Power Rankings: Episode 36 – S4

Cloudy:

Vijayanagara was a civ that tried surprisingly hard and walked away with nothing to show for it.

Boxed in at the beginning by aggressive settling from the Khoshuts and Harappa, Vijayanagara dropped to 50th place in episode 1, but while they never really got their momentum back, that did end up as the lowest rank they ever achieved. For quite a while they hung around South India with a few cities doing nothing in particular, even letting Harappa settle Sri Lanka, and their ranking bounced around in the 40s. In episode 10, however, they made waves—or at least heavy ripples—by capturing Sri Lanka from Harappa and settling an island city of the coast of Africa. Vijayanagara rose to 36th, their best ranking since episode zero, but they quickly fell back into the low 40s again when reality set back in. The fact remained that Vijayanagara was trapped: they didn’t have the land forces or the geography to take down the Khoshuts or Harappa, who had the great wall, and they didn’t have a strong enough navy to contest nearby civs like Siam at sea. Although they managed to construct a few more colonies in the Indian Ocean and Antarctica, they continued to stagnate overall, remaining below the mid-tier in most respects. When Harappa invaded them with a large army, they struggled to defend, and it looked like they would be ruined—but they made peace just in time, reinforced, and restarted the war. Eventually they managed to capture Harappa’s remaining coastal city of Mehrgarh, which propelled them to an all time high of 30th place, but by episode 18, 30th place wasn’t worth what it used to be.

This bump was short lived, and a rollercoaster followed. In episode 22, Vijayanagara found themselves simultaneously at war with the Afsharids, Harappa, and Singapore, prompting a fall to 37th. And yet, in that same episode, Vijayanagara completely unexpectedly fought back against the technologically superior Singapore and repeatedly flipped a city that started the war in Lee Kwan Yew’s hands. The following week, they ended the war with all the cities they started with, somehow. After that, Vijayanagara entered a second period of stagnation, which actually helped their ranking a fair bit, as other civs plunged past them, picked off one by one by larger powers. In episode 27, they even boosted themselves by capturing and keeping a city from Singapore. This rise finally culminated in episode 30, when Vijayanagara launched an ambitious and daring naval assault on the Noongar, sailing a large fleet all the way to Australia with little resistance. That week, their ranking reached its all time high of 26. But it was all downhill from there. In episode 31, Singapore attacked again, and by episode 32, Vijayanagara had been torn to shreds, reduced to a shell of its former self. The war finally ended in episode 34 with only the capital still in Krishnadevaraya’s hands. Two episodes later, they were dead, eliminated by a Wahgi paratrooper invasion.

In summary, Vijayanagara played the game and fought hard, but their position was untenable from the start. No one had any real illusions that they would become a major player after episode 1. But they were sometimes fun to watch and they notched some victories before they left. As for our predictions, they were almost spot on—we had them 33rd in part zero, and they finished 35th* (temporarily 36th until we shove Shang back into the grave where they belong). So, no surprises there. F.

Leman:

Here lies Mongolia, a civ with a lot of promise and not a lot of follow-through. They started solid enough, we ranked them highly, as we normally rank Mongolian civs - 16th. They have good settling tendencies, lots of room, and a strong, aggressive AI. They sort of made good on that promise, settling decently well, but our hopes were quickly dashed as almost all of their neighbors, Selkups, Dzungars, Shang, and Goguryeo had far better openings. Mongolia at first found themselves a medium fish in a huge ocean, and then found themselves at war.

First with Shang, where they quickly dropped Old Sarai to the breakout star. Luckily Sorghaghtani had time to consolidate, and gather her empire’s meager strength, and managed to seize the city back, along with Xiaotun, while Shang was distracted by Goguryeo. Several episodes later, found themselves at war again, this time with Goguryeo, where Mongolia put together a truly heroic defense, going against the top-tier superpower without dropping a single city. Unfortunately, Mongolia’s other neighbors smelled weakness too and jumped on the opportunity. Selkups seized their western exclaves without much protest and Shang came cruising back in, hoping to redeem themselves. Luckily for them, again, Goguryeo took pity on Mongolia, perhaps respecting their incredible defense. They switched sides, eliminated Shang, and saved Mongolia.

Mongolia then slumbered for six or seven episodes, squeezed between Selkups, Dzungars, and Goguryeo. There was nothing else they could really do. They weren’t dead, they had eight cities, but nothing they could muster could scratch either titan they bordered (or Dzungars).

When Goguryeo finally decided that Mongolia’s time had come, the end was swift. The war took four turns from start to finish. Sorghaghtani left seven cities to Goguryeo, and one to a resurrected Daji, ensuring that if she were no longer participating in this game, her legacy would live on. Until Goguryeo decides to end that too.

Cloudy:

Welp, guess who’s back.

As Mongolia collapsed, Sorghaghtani revived her erstwhile enemy Daji as her final act, because she really hates the Shang and wants to see them keep suffering long after she’s gone. Shang now exists as a tiny, backwards enclave inside of Goguryeo. Who knows how long that will persist, but at least it’s funny.

Cloudy:

Fancy that, the Visigoths aren’t last. It only took a dead civ being liberated! Also, Rome declared war on them, but they can’t get there because of the Faroes. Go figure.

ECH:

Seneca quietly had a fairly heroic retaliation campaign this episode, struggling for control of the cities they lost to New Holland over the past few parts as Mexico opened the door of opportunity, culminating in the successful reclamation of Chenussio, which is worth applauding! Certainly more exciting than slumping into the death spiral they’re on, although to be clear, Seneca remains highly vulnerable in this era of sudden steamrolls. New Holland could very easily return after a quick recovery period, or hell, the Faroes would probably not be as pathetic the next time they come calling (then again, we said that last time).

ECH:

The fact there’s a decent chance Finns outlast half the civs this season despite basically never making a move in this game is an outrage.

Nathanmasse:

I said last week that Kazan was looking more like the Kalmyks because of the citadels but I was wrong; Latvia is trying to turn them into Makhnovia II.

Orange:

Well Gogurt took Mongolia, which means the Dzungars next best bet for taking someone over is Bukhara. But this is a Bukhara write-up, so uh, Bukhara is probably gonna become food for someone, Dzungars if it's an underdog, Afsharids if it's a power. So, it’ll probably be the Afsharids. What would be more funny than either of those though is if Bukhara can somehow fight Kazan again and take em out. A few techs behind, about even in strength, a lot more production. They could maybe do it, would be real funny.

Leman:

It’s hard to find stuff to write about for Qarmatians because they never do anything. I didn’t go back and check but I’m sure I’m right.

Cloudy:

Osage has been completely cut in half by citadels. I don’t even know what to say. It’s horrifying.

ECH:

Bavaria remains static, both in ranks and in action. Really not looking too good for Ludwig prospects-wise, stronger civs than them have ended up steamrolled by modern powers, and far too many of their neighbors fit that category by this point. With a mismatched UU and some neighbours starting to citadel their lands, I sure hope Ludwig hasn’t just locked his door to listen to Wagner instead of rule again.

Msurdej:  

Kennyo's big accomplishment this episode was...still being one of the few nations at peace, only to go to war with the Seneca later on. But it's the same issue with last episode. With the elimination of Mongolia, The Ikko-Ikki are one of the weakest nations in Asia. Goguryeo, or even the Zheng if they're feeling plucky, could declare war and debilitate, or even eliminate the Ikko-Ikki. But with a few nukes on hand... they'll probably still die. But they'll make a bunch of problems for the victor.

Cloudy:

The Dzungars find themselves in an even worse position than before, as the elimination of Mongolia removes one of the only two civs they could possibly expand into, and gives them a massive new border with Goguryeo. Their carpet of field guns has been upgraded to artillery, which is nice, but they wouldn’t stand a chance against their larger and much more advanced neighbors. While they could give themselves a last hurrah by taking out Bukhara, it’s only a matter of time before someone comes and wipes them out, too.

Nathanmasse:

The sudden decline of Mexico has offered Taino a unique opportunity to regain relevancy.  They’ve been out of the running for a while now, yet their units aren’t terribly out of date. A declaration now could prove a boon for this tiny kingdom but that’s probably just wishful thinking.

ECH:

As is visibly apparent, Noongar did terminate their open borders agreement with Wahgi during this last episode, neutralizing the geopolitical embarrassment of having the majority of your land occupied by a top tier power. So that’s a plus! The downside is, well… both Wahgi and Palawa, maybe even Singapore from the Indian Ocean, remain major existential threats that Noongar is evidently unprepared for. Yes, we’ve said that before, but the uneven competition is more disparate than ever before. We’re just awaiting who actually wants to declare the final war.

Nathanmasse:

Mexico was tied for the largest range between highest and lowest power ranking, depending on how screwed we think they are, but there’s no two ways about it, Mexico is getting their teeth kicked in.  It’s the Tiwanaku treatment all over again but this time from two civs with notably stronger units than their own.  If they were just facing either Yellowknives or New Holland alone I might say they have a chance of holding out but not against both at once.

The only thing keeping them alive at this point is their unique ability, which gave them a melee unit in each city twice during the war (turn 488 and turn 509) but riflemen are just not good enough to hold up against Mobile SAMs, Mech Infantry, or Modern Armor.  They desperately need to make peace, not just to preserve their rank but to survive at all.

Leman:

I think Rome defended that really nicely, all things considered. I mean yes, they lost Iberia to Faroes. And they also lost their peripheral African territories to Sierra Leone’s renewed offense. But realistically being attacked by those two civilizations really should be a death sentence for a mid-tier civilization like Rome. It may well be a game ending but right now Rome’s core is intact, their production is still decent, and they are still keeping hold on their most important Mediterranean and Egyptian holdings. I’m optimistic, for now, but Rome does need a peace treaty soon.

Nathanmasse:

While the worst is likely behind them, this episode was not without its share of setbacks for Bora-Bora.  Not content with simply controlling the Pacific islands, Bol’im takes the isolated cities of Ojjo and Ichabamba and more paratroopers land on the coast near Atacama.  But Bora’s not ready to throw in the towel and their army in South America seems ready for the fight.  Additionally, they’re researching Nuclear Fission which will give them access to a nuclear response.  This might be beneficial and would certainly be cathartic but might just as easily provoke a response in kind which would do far more damage to what’s left of Bora’s cities than they could inflict on Wahgi.

Orange:

Well they didn’t get anything out of the Mogadishu war again, but they still went up three somehow. Who knows, maybe their position is just better. Okay checking why it seems one ranker put ‘em 13th. I don’t know why. They don’t deserve that high if they can’t beat anyone on their continent. Surrounded by Mog, Ndongo, and Sierra Leone, I don’t like their chances one bit.

Orange:

Mog’s been playing well lately it seems. Hopefully the good tidings continue as the competition gets thinned. They’re up to 19 cities now which is pretty solid. They are lacking in a bunch of stats, but hey, it’s at least solid. If they got their tech up a bit more they could have a chance to take on Ndongo, or be able to turn on Saba-D’mt again and be able to actually wipe them out this time.

ECH:

Yet another quiet part for Pontus, so much so that this is indeed a part without any mention of them. Still, a 3 rank rise, as opportunities are fairly plentiful for them compared to other middle-tier powers on their level: a crumbling Rome, stagnant Bavaria, or of course the fairly hopeless Qarmatians. Their Achilles Heel remains inactivity, as ever, although with planes, landships and infantry at their disposal they certainly have the tools to make moves prepared better than many.

Leman:

In this week, Ume Sami has neither killed the Finns or been killed by Faroes. I’m going to take this space to rant for a moment. Ume Sami is a fantastic civilization. Their uniques are so powerful. You spawn deer for food, boost science, and get free production. Their AI is usually solid, and Scandinavia is a strong start that’s brought us many superpowers before. Ume Sami took all of that and did absolutely nothing. They didn’t even have the decency to be interesting like other would-be powers like Seneca, who decided to be a scrappy underdog, or Crow, who kindly died so I stopped having to think about them.

Msurdej:

Thule was mentioned once this part, and I think QuantumBotany summed them up succinctly:“Thule’s military is nothing to scoff at when considering them in the context of the whole cylinder. It is too bad that the only civs they need to compare against are Yellowknives and Goguryeo, both top-5 civs. What matters now is how Thule will get divided up between its neighboring super-states.”

ECH:

Some people like an active Christmas season, some like a sociable Christmas season, there are so many types of Christmas one can choose. Ana Nzinga? She’s fond of a cozy one right now. Truly a ‘honk shoo zzzzzz’ time for her and her citizens, befitting the Golden Age her civ is in, apparently. Happy Holidays, Ana. Hopefully you have some major New Years promises to live up to over the next few episodes.

Leman:

Zheng’s been chilling. They lost some islands to Mogadishu, and I don’t know about you , but I forgot that they even had any Islands in the Indian Ocean. Zheng still has exactly one path to victory, and that is gobble up Ikko Ikki and hope to make it to endgame with a full tech tree and pull and Afghanistan. It’s not a great pathway but it’s something.

Nathanmasse:

Palawa made the safe choice this episode and made peace with Bora-Bora early.  Their gains were already baked into their previous rank so there was little movement for them this week.  They’ve achieved Nuclear Fission and are now researching Rocketry so they’ll soon be counted among the nuclear powers which will hopefully act as a deterrent if Bol’im starts plotting against them.

Orange:

Latvia’s doing real good now, but they still stand as the wall for the lower leagues. They are about 10 cities below the civs above them, but have good enough stats to stand above the rest. What’s next for them? Probably Bavaria, Finns, or the last of Kazan. Then once one or more of those (or really just the Finns) are down they should be able to easily take on Ume Sami.

Orange:

Singapore is sitting pretty, it's gotta be said. As long as Wahgi doesn’t turn on them then they have the best empire west of the east indies. And sadly for NopeCopter, they aren’t going anywhere unless Wahgi turns on them, and I’m pretty sure they still have open borders. So what’s next for Singapore? Probably going after Mog or Noongar, either one of those would be easy pickings with Singapore’s advanced navy.

Msurdej:  

Back in the top 10, Sierra Leone has gotten back into war with Rome. And so far, it's working out in their favor. The cities have fallen back to Sierra Leone's favor, but Rome is still kicking. The front is looking sparse on both sides, but Sierra Leone is definitely in a winning position right now. Let's see how it goes.

Leman:

The Afsharids have found themselves the unfortunate recipient of a billion Wahgi units. Which really sucks, because if any civ should become a parking lot it should be a civ that stinks, like Ndongo or Noongar. I’m worried that all these peacekeepers will prevent further Afsharid expansion and conquest and put a halt to Afsharids rise. That being said, they’ve already done a lot recently and deserve some consolidation time. I should note they’ve been using this time very well and have improved in all stats - they’re eighth in production, they’ve gained 11 techs in the last two episodes, surpassing selkups and their effective science is comparable the New Holland and Yellowknives, which is really impressive because before the Khoshut conquest Afsharids’ stats were absolute ass. Point is, I’m really pleased with the Afsharids rise and I hope Wahgi does not slow them down.

Also, I want to mention a lot of civs weirdly starved this episode. Afsharids faced the worst of it. Dholavira dropped 10 population for no apparent reason? Not sure what that’s about. Replacing farms with Future Worlds improvements probably.

Msurdej:  

New Holland gains a rank as they team up with the Yellowknives to fight Mexico. At first the war wasn't going so well, with Mexican troops taking a few cities. Some, like the former Tiwanaku capital, remain in their hands. But the tides of the war have changed, with Johan's forces marching westward. While the dream of New Netherlands might die, The main New Holland empire will continue to be a dominant force in South America.

ECH:

Selkups 5th PR at 5th in a row! They earned this off the back of their absorption of most of Kazan, and have been resting, perhaps a bit too hard, on their laurels since, achieving little in terms of game progress. In fact, between Mongolia getting eaten by Goruryeo and the Afsharids’ shrewd taking of their Caspian cities, they should feel pretty insecure about being in the top 5 right now. The latest setback that only those with the data are likely to have noticed is a bizarre population culling, dropping a collective 33 pop across their cities. Given they’re still happy, and in fact have just recently grabbed Fertilizer which ought to advance growth, this is an oddity. Our best guesses are either that Fertilizer has broken the food they gain from their Uniques somehow, or perhaps more likely some switch in their AI brain has been flipped and they’re replacing farms with other tile improvements for some reason. In any case, certainly some strains on the Selkups as of now, so Vonya better beware.

Cloudy:

The Yellowknives made extraordinary gains this episode, landing a massive blow against fellow top 10 power Mexico, which has left their forces at the very gate of Mexico City. It’s a great showing and I have absolutely nothing negative to say about them right now. And yet, they’re still fourth, and that’s because not only is the gap between them and the top 3 still pretty big, they’re also playing catch-up, as both Goguryeo and Wahgi also captured numerous cities this episode. And while the Faroes... uh... didn’t do that, they did ramp up their stats massively, so the Yellowknives couldn’t overtake them. But what remains true no matter what is that right now, Akaitcho has made it clear that he is the dominant force

Cloudy:

The Faroes didn’t make any progress against Rome this week, instead continuing to flip Narbo and Nancy, exactly as I predicted. Their attempt to mount an embarked attack on Carthago failed so badly that Rome even retook Nancy well after it seemed secure. Now, however, with Sierra Leone also invading Rome again, the Faroes have an opportunity to take some more territory—but they’ll need to be fast, or else Sierra Leone will quickly cut them off. On top of that, they’re bankrupt. That being said, though, it wasn’t all bad news for the Faroes—they more than doubled their production.

Leman:

The unstoppable tide continues to lap at the shores of South America. Breaking into the South American core was difficult for Bora-Bora when they fought Tiwanaku and it's hard for Wahgi now. Wahgi is breaking in in the same place as well, which is kind of ironic, but a little sad. Really, Bora-Bora’s best hope is to get a peace treaty, which is kind of likely now that this war has gone on for what feels like forever. For Wahgi, obviously, they want this war to continue, not only to get more cities, but to trade off more units. Wahgi is in this precarious spot where they have more science than they are losing gold, so despite their massive deficit, they are still producing science. As long as they continue to keep their science afloat Wahgi can potentially have its cake and eat it too – both complete the tech tree and have a huge army. But, if Wahgi goes into a prolonged peace and continues building units, all that could crumble. Point is, Wahgi needs to keep grinding its units away on the South American shores.

Cloudy:

Goguryeo retains its number one spot for a second week in a row as they demolish yet another civ. First Nivkh, now Mongolia—who’s next? They’ve got plenty to choose from. They could steamroll Ikko Ikki, or the Dzungars, or even Zheng. The only obstacle they could potentially face is Wahgi, and that will be a showdown for the ages. But it’s clear that Gwanggaeto is playing this game with machine-like efficiency, always choosing the perfect target, mechanically cleaning up the no-hopers in his borderlands in order to consolidate as much territory as possible going into the endgame. It’s a sound strategy and it may work. Godspeed.