1: Rapa Nui
Leman:
Rapa Nui is my least favorite civ that has ever been in any BR. They’re dumb, they don’t settle and I hate it. I hope Caral or Chono or France I don’t care eats them soon.
Power Rankings: Episode 12 – S5
April 21, 2026
Power-Rankers
Abstract
Power Rankings! The rankings…of power! Dun dun dunnnn!
Viewing: Vertical
2: Pegu
Leman:
Pegu sucks. I don’t think they are gonna die any time soon because their main enemies are like ocean civs and Yunnan so you know. Expect low effort Pegu writeups for a minute.
3: Ma’in
ItsTruckMonth:
I feel like it shoooouuuuuuuld be the end of Ma’in, as both Phoenicia and Hyksos have both declared on them this episode, but this really just feels like a stoppable force meets movable object-esque fight.
Granted, while Phoenicia is mediocre, Ma’in is absolutely dogshit, given they have the fourth-worst stats in the game, and are only held aloft by the incompetence and mediocrity of its immediate neighbors. Time will eventually come for Sadiq; the question is whether that time is now.
4: Maravi
Leman:
Well, Herero is trying again. Tete looks lost to me, it's completely cut off, kind of surrounded and the few measly ass defenders are half dead. I expect at least that city to fall. If it doesn’t it's not because Maravi is strong it's because Herero sucks.
5: Karankawa
NopeCopter:
The Karankawa strategy of settling a whole bunch of random far-flung colonies is a hilarious one, and in theory it should actually be pretty good, too, because it makes them a lot harder to kill by any one civ. Unfortunately, this strategy has a fatal flaw: the Susquehannock can reach almost all of them, and they’re the ones the Karankawa are at war with right now. They’ve essentially been pruning the Karankawa colonial empire as quickly as it can appear, and they’re not showing any signs of stopping. They’re even threatening the Karankawa “core”, now, with some help from the Ponca (who they really could have beaten not too long ago). Their saving grace is that Greenlandic city tucked far away from Susquehannock naval reach, but knowing their history, they’re likely to just give the city away anyways.
6: Wassoulou
Orange:
JOÃO THE UNSTOPPABLE! JOÃO THE UNBREAKABLE! JO- Huh? Wait this is the Wassoulou slide. Uhhhhh. Wassoulou kinda continued to suck shit and managed to lose cities to Portugal, they made peace just as they set up more troops to go take back Ad Medias BUT INSTEAD IT REMAINS IN JOÃO’S HANDS WOOOOOOOO GO PORTUGAL! Sorry. Where was I? Ah yes, sorry but things aren’t looking good for Samori Toure. Lol. Sorry, I mean that sucks.
7: Sumer
Reformer:
Well, you did it, Sumer, you peaked early, just as the script demanded.
…
Look, it’s bottom 10, how exciting do you think the writeup’s gonna be? These guys are just vibing if they’re not actively dying.
8: Wallachia
Shaggy:
Wallachia has won the mid-off against the Holy Roman Hanseatic Empire League by staking the units around Turnu and letting the birds pick at them. At least, there must be something eating them because the Hanseatic units have mostly dissolved so far. They’ve recruited Charles Martel in the defense of Campulung as well and are holding against Circassia in the east. They can only hold so long with Scythia looking incredibly dangerous and their unit buildup thinning. The science lag is really catching up with them and they are getting by on their grit far more than their smarts.
9: Yunnan
Archimedes :
We unfortunately didn’t get a look at Yunnan this episode, a civ that has nestled itself in rocky, mountainous terrain of South East Asia. And while they may be looking pretty low on the statistical side, I think it’s fair to say they’ll be sticking around for a fairly long period of time. They’re sitting pretty firmly in the rump state category, after gifting away a powerful city to Tang and losing a strategic coastal city to Cebu, but their cities are surrounded by defensible mountains and their ability does grant them additional combat strength. With an AI flavour focused on defense, and some neighbours that will have a tricky time navigating the terrain, Yunnan has a chance to grow into a reasonably tall fortress to last at least a few more episodes.
But, damn do their stats look awful. Their military is sparse, their production is anemic, and their population is some of the lowest on the cylinder. Those two good cities they lost were in much better positions to grow large and provide meaningful gains to the empire, so with those gone, Yunnan is looking hemmed in and hopeless. Their one shining hope was conquering the last remaining city of Pegu, a city that has the incredibly powerful wonder the Gate of the Sun, which would have help boosted their food output by +15%. But just as Yunnan is a defensible stronghold, so is that last city of Pegu, and so chances of grabbing that before any other neighbouring civ can are looking slim at best at the moment. And even with a boost to their food, Yunnan seem too enclosed by other powerful empires to ever reach the heights that are necessary to actually stand as a contender in this game. While they’ll be sticking around for a long time, it’s safe to say that Yunnan won’t be a mover or a shaker for the rest of this game.
10: Vyatka
ItsTruckMonth:
It’s over. It’s actually just over for Myshkin.
Ateas has come back with a vengeance and is now alongside Ket (and the Bjarmians, I guess) in completely tearing Vyatka apart. Scythian cavalry stand at the gates of the capital, while Ket troops attack from the North. Vyatka’s stats are now below those of the Kipchaks, the one civ that could’ve given them an out of their stagnation beforehand. Even if they somehow can weasel their way out of this war, there’s no longer any path to victory.
In short, it's truly, once again, over.
11: Ponca
Archimedes :
Is this… actually happening? Is Ponca finally, against all odds, going to have some success in this game?
Looking at the state of things, Ponca has teamed up with Susquehannock to take down the weakest civilization in all of North America. And, with previous beef between the two, it makes sense that Ponca is looking for a round two against Karankawa. But if you remember from last time, Karankawa declared war on Ponca, and subsequently ended up floundering the war and giving the city of Coco to Ponca as a bit of an apology. This time, with Ponca being the aggressors, we may see an actual proper city capture happen, and the rise of Ponca as an at least medium strength contender in the region.
Ponca has at least been able to keep some semblance of pace with their neighbours. Though their production is atrocious, and their scientific output is equally poor, they have been able to take advantage of their UA to help them stumble their way through the tech tree. Gaining a small bit of science from every worked farm on city growth, Ponca is sporting an army better than both Susquehannock and Karankawa, as Pikemen march their way towards Coapite. Civil Service is another boon for Ponca, turning their already useful farms into food machines, allowing them to grow towering populations among their meager city count.
But that meager city count is unfortunately the greatest thing holding them back at the moment. Similarly to Xavante, Ponca has been surrounded on all sides by adversaries, locked inland by more rapidly expanding civilizations. With no access to water to send faraway settlers on, Ponca is stuck with only 4 cities, and threats on all sides. Tlingit stands tall as an everpresent threat to the whole continent, and both Anishinaabe and Onondaga could turn on a dime and sweep their armies through the midwest. And even if Ponca does manage to snag both of Karankawa’s available cities, they’ll find themselves bordering the formidable Teotihuacan, the king of Central America. Though Ponca has a chance to scramble against somebody their own size, they seem to be a small fish in a big pond. And though they’re trying their best to make some moves, I don’t think they quite have the inner dog in them to actually become a worthy contender for the crown.
12: Xavante
Archimedes :
Another day, another dollar. And another war in the Amazon. Xavante has once again come into conflict with Potiguara, with a carpet of units on both sides, and the requisite jungle in between. And though Xavante has been through this song and dance before, will this time be different? Will they lose out on their own cities, or will they storm through the trees and take the shrimp right out of Potiguara’s hands? Honestly, I think we’re looking at another stalemate to end all stalemates.
Xavante does look at least a little decent on paper. While they’re no Kayapo of CBRX4, they have decently tall cities, a good enough collection of food, and an absolute plethora of science. But, partly due to their location and partly due to the ambitiousness of their neighbours, Xavante has been hemmed in on all sides, forced into a 4 city Tradition game in an environment that almost requires wide, expansive, and productive neighbours. Their military score looks paltry at only 2500, but comparatively to Potiguara at 3000 they’re not looking the worst defensively. And, luckily for Xavante, Potiguara sports a wider military of worse quality units, with a carpet of Spearmen UUs against Xavante’s pikemen. As blows are exchanged, we’ll likely see defensive terrain and city ranged attacks make the biggest impact against these two armies, and with Xavante fighting the defensive war, there’s a good chance Potiguara will be grinding their units away on city walls, leaving Xavante in a decent position to come out of this war unscathed.
But, the biggest question of course is, what about their other neighbours? Xavante is no stranger to coalition wars, and an inopportune declaration from Yanomami, Caral, Chono, or even Guaycuru could turn the prospects of this war around in a heartbeat. South America has been a fairly calm arena so far, with most wars puttering out after years of extended jungle combat, nary a city exchanged. But Xavante has done much to clear the Amazon of their jungles, and many of their neighbours are sporting large, well equipped armies. If any one of those listed adversaries decides they want a piece of the Xavante banana, we may see a total collapse happen within an episode or two. Xavante lacks the raw production output to fight another war on two fronts, and with only 4 cities that need to be captured to put them out of the game, Xavante really could be hanging by just a thread.
13: Xaragua
JDT:
The Xaragua go up by 5 due to other civs being terrible and their acquisition of Carracks giving a theoretical possibility of them sniping coastal American cities or reclaiming their gift to the Teotihuacan. They still suck though.
14: Ternate
ItsTruckMonth:
While Cebu may be the region, no, the cylinder’s certified DAWG this season, they’ve honestly got a solid contender just below them.
Now sure, Ternate is not winning shit lmao: they’re in the exact same thunderdome situation being sat between Lanfang and Bunuba, but with bottom 10 stats. Yet despite that, and invasions from both aforementioned civs, they have yet to actually lose one of their cities.
Are they still fucked? Yes, but it's impressive regardless.
15: Papal States
Casie (LynnWinn):
So Julius II has ended up in a grind against Aures, surviving longer than I expected against the strongest force in Africa at the moment. They probably can end the war soon & live to fight another day, but they also could try to make gains further along, but that is definitely riskier & will potentially leave them in a bad position against anyone else, even if they do succeed. As much as I love the Battlepope, they are likely to face a slow, painful death at this point, even with a success in this war. It’s been great watching them though!
16: Phoenicia
NopeCopter:
Phoenicia, watching the world slowly pass them by, fall back on the one thing they can always count on to make them feel better: kicking Ma’in the second they make any sort of progress toward rebuilding, like a bully trying to compensate for their own insecurities by making everyone else even more miserable. This is likely to get Phoenicia a city in Africa, if nothing else. Their colonies in the east have successfully survived Bactria, too! With all this being said, make no mistake: Phoenicia is out of the game. Circassia could rip them to shreds on a whim, Pakistan is a growing regional power, and even the Huksos are a legitimate threat now. Their stats and geography just don’t give them much of an opportunity for a comeback.
17: Kipchaks
Shaggy:
Kanjak Sangir has never been further from being reclaimed as it is now. The Kipchaks waft up a couple of ranks as Scythia looks to drive deeper into Vyatka rather than spread out across the Urals and Ket gets frozen in the Arctic waters. I want to believe that there are more and more mercenaries coming back to help replenish the Kipchak forces, or at least that they have time to get any other ones on assignment back before they are needed. But even then, will they be enough to press against the thicker walls around them?
18: Estonia
Archimedes :
If you’re at all connected to internet culture, you’ve at one point seen the clip of Ralph Wiggums from the Simpsons sitting in the very back of a moving bus. I think it’s apt to quote him when looking at Estonia in this game, as a civ who has stood next to various different powerhouses and watched military scores rise and rise and rise.
“Ha ha, I’m In Danger.”
With an empire consisting nearly entirely of flat land, interspersed by the occasional forest or lake, Estonia is in a defenseless region. And with Unique Traits that only come into play later in the game, Estonia doesn’t have much going for them up until the late stages of the game. With Kalmar and Vyatka and Scythia all on their borders, they were bound to be conquered at some point. It’s only a matter of time, you know.
And yet, Vyatka has been reduced to ashes. Scythia has almost exclusively focused on their eastern border. And the Kalmar Union has fumbled more wars than people could have thought possible. So Estonia still survives.
Estonia’s performance has been doing quite well in the face of all of this adversity. Lennart Meri evidently has experience fighting against bigger, more powerful foes from his time rallying for Estonian independence from the Soviet Union. The core of Estonia looks strong and well defended, they continue to maintain decent looking stats, despite a currently dismal military score, and they continue to beat back against the Bjarmians, Kalmar Union, and Hanseatic League. Though things have looked dicey for Estonia, they continue to thrive, especially as they’re actively researching Civil Service, both a boon to their farming output and a key defensive unit in the Pikeman to ward off mounted aggression. There’s more and more of a glimmer of hope for Estonia in this game.
Which, of course, could all come crashing down at a moment's notice. Scythia being the decided champion of Eastern Europe has put an additional threat of an imminent collapse of Estonia’s empire. With Vyatka essentially out of the picture, Scythia will soon be able to pick off their weaker neighbours one by one, and Estonia could be the first to go. Though Estonia will be grabbing Pikeman soon, Scythia has the raw uninhibited power to sweep across the flatlands of Eastern Europe with ease, and I fear a total collapse could be over in just a few episodes. I hope every day that Estonia will last into the modern age of this game, but the unfortunate fact of the matter is that Estonia’s days are truly numbered. And once they draw the ire of their most fearsome neighbour, or once one of their current adversaries makes an actual push at conquering Estonian cities, we’ll see this plucky Blue Civ wash away into obscurity.
19: Green Ukraine
Reformer:
Green Ukraine is simply being torn apart! Very, very, very slowly…so slow, as to be painful…painful to watch, I mean! Can’t they hurry up a bit? At this rate, they’ll end up making peace, and GU will live on to fortify and survive far longer than they ought to. At least their fate is probably sealed by now. Rouran and Japan are both vaguely incompetent, but at least they seem to have sufficient willpower to carry this war through to a decisive end. Well, more Rouran. Japan is definitely struggling more. Maybe, in the future, we will see Itelmen returning to take what is rightfully theirs…Oh, GU collapsing is truly a dream come true.
20: Bactria
Reformer:
Bactria spends another episode in futile search of victory over Phoenicia. At least they’ve now ended this incredibly stupid war before wasting any more units. Truly, this is emblematic of Bactria’s entire performance so far: aggression, fury and wrath, and nary to show for it. Bactria has waged war against each neighbor, from Kipchaks and Qara-Khitai, to Pakistan and Phoenicia. Across the Caspian, Circassia is somewhat of an exception, but that is hard to count as a real neighbor. But I digress. This civ is the very manifestation of pointless aggression. At this point, it may very well end up being Bactria’s entire legacy in this game. Truly, what a sorry state of affairs, for a civ with such high expectations.
21: Luba
Archimedes :
The universe has a funny way of bringing you to unexpected places, making you do unexpected things. And, as a big believer in Herero the past couple of episodes, it’s a little ironic that Luba of all civs has landed into my lap for the writeup this episode. And let me be clear : I am about to write a biased report on Luba’s failings, so if you’re a supporter I hope you’re ready to steel yourself for disappointment.
Luba is a civ that has largely been protected by their geographical positioning. With a core focused around the Congo Basin, the thick jungles have protected them time and time again from invasions. But as time has gone on, and Luba has chopped down these jungles to make way for farms, their core territories look more and more fragile to being conquered. Herero to their south, famed for their horsemen, have gathered a broad collection of units, filling the gamut of ranged and solid melee as well. And Luba’s core boasts city defenses of 18-26, well within conquering range for a carpet of 16 strength Pikeman and 11 strength Comp Bows. This terrain development they’ve done has opened themselves up to potential loss, a strategically devastating move.
Their stats are also looking a bit paltry. Though Ethiopia to the north has been waning, both Zazzau and Herero have been slowly but surely climbing the ranks, with Herero managing nearly 50% more production from their lands. Though Luba has managed to grow high population cities and continue their scientific output well, their defensive capabilities look paltry when their Southern Neighbour can pump out units not only with a higher production capacity, but also with a unique bonus to melee and mounted units. Luba has managed to pick up Metal Casting, so Workshops can help bolster some of their weak production amounts, but generally have been researching lower cost technologies first. This has kept them well rounded, but lacking any specialized technologies may end up costing them some key bonuses to keep themselves in the game.
Ultimately, Luba isn’t going to be eliminated any time soon, and it’s maybe wishful thinking of mine to see many (or any) of Luba’s cities falling to Herero But some of their neighbours who were stagnant in the early game have begun to ramp up in power, and Luba may end up being left in the dust if they don’t make any big moves soon.
22: Portugal
Meg (LynnWinn):
Portugal’s main impressive move this episode is taking two cities off of Wassalou, which is very cool & good for them, but their gains seem largely unstable long term unless they are able to capitalize on their foothold in the region now. It definitely is possible for them to do this, but with France & Scotland nearby, they may have other concerns to look at before trying to jump into more wars in Africa.
23: Guaycuru
Orange:
Guaycuru continues to do nothing while hoping Chono doesn’t attack them. Maybe they could get away with an assault on Potiguara before Potiguara’s production catches up, but like, it’s hard to tell how that would fare because we got absolutely 0 shots of the southern cone this time. Ain’t NOTHIN’ happening down there.
24: Zazzau
ItsTruckMonth:
Just a single episode ago, if you told me that a Zazzau-Ethiopia war would see the former winning, your ass would already be in the insane asylum, yet here we are.
Somehow, someway, Zazzau is on the attack in this war, having brought Adama down to the yellow and troops on the doorsteps of Mek’ele. Things are on the up for Amina (just ignore the weight the Aures are pulling in this war and the large stats disadvantage Zazzau finds itself in compared to Ethiopia).
25: Bjarmians
Shaggy:
Through no fault of their own, the Bjarmians rose 4 ranks this week. They’ve become a truly fatalistic bunch these days. Very devout, the new revelations have really taken hold and the people dance and drink with a newfound intensity along with fresh melancholy. The world will end, make friends and enjoy it while you can. Be excellent to each other and party on, dudes.
26: Umhaill
Archimedes :
Look, I have to be honest with all of you readers. And, just so you don’t get the wrong idea, I think that Umhaill is pretty neat. They’ve made some cool plays, they had those series of episodes where they sailed a big pack of triremes up and down the coast, raiding Western Europe. They’re a cool civ, they have some neat lore, they have some supporters.
But, Umhaill is a washed civ.
Through no fault of their own (or, nearly entirely their own fault) Umhaill has stagnated and let Scotland far and away outpace them. Scotland has settled more, conquered more, blocked off Umhaill, and become the eminent power of Western Europe. Umhaill had momentum, but they squandered their chances and now look to be slowly but surely becoming eventual food for Scotland to eat once Scotland hits a critical mass. And, with Umhaill currently holding onto a Scottish city, you know that there is some bad blood simmering between the two, festering and growing until one decisive war declaration ends this tenuous peace they’ve had for years and years. It’s just not a great position to be in.
Now to be fair to Umhaill, they aren’t completely out of this game. They have some population, and some science, and some technologies. They are one of the more scientifically active civs on the cylinder in fact, only two technologies behind the current tech leader. But their production is pretty awful, their happiness is sitting at a dreadful -8, and their actual tech path hasn’t focused on any key techs in particular. They’re currently working on nabbing Compass, which can nab them some Galleasses and Carracks to help them compete with Scotland navally, but Scotland themselves are grabbing the compass prerequisites and have a heck of a lot more science, meaning any window of opportunity is going to be closing quickly.
If you’re an Umhaill supporter and you’re reading this, know that I wasn’t always so dour on the civ. But episode after episode of inaction after their explosive set of naval invasions has soured my opinion on them, and watching their neighbour expand broadly, grab a key wonder, and engage in conquest just rubs additional salt in the wound. Perhaps there’s a chance for them to get back into this game and become a real, proper contender, but I’m not going to be holding my breath.
27: Hyksos
ItsTruckMonth:
HOLY SHIT GUYS WE GOT A RELEVANT HYKSOS WAR THEY DECLARED ON MA’IN LET’S FINALLY SEE SOME CULT ACTIO-
*whispers*
What?
*whispers*
What do you MEAN they’re blocked off by Phoenicia???
*whispers*
GOD FUCKING DAMMIT
28: Hanseatic League
Leman:
Hansa is in a golden age right now. That’s what the Hofburg Palace does, it gives them a Golden Age. That being said, I’m not sure Hansa is going to use it too well. Their siege of Wallachian Turnu doesn’t look like it's going to pan out and Estonia is back for round two. Personally, in this situation I don’t think Hansa is going to be bailed out by an unbelievably undeserved peace treaty. But this is all speculation. At this point Hansa exists and is doing fine. They’re in a Golden Age after all.
29: Itelmen
Orange:
Itelmen continue to have mediocre stats while surrounded by people about as strong as them or stronger, and they still haven’t been able to get a proper offense going anywhere. Just continuing their slow expanse of frozen cities not on rivers. I for one hope they somehow can take Tlingit by surprise.
30: Kalmar Union
ECH:
Margarethe is clinging on to a ranking in the middle of the pack, and honestly, I think they kinda worked for it this week, even if that only earnt them status quo. Last week I and others were fully in the mindset that the North Atlantic was lost to Scandinavian hands, but helped by the timely arrival of their speedy Galleass-replacing UU the Gun Holk they appear to have brought back some fire to the fight.
Kalmar’s been an odd one for a while now, infoaddicts puts them at 21st on the Cylinder but they simply fail the sniff test for us PR’s, locked into Northern Europe in a way we’ve seen stronger contenders in past seasons fail to escape also, so the path for the Union looks pretty hard to envision.
31: Onondaga
Orange:
Old Sheehay’s is doing “stuff” and Tadodaho is continuing to do nothing. One of these two neighbors is certainly doing a lot more to grow as a civ and vie for a higher position, and let me tell you, it’s not Onondaga. They do have more armies though, and one more tech, so like, if they attacked Susq now they could probably get a city or two out of it, but will they? No, they don’t have that dog in them.
And it is at this point in this write-up that I remembered that they are at war with Anishinaabe, a war which got 0 screentime this episode. Seriously, what are they doing?
32: Pomo
NopeCopter:
Things continue to go very, very bad for the Pomo as they lose another city to the Tlingit (who are only pulling further and further ahead in the tech game, mind you) and have their navy battered by Teotihuacan. All things considered, they’re doing pretty well at holding off this two-front invasion from top-tier powers, but their stats are suffering, and every city lost is another nail in the coffin for hopes of a comeback. Of course, that’s to say nothing of the elephant in the room: the Pomo have managed to lose not one but two of their Hawaiian cities to Cebu of all civs with frightening speed, and at this rate they’re going to lose the third, as well. This really doesn’t matter THAT much, it’s not like Hawaii was a part of their core or anything, but aside from being really embarrassing for a former top-tier power to lose these cities so easily, it also means that the Pomo have lost one of their last real avenues of expansion and power projection as their top-tier neighbors continue to squeeze them. The Pomo still have decent-enough stats and quite a few cities, but they’re looking a whole lot like X4’s Pueblo right about now, and that is NOT a compliment.
33: Ethiopia
Orange:
Ethiopia’s stagnation over the past few episodes have caused them to absolutely plummet in the rankings, and nowhere is this more apparent than Zazzau attacking them, and winning. Formerly near dead last Zazzau, beating formerly near the very top Ethiopia. Not only this, but the civ they evidently desperately want to take over the religion of, Hyksos, has a larger army than them. This is the highest Ethiopia will be for the rest of the game, truly.
34: Cebu
ItsTruckMonth:
Look at this. Admire it. Appreciate the absolute DAWG of a civ that we are seeing in Cebu right now. What we once thought would be yet another mediocre Filipino civ is turning into one of the ballsiest motherfuckers we have ever seen to have blessed the cylinder.
It started with their invasion of Ryukyu, getting a good chunk of the spoils through their capture of the Bornean settlement of Nakujin, followed by the capital. Next, a small snack from one of Yunnan’s coastal settlements on the Vietnamese coast. But now? They’re moving on to the bigger and brighter things, having snatched two of Pomo’s Hawaiian cities, and now gunning for number 3. Mind you, their whole expansion has been off conquest, THEY HAVE NOT BUILT A SINGLE SETTLER OUTSIDE OF THE OG 3 THEY RECEIVED. So yeah, things are going just SWIMMINGLY for Humabon.
Well, not completely. While they’re absolutely on the up, some definite concerns need to be addressed before they become anything close to an actual contender: most notably their mediocre production and the ABSOLUTE FUCKSHIT LOCATION BETWEEN TANG, LANFANG, AND JAPAN. That said, fuck the metrics. All we care about are those POBLOMETRICS BAYBEE THE XDAWG STAT IS TO THE MOON BAYBEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
35: Potiguara
Leman:
Potiguara feels like a civ that is slowly getting weaker. Granted Potiguara didn’t move this week. Again. But I dunno. I just feel worse and worse about them as Caral, Yanomami and Chono just get stronger and stronger. I am happy that Potiguara managed to found a city this episode, filling out their core nicely, but you know. There’s another war with Xavante happening that's going nowhere, just like Potiguara.
36: Herero
Caitlyn (LynnWinn):
Hetero is a very silly nation, deciding that the fourth time is the charm in the war against their neighbors. While not exactly a great idea to declare war on both at the same time, it isn’t an impossible position for them to come out stronger in. Hetero is too dumb to win, Luba is too dumb to lose, & Maravi has been repeatedly difficult to crack into. It is simply a skill issue, & a quality issue. There’s not a lot of opportunities for total victory, most likely securing the bottom on the continent in Maravi’s worst defended cities, then trying to take Kabongo & Katende seems to be the best they can ask for.
37: France
ECH:
Look, the truest reason to become a PR is so you can corruptly advertise your own shoddy products, amirite gang?! [noteECHsviewsdonotreflectthoseoftheCBROrganisationortheirsattelitepartners]
Oh right, France, that’s what I’m meant to be discussing. Forgive me if I forgot, given we didn’t see a great deal of the republic of virtue this week. It’s really a CBR classic, the Western European power making a move to invade Italy through the Alps but having no chance of success because they’re trying to invade Italy through the Alps, so they’re mostly ignored. Good on Robespierre for not being at constant peace I suppose, but as noted in a comment, mayhaps those units lying dead in the snowswept peaks would have been better spent on literally any other border France has, whether back to war with Portugal or sweeping up the vulnerable colonies of Umhaill or Scotland in natural French territory?
38: Bunuba
ECH:
Personally I think Bunuba’s science would be best spent inventing the most modern plumbing possible, or perhaps even the rubber duck, given the scale to which Jandamarra is getting washed. Officially defeated by bloody Ternate…
39: Qara Khitai
Leman:
Qara Khitai’s stat rise finally came to a rest recently after rising from a late bloomer to a solid little mid tier. They still do have a ways to go, but honestly at least they have a solid foundation to work from. However there is still a lot more work to be done, and Qara Khitai isn’t really doing it. They have a handful of cities but unfortunately they're all pretty shrimpy. They have a few weak neighbors but they aren’t attacking them, and they have a little bit of land, but they aren’t settling it yet. One of those three things need to happen before civs like Rouran or Ket crush them underfoot.
40: Circassia
Archimedes :
Look I’m gonna be honest, I thought Circassia had the sauce. I was doubtful of them based on their starting performance, but then a little known Power Ranker named ShaggySnorlax dropped the famous ‘Pepe Circassia’ slide in Power Ranking episode 7. I think that Circassia may read these Rankings of Power, because holy hell have they had a real turn around. Sweeping through Phoenicia, settling cities like theres no tomorrow, improving their core to impressive degrees. And now, with an opportunely timed war against Bankruptcy Dork Wallachia, they have a real, solid chance of making some impressive gains.
Except, they’ve kind of sucked at that.
Circassia has been warring against Wallachia since last episode, and what I expected to be a lightning fast campaign to secure the whole of the Black Sea has turned into a bit of a prolonged siege at Campulung. Wallachia, as technologically stunted as their units are, has put up a good fight with their carpet defending against Circassia, keeping Campulung solidly at half health. Just as Circassia tried and failed to besiege Lagash in their war with Sumer, I’m a bit afraid that Circassia might stumble on this city capture as well. In a perfect world, I could see Circassia whittling down Wallachia’s units, and then taking both Campulung and Bran in one fell swoop. But those are just my hopes and dreams.
Circassia at least has the stats to back up an extended siege. Their production is solid, with plenty of food surplus, and they have extra happiness to support a few conquered cities. But they aren’t fantastic, and they’re decidedly lower in city count, production, science, and food compared to their northern neighbour. That neighbor, Scythia, has been on an absolute tear through Eastern Europe and Western Asia, threatening the status quo wherever they step. And with Vyatka essentially out of the picture, Circassia could be their next target. This siege of Campulung needs to end as soon as possible, so Circassia can consolidate their gains and shore up their defenses, to present as tough and unappealing of a target as possible. Circassia could, if they focus on picking off their weaker southern neighbours, grow to be a real power in the area, but with a sword perpetually hanging over their head, I’m sure Ismail is sweating bullets at every opportunity.
41: Susquehannock
Shaggy:
The capture of Caoque makes Susqeuhannock’s dream of a full border along the North American east coast one city closer, and puts Karankawa on the back foot with respect to their second wind exploratory cities they’ve settled up north. “Om nom nom,” says Old Sheehays, nibbling at coastal cities while balancing a crown on his head.
42: Scotland
NopeCopter:
Scotland’s war against Kalmar, which seemed like a slam dunk at the end of last episode, has run into a bit of a snag as Kalmar’s navy has turned out to be more of a concern than expected. In particular, their unique Galleass replacement has been a pretty big thorn in the side of the Scottish invasion force. Nevertheless, the North Sea seems relatively secure, and while the very funny northern Scandinavian cities are probably going to be lost, they weren’t very important anyways. The question now is whether Scotland can actually take the fight to the Kalmar core - any presence in the part of Scandinavia that’s actually habitable would be a pretty massive win.Of course, even if this is it for Scotland in this war, things are still looking up. Umhaill, once a major rival, has been falling further and further behind. Greenland is ripe for the settling. Kalmar can always be bullied more later, and Hansa has a couple of potential free cities, as well. They’re not likely to be the next Faroes or anything, but Scotland’s looking like they might actually end up a regional power after all.
43: Bangladesh
Archimedes :
The most consequential shot that we got out of this episode relating to Bangladesh was not of their empire, but of their religious extent. Sweeping across Eastern Asia in a fervor of religious activity, Bangladesh’s Shaktism stands to reach all the way up into the far east of Russia, to contend with both Ket and Tlingit’s religion. Their religious influence is even beating back against Pakistan’s Sunni Islam, which just so happens to be primed and ready to feed Mysore's population to Pakistan from Pakistan’s UA. And with such a broad religious base for their empire, you would assume that Bangladesh has picked up some pretty nifty beliefs for their religion, right?
Well, they’ve picked up a couple at least.
Because at this point, dear reader, Bangladesh has yet to actually enhance their religion. They stand with a grand total of three beliefs; a pantheon, a Founder, and a Follower belief. Goddess of Festivals is granting them a bit extra faith and culture from spices, sugar, truffles and wine, and Initiation rites is giving them bursts of gold and +5 culture every time they first convert a city to their religion. But, the thing that truly is keeping the religious fervour going is their Follower building, the Stupa, which is granting any city that builds it +2 faith and culture, and an additional 30% religious pressure in the city. That, in combination with Bangladesh’s apparent love for missionaries as it seems they’ve yet to accumulate enough faith for a Great Prophet despite making 54 faith per turn, has made Shaktism spread like wildfire. Shaktism may be the single most important religion to keep Ket’s additional city strength at bay, to keep Tlingit from gifting free science and culture to other civilizations, and to help make Pakistan flourish through repeated conversion trading with their cities. Though Bangladesh stands currently as a solid civ with higher end stats and a strikingly high production and happiness, their religion currently is the most impactful part of their civ. And, if they can ever manage to stockpile their faith instead of immediately spending it on more missionaries, they may end up nabbing a couple more critically useful religious beliefs to help catapult their empire to new, cylinder-contending heights.
44: Rouran
Archimedes :
Against all odds, against all expectations, Rouran has successfully done a thing.
With an army primarily consisting of horsemen, Rouran has declared war on Green Ukraine, the most nothingburger civilization in all of the Russian Far East, and they have swooped in with their centipedes and taken a city. Evidently taking notes from Ethiopia or Scythia, Rouran has decided that horsemen can effectively besiege walled settlements, and Iman is solidly in their hands.
I have to give them credit, I was doubting Rourans prowess in this game. They are a civ that has made some questionable moves so far this game, with a gifted city to Tang, a slow settling push, and cities that are decidedly lacking in food and population. But as their war with Green Ukraine continues, we have a chance of seeing Rouran take another consequential city, in the form of Nikolaevskoe. With defensive forces looking sparse, and Rouran still having a carpet of both horsemen and capable ranged units, we may see the city fall very quickly as well to this wriggling horde.
But, lest we forget that Rouran is not in fact in the perfect position to run away with this game. Though their production has skyrocketed, their city count is numerous, and their population isn’t the worst in the world, they are still lacking in citizens and a proper science score. Their land is dubiously productive, with other more fertile areas taken up by other powerhouses in this game, namely Ket and Tang. Both civs are in the absolute upper echelon of this game, threatening to topple any and all of Rourans gains with a single war declaration. Even Qara-Khitai, a neighbour that at one point looked absolutely baffling, has been clawing their way from the depths of mediocrity to actually put up a solid fight in this game. If any of these civs gather together for a coalition war against Rourans wanton aggression, their prospects could begin to look dire.
But for now, Rouran continues to take pieces out of the most Potential Civ in this game, and continues to push through the tech tree, just moments away from nabbing Civil Service. With boosted freshwater farms and potentially new eastern gains both on the horizon, I’m really beginning to turn my opinion of Rouran around. But only just.
45: Yanomami
NopeCopter:
On the surface, things might seem a bit bleak for the Yanomami. Sure, their stats are good - great, even - but their neighbors are almost all just as good. Caral, Teotihuacan, and the Susquehannock all pose, if not a threat, at the very least a nigh-insurmountable wall. All of these civs, and even most of the weaker ones like the Xavante, are also nearly impossible to conquer due to rough terrain and unit carpets (which the Yanomami are noticeably lacking at the moment). All signs point to an endless series of meatgrinders being the Yanomami’s fate.
So, then, why are they ranked so high? It mostly comes down to opportunities. The Yanomami are one of the first civs to reach Carracks, placing them in a decisively advantageous position navally. They also control the Panama Canal, giving them more flexibility in terms of where to use these ships! Xaragua also has Carracks, but they’re noticeably weaker - those boats protect them from a lot of the other powers in the Caribbean, but not the Yanomami, who have also been gaining a strong presence in the region via settling. In other words, the Yanomami are looking like by far the favorite to actually control the Caribbean at this rate. Teotihuacan has better stats, but their naval prowess is… lacking. The Susquehannock are being pretty active, but their naval skills are also questionable, and they only have Triremes anyways. The Potiguara are much more vulnerable by sea than by land. And because the terrain is so rough, the Yanomami have little to fear from a land invasion. Heck, even the Xavante are more vulnerable to the Yanomami than to, say, Caral. A lot of the Yanomami strength is theoretical, but they’ve shown a fair bit of competence thus far, and so to me, at least, they could easily end up an equal of Caral, or Teotihuacan, or the Chono, given a bit of time. And time is on their side.
46: Japan
Leman:
Japan’s invasion of Green Ukraine peters out this episode. They emerge from the war up a full city and having inflicted an incredible amount of damage on Green Ukraine. Their capital starved 9 population and they lost another city to Rouran. That’s not tangible now but next time Japan should be able to sweep through with their expanded beachhead after a regroup, either later in this war or after a stint of peace. Either way I’m bullish on Japan with their strong stats, great showing this episode, and excellent position.
47: Pakistan
Paige (LynnWinn):
Okay so, /u/ThyReformer explained a bit of why Pakistan has had such insane city growth (especially Karachi) in the Power Rankers Discord server, basically it has to do with their UA.
(Coiot either indent, keep italicize, or quote box this, whatever makes sense for the site)
Two-Nation Theory
Cities you control receive a Growth bonus equal to half the Religious Pressure from your primary Religion within them. Receive Tiles and Citizens from nearby foreign Cities converted from your Religion to another.
So basically their religious pressure from pops has led to a ton of population growth from lots of excess food. Karachi is their holy city, which has been influencing a lot of nearby cities, leading to a huge population from the excess food, even with the less developed reaches of the city. Below Thy explains a bit more about the details for the UA & how it has affected things in game.
“So for example, a freshly founded religion, in the holy city, will have 30 pressure...Pakistan would start receiving 15 food per turn... Pakistan founded their religion [Islam] on t42, after which, their capital [Karachi] has been growing, on average every four turns, give or take. Plenty of times it took an extra turn, but after t100, it's been growing faster than that. If the AI was ANY SMART it would beeline theology for Grand Temple, which will double pressure and thus the food bonus.
By my quick calc, there's 11 Islamic cities in pressure range of Karachi, which means there should be 96 pressure in Karachi, amounting to 48 food per turn. Grand Temple will only double the “native” pressure, i.e. it'd be +30 pressure and of course this isn't just a bonus for the capital, it's applicable to any of their cities.
I think the migration just goes to the closest Pakistan city, I think it hasn't come up yet, though. They're only just meeting Bangladesh's religion, same with Hyksos' religion. But very soon we could start seeing this migration thing kicking in, especially on the Hyksos' side, since Hyksos seem to have a lot of conversion power. Bangladesh's religion is pretty garbage lol. As for the NUMBER of pops that move as migrants, it's pretty much always gonna be 2. And only isn't 2, if that would bring the city pop to 0. The tall religious player's wet dream, that's what this UA is.”
Pakistan is honestly going to go to town this season, you will not change my mind.
48: Caral
JDT:
Fellow readers, I levy a question: Is Caral the new Potential Civ? If you look at it on the stat sheet, the Caral are pretty neat. They got top tier production, very good growth and science, and a whole lotta space to settle in Polynesia. But if you look at what they’ve actually done all game, things are far less impressive. They have not really engaged in any meaningful combat all game, having been hemmed in from attacking other South Americans by jungles and the Andes. They have not been able to settle Polynesia due to the speedbump that is Rapa Nui. So the question now is - is there any viable option for them to truly convert their statistical advantage?
49: Seychelles
Archimedes :
Welcome, welcome everyone to another episode of the Power Ranker Podcast. I’m Archimedes and I’m here with notable Power Ranker Shaggysnorlax, famous for his Circassia rants. Today, we’re looking at a little Civ off of the eastern coast of Africa known as Seychelles, and let me tell you they are a real stinker of a civ.
“Well hold on, Seychelles are actually pretty good”
Shaggy Shaggy, I’m going to have to disagree with you. I’m not sure if you’ve read previous Power Rankings I’ve done for Seychelles, such as Ep 8’s “Seychelles are the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Civ”, but they are actually a bad civ that should feel bad for their performance so far. I mean, did you see that war they fought against Maravi? Shameful, honestly.
“Yeah but think about it. Despite the war, they have a massive set of invasion options.”
Look okay okay, I’ll give you that. If you look at Eastern Africa and the Middle East, Seychelles is actually very close to a lot of valid targets. Their previous war with Maravi was pretty awful, but Seychelles has access to Pikemen now through Civil Service, and they have nabbed all of the prerequisites for Compass. They could at any moment decide to pick up a huge, scientifically advanced naval force that could pick off Maravi, Herero, Ethiopia, Sumer, even Pakistan with enough effort. But, be for real, they don’t have the guts to actually do it. They don’t have the spunk. And those empires surely would put up a decent fight.
“Yeah but all of their coastal conquest targets are stagnating. They’re at least poorly equipped for naval defense.”
Shaggy has a point here. When you look at all of these civs within striking distance, none of them scream “top contender”, aside from potentially Pakistan. And Karachi is noticeably right on the coast, something that the navally focused Seychelles could very well take advantage of. Imagine a fleet of Galleasses rocking up to Karachi, which is only 5 tiles away from Seychelles borders, and pinging it down one shot at a time? 32 Defensive Strength isn’t very impressive, it would totally be doable.
“You know you haven’t mentioned yet, their industrial core is nowhere near invaders”
Okay that’s a bit of a stretch. Looking at Seychelles, this is an empire that doesn’t exactly scream ‘production powerhouse’. With only 176 production from their 15 cities, and an average of 1.1 production per citizen, Seychelles are decidedly a food and science focused civ. And, with recently picking up Education, their effective science is sitting at a pretty 248, which will only grow higher as they continue to finish off Universities in their cities. With Tlingit being the top dog at 255 with their broken religious belief, Seychelles is keeping pace in a very respectable way. And, for the few cities they have that do have a decent production, on Madagascar for example, they are at least a decent bit away from any potential enemies. Plenty of buffer cities stand in the way, contributing both science and distance in an invasion.
“And, that wonder they just built? It’s purpose-made for them”
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah lets take a look at that, lets take a peek. What exactly did they end up building?
Itsukushima Shrine. +20xp for land and naval units in this city. Amphibious promotion for all land units, +3 faith on sea resources.
Okay Shaggy okay, you may be spot on with this one. Built in Anse Boileau, on the Northern Coast of Madagascar, the city is almost a perfect fit for preparing a land invasion of Africa. The city itself has plenty of mines, which would be perfect for pumping out units, and the additional Amphibious promotions are perfect for the sea invasion necessary to grab proper landing points, in addition to the ones they have in the Horn of Africa. If I was a player in this game, making decisions, I would definitely be beelining for this wonder. This is a decision with player backed intuition, through and through.
So okay, Shaggy you may have some good points when it comes to Seychelles prowess in this game. And while I think they’re still an unproven civ that has focused too much on food and science, they do have the POTENTIAL to do a lot of work in Africa, as Eastern Africa and Arabia languishes. Pakistan has proven itself to be a worthy contender, but lacks a viable path to a wide swathe of conquering, and perhaps Seychelles can be the one to actively take advantage of that. But, that’s all the time we have for Seychelles. Shaggy, I hear you want to talk a little bit about Mysore before we REALLY get into a proper discussion about a little mesoamerican civ I feel could be the number one in this competition.
50: Anishinaabe
Leman:
Anishinaabe is still playing second fiddle in North America. They have a great core, a bunch of cities, a solid religion and a little more space to continue expanding but they lack real easy expansion opportunities, and aren’t currently crushing one of their neighbors. Basically, they’re not Tlingit. And it’s hard to be excited for a North American who’s not Tlingit. That civ is comically dominant at this point, so honestly it says a lot about Anishinaabe that we put them in 11th despite the fact that they neighbor Tlingit. Any minute now Tlingit could shift focus and Anishinaabe could go hurtling down the rankings, just like Pomo.
51: Mysore
Shaggy:
Mysore continue to keep pace with the top 10 statistically even if their region’s borders and settling patterns are relatively stable. They’ll keep growing and growing, and Pakistan will keep growing and growing, and Bangladesh will keep growing and growing, and eventually half the population of the cylinder will live between the Euphrates and the Brahmaputra. We didn’t see much of them this episode but the action has been pretty far from their core for a while now.
52: Teotihuacan
Archimedes :
Hello and welcome back everyone to our next segment of the Power Ranker Podcast. Again, I’m Archimedes and my fellow Power Ranker here ShaggySnorlax has just gone for a quick bathroom break. Unbeknownst to Shaggy, the bathroom here in the studio actually locks from the outside, so I’ve gone and both locked and barricaded the door because, frankly, only I can talk about just how cool Teotihuacan is.
“Hey, let me out of here! You said you were fine with me doing Teotihuacan this week!”
Let me just close the door to the recording room here so you can’t hear any of that outside noise, the soundproofing in this place is just amazing, I did it myself. Now, down to business, Teotihuacan are great, they’re amazing in fact. They are arguably one of the top 5 contenders on this cylinder, even if some of the rankers don’t quite get it yet. If you look at each and every aspect of their empire, you’ll realize that it paints a pretty incredible picture. And though I think my fellow ranker who’s locked away might have agreed with me, let me tell you with no uncertainty how all of these elements truly come together.
Teotihuacan has continued to bolster their core of cities, boasting an incredible 275 production. For such a coastally focused empire, with the majority of their cities bordering ocean waters, this is a staggering number to have achieved, partially due to the hilly, productive terrain of their mesoamerican core. Their total population also stands strong at 158, more than other civs like Ket and Seychelles that have higher city counts. That population, bolstered incredibly by the free city gift of Mamey, has allowed their science to climb to very respectable numbers, with a total effective science output of 165. While that may not be as high as the top science producers on the cylinder, it is a great improvement from their earlier, writing-less days, and will allow them to start actually competing for wonders to be able to produce. In addition to their science output, their tech path has been impeccable, grabbing heavy hitting workshops first, then Civil Service for a fantastic farming output boost, and now working on Philosophy to beeline for Compass and / or Education. With neighbouring civs Xaragua and Yanomami currently having Carracks fielded, Teotihuacan has smartly made the decision to work towards a contemporary army, to not be caught on the backfoot.
Speaking of wars though, their coalition war with Tlingit is still going fantastically. As Tlingit to the north captures cities and kills off enemies, Teotihuacan slowly trickles units into the southern frontline, putting up enough of a resistance to allow their ally to take the brunt of the diplomatic consequences. And, as Teotihuacan continues to kill units and deal damage to Pomo’s southern cities, they’re racking up a reputation of fierceness that the Pomo diplomats will surely remember. Teotihuacan has of course done this before, striking fear into the hearts of both Karankawa and Xaragua with the fierceness of their warriors and the willingness to die for their country. Any moment now, Pomo will be grovelling at Teotihuacan’s feet, begging to end the war with a city gift or two as penance for their transgressions. Teotihuacan is a master at these negotiations, and will likely get Bida’miwina and E’lem for free, if not also the hawaiian colony of Kabe’napo as well.
Teotihuacan seems poised to make some great moves in the near future. As their war with Pomo wanes and eventually comes to an end, and with Susquehannock in no position to actually challenge any of Teo’s lands, there’s a good chance Teotihuacan comes out of both wars with free city gifts galore. Their stats place them firmly among the top contenders, and their options lay open with potential conquests of Xaragua, Karankawa, and Yanomami always on the horizon. My one hope this episode was that Susquehannock would have successfully conquered the Karankawa city on the Yucatan Peninsula, so Teotihuacan could have taken it right back and unified the whole of Mesoamerica under their rule. A whole and unfettered Central America, along with a wonder or two to sweeten the pot, would be the perfect picture to imagine for this absolute powerhouse we’ve all come to know and love.
And with that, I think that concludes the Power Ranker Podcast! I’ve been Archimedes, and I think it’s about time I let ShaggySnorlax out of the bathroom. Tune in next time for me to tell you all about how Teotihuacan is so cool, has no faults, and will absolutely win this game 100%
53: Chono
Leman:
Chono was a divisive civ this week. On the one hand they have great stats and are extremely well positioned with an easy target and future potential in Polynesia. On the other hand they are so, so sleepy. Chono have had Guaycuru cities for the taking, have had cities for the taking for weeks, and refused to act upon that. And some power rankers think that this means they will be overtaken by currently weaker but more active civs. Mainly Caral. This power ranker thinks Chono has all the time in the world to wake up before they’re washed. So be patient. Chono will be fine.
54: Aures
Leman:
Aures slides down the rankings this week as their invasion of the Papal States really stalls. Castel Gadolfo has flipped maybe 12-million times but Aures has completely failed to keep hold of it. It’s not bad, naval invasions are notoriously hard at this point in the game, but given the power differential between the two we expected that, by now, Aures would have broken through. It's okay, it's not bad. At worst, Aures is probably writing a juicy peace treaty for itself and at best, Papal States is about to run out of gas. Any minute now.
55: Lanfang
Reformer:
Lanfang exits the war with Bunuba. A successful campaign, netting them two cities– another notch in favor of Lanfang’s competence. These recent successful campaigns were much needed to improve our faith in Lanfang, after the early showing against Ternate. By now, we know that they are more than a strong set of uniques. They are a proper competent, expansive civ. Lanfang clearly knows when to not overextend, when to call it quits and consolidate the gains you have made. This kind of wise and reserved expansion is what got Goguryeo their win, which bodes well for Lanfang. Whether they can manage a future squeezed between Mysore, Tang, and NSW, is a different thing entirely.
56: Scythia
Reformer:
This ep, Scythia is on the brink of glory. More glory, that is. Already, Scythia has conquered the Vyatkan hinterlands with ease. Now, while Ket distracts them, Vyatka’s capital is wide open for Scythia. To truly cement your position as a top5 power, to truly DESERVE this spot you’ve been generously granted, you must take that capital. Plunge the dagger deep in the heart of your enemy, and great power will be granted in turn. Power beyond your wildest imagination. Power to defeat all those who stand before you, to show that you are more than a simple steppe civ. It is your destiny!
57: New South Wales
Orange:
New South Wales is such an interesting case, so lemme let you in on a little secret. Of the various Power Rankers, six people ranked NSW 2nd, one person ranked them 3rd, and one person ranked them 4th, and then four people ranked them 11th. This is the kind of disparity we get sometimes, where the majority of us have them at the very tippy top, and then a small minority of us, including myself, see them as trapped by Australia, unable to have proven themselves to break out yet, and therefore unwilling to put them into the top 10. I’m on that side, I don’t think they deserve the top 10, even if they’re stats are super good, not until they prove themselves. Get fucked Macarthur, go take your drunk ass home.
58: Ket
Leman:
Ket disappointed me a little bit this week. Don’t get me wrong they did great, grabbing a city off of Vyatka and just existing a big old blob. But Kets is a really big blob and Vyatka is actively dying so I really expected a little more than Ket just taking a single island city in the arctic sea. Still, progress is progress, Ket is still great, Vyatka is still falling apart and Zyuzdino-Afanasyevskoye is completely surrounded. Still great, still Ket.
59: Tang
Reformer:
Still here, even as the stats begin to slightly fall off. The problem really is recurring: constant unhappiness. Even as Tang acquires additional sources of happiness, their fertile lands simply produce more pop at breakneck speeds. Mind, you, they’re not even #1 in pop. It is close, admittedly, as they are #3, but NSW and Tlingit are substantially ahead. Suppose this is the problem with ruling all of China under one banner. And this problem is likely getting worse soon enough, when the peace deal with Green Ukraine runs out. You know the one. The peace deal where Tang received 28 happiness worth of luxuries. Yeah, this is going to get ugly. Tang’s current happiness is already a lamentable -9. Tang’s happiness is about to be in the abyss. Better hope they are headed for Machinery for some happiness, or they’ll be down in the dumps for some time…
60: Tlingit
NopeCopter:
The Tlingit continue to hold their almost-universal rank 1 placement this week as they slowly but surely break down the Pomo. They’ve taken another city (albeit with a bit of trouble), and with their Trebuchets and large military, it’s not unreasonable that they could march onto another. Even if they don’t, though, the Tlingit still have the most Production, the most cities, and the most Science on the cylinder, all without any major Happiness or Gold issues. Their issue of lacking many neighbors to conquer has become much less of a concern as the Pomo have proven themselves able to bleed, and Teotihuacan is starting to look more and more troubled, as well. Heck, they even have an entry point into Asia in the form of the Itelmen! Their victory is far from guaranteed, but the Tlingit are looking rock-solid in a way that basically no other civ is. Plus, they’re researching Theology right now, which will lead them to both the Compass and Education! Expect the Tlingit to only get scarier from here on out.
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