against the Goguryeo defenders. Time will tell if our confidence in Goguryeo is misplaced.

NopeCopter:

The Pueblo rise back up to the silver-medalist spot as the former number-two is suddenly looking to be in a lot more trouble than anticipated. For all of Goguryeo’s impressive stats and track record, having an equally-powerful civilization in Shang directly next to their vulnerable south has always been a pretty major limiting factor in their ranking, and now Shang has started what looks to be a very competent invasion. Pueblo, meanwhile, has had comparatively few troubles. Their own Shangs are either locked behind impenetrable geography (Mexico) or content to sleep the game away (Yellowknives) The Crow seem to like the Pueblo well enough, too, which is nice since they’re a nice little buffer state if the Yellowknives do ever decide to wake back up. The only other neighbor the Pueblo have is the Osage, who are admittedly starting to grow and consolidate… but killing off the Shawnee is sure to incur quite a heavy diplomatic penalty. Perhaps this could be the trigger needed for the Pueblo to finally get revenge for their prior embarrassment against their blue neighbors to the east and cement themselves as the rulers of North America…?.

ECH:

After a few parts with a few signs of PR discourse, Faroes have returned to their flex-worthy deviation score of 0.00; every single ranker on board with them at this top rank. Funny this happens the episode they actually lost a city to Seneca of all civs, but with a wider view in mind this reversion to form is pretty simple really: they are just too dominant in too many stats, and the previous concern of them falling down in momentum compared to other top civs has been resolved for the most part. The big factor here is probably production: Episode 9 had them around 50 hammers above the runner up; Episode 10 around 35; Episode 11 under 30. Since then, they’ve bounced back hard in production, and now sit at 458 hammers with second place at 304 (there may be a golden age to note, but we can’t be sure). If they do have one area of concern for the moment, it may be science now; as they’ve dropped from leading the pack to joint-3rd place along Siam, surpassed by New Holland and Wahgi. The Faroes have already had their university bump, so regaining a science rate lead now may be difficult, although their leading growth stats will certainly help, and the tech count lead of 30 they currently hold, 2 techs above the next most advanced, gives them a good window of dominance.