Pre-Game Power Rankings based on civilization and leader combinations
With the map settings and team picks all done, it's time to analyze the ten teams in Realms Beyond Pitboss 14. Just to recap, here are the following relevant settings for this game:
- Civilizations: 10
- Difficulty: Monarch
- Map Size: Large (I think)
- Game Speed: Normal
- World Wrap: Toroidal
- Technology Trading: OFF
- Barbarians: Normal
- Human Diplomacy: Full Diplomacy (i.e. teams free to contact each other however they want)
- Other features: (1) Enough water to make seafaring relevant, (2) All capitals "far" away from each other, (3) everyone starts with a scout, even if one doesn't have Hunting, and (4) Contact possible pre-Optics with all civilizations
Here are the following teams in the game, listed in order of who got to pick their first leader in this game:
1. Team Eagles & Condors - Kurumi / HBHR (with Oxyphenbutazone dedlurking)
Pacal II (Fin/Exp) || Native America (Dog Soldier (Axeman and Totem Pole (Monument); Fish/Agri)
2. Team Dinosaurs - Whiteye / Raptorous
Darius I (Fin/Org) || English (Redcoat (Rifleman) and Stock Exchange (Bank); Fish/Mining)
3. Team Master and Margarita - Slaze / Maga_R (with Jovan Kukic dedlurking)
Willem van Oranje (Fin/Cre) || Ottoman (Janissary (Musketman) and Hammam (Aqueduct); Wheel/Agri)
4. Team ??? - Bowsling / Aivoturso
Mansa Musa (Fin/Spi) || Zululand (Impi (Spearman) and Ikhanda (Barracks); Agri/Hunt)
5. Team Orgynized - Lord Parkin / Arkipeller / Magno_uy (with WilliamLP and Dp101 dedlurking)
Huayna Capac (Fin/Ind) || Netherlands (East Indiaman (Galleon) and Dike (Levee); Fish/Agri)
6. Team Blame Caledorn - YossarianLives / Caledorn (with Scooter, Old Harry and Cheater Hater dedlurking)
Isabella (Spi/Exp) || Inca (Quecha (Warrior) and Terrace (Granary); Myst/Agri)
7. Team Care Bears - Yuufo / Bisons
Victoria (Fin/Imp) || India (Fast Worker (Worker) and Mausoleum (Jail); Myst/Mining)
8. Team EggHeads - dick76 / DMOC (with TeddyKGB dedlurking)
Suryavarman II (Exp/Cre) || Byzantium (Cataphract (Knight) and Hippodrome (Theatre); Myst/Wheel)
9. Team My Little Marathon Cannibal Pony - Classical_Hero / Halvgud
Napoleon (Org/Cha) || Sumeria (Vulture (Axeman) and Ziggurat (Courthouse); Wheel/Agri)
10. Team Gladiator's Glory - Barteq / Geo (with Harami dedlurking)
Ragnar (Agg/Fin) || Rome (Praetorian (Swordsman) and Forum (Market); Fish/Mining)
Team Blame Caledorn, Team Care Bears, and Team My Little Marathon Cannibal Pony all picked their civilization before their leader. Thus, the full snake pick ordering was as follows:
- Pacal II
- Darius I
- Willem van Oranje
- Mansa Musa
- Huayna Capac
- Inca
- India
- Suryavarman II
- Sumeria
- Ragnar / Rome
- Napoleon
- Byzantium
- Victoria
- Isabella
- Netherlands
- Zululand
- Ottoman
- English
- Native America
Traits:
- Financial (7)
- Expansive (3)
- Creative (2)
- Organized (2)
- Spiritual (2)
- Aggressive (1)
- Charismatic (1)
- Imperialistic (1)
- Industrious (1)
- Philosophical (0)
- Protective (0)
Unique Units:
- Axeman (2)
- Galleon (1)
- Knight (1)
- Musketman (1)
- Rifleman (1)
- Spearman (1)
- Swordsman (1)
- Warrior (1)
- Worker (1)
Unique Buildings:
- Aqueduct (1)
- Bank (1)
- Barracks (1)
- Courthouse (1)
- Granary (1)
- Jail (1)
- Levee (1)
- Market (1)
- Monument (1)
- Theatre (1)
Quick thoughts: First, let's talk about the traits. As expected, Financial is extremely overrepresented, with SEVEN of the ten teams picking a leader that possesses the trait. The only financial leaders that are NOT present in this game are Elizabeth (Fin/Phi), Hannibal (Fin/Chm) and Wang Kon (Fin/Pro). Of these, I was a little surprised that Elizabeth was left out; if you recall, I was seriously thinking of suggesting her as a leader for our team. As it turns out, no one picked the Philosophical trait, which reflects my theory of the reduced value of that trait in multiplayer as opposed to single player, where a well-timed bulb can result in massive tech trading to catapult a player in the lead. With regards to Hannibal and Wang Kon, I'm not surprised they were left out. Protective is definitely the worst trait for this style of game, since it offers virtually no economic benefit and little benefit to the aggressor in warfare. Charismatic offers some economic benefit with the extra happiness, but a +1 or +2 happiness advantage can easily be accomplished by other means, such as with Unique Buildings such as the Jail and the Hippodrome. After Financial, I see that Expansive is the next represented trait with 3; this is also not surprising because it's a terrific trait. The best aspects in my opinion is the cheap granary, followed closely by the cheap worker. Being expansive ourselves, we should definitely see if we can save chops for those in our game. Looking along the frequencies of the remaining traits, I notice that only Team Orgynized is the only Industrious leader. They'll basically have their pick of many wonders, and I assume they're already reveling about that in their spoiler thread.
The unique units and unique buildings are concentrated in the earlier eras, which makes sense because as a general rule, the later something appears in the game, the less useful it will be to winning the game. We will need to keep an eye on the teams that have highly mobile units (India, Zululand, and the Netherlands) since they can perform some surprise attacks, e.g. Indian workers unexpectedly roading that forest tile next to our border. However, I notice that our unit, the Cataphract, could potentially dominate the Medieval era if we can make it there in a decently powerful position. On the other hand, should the Netherlands team survive to the Industrial era ... ouch!
With that said, let's take a look at the individual team picks.
1. Team Eagles & Condors - Kurumi / HBHR (with Oxyphenbutazone dedlurking)
Pacal II (Fin/Exp) || Native America (Dog Soldier (Axeman and Totem Pole (Monument); Fish/Agri)
With the first pick this team selected Pacal II. As Sullla would say, this is the best leader in the game. Surprisingly, even on Realms Beyond, this seems to be one of the few (if any) games where Pacal II was actually chosen first in the leader selection process! I'm a little less sold on the Native Americans as the tenth civilization pick. Dog soldiers are weaker than the normal axe, but make up for it with 100% melee bonus and a no copper requirement. Still, does this team plan to use dog soldiers for defense, offense, or the deterrent factor? Whatever the case, this just means getting horses is even more important for us, since chariots completely own these guys. Totem poles are garbage; they give 3 experience points to archery units built in the city. The archery units they can build are: the archer, the crossbowman, and the longbowman. Maybe this can help deter another team from attacking, but I'm just not seeing the benefit of this pick especially since this team actually had Egypt (!) available. Still, if we start out next to them, we'll want to negotiate a NAP early.
2. Team Dinosaurs - Whiteye / Raptorous
Darius I (Fin/Org) || English (Redcoat (Rifleman) and Stock Exchange (Bank); Fish/Mining)
This team chose Darius I as the second leader pick. This I can agree with. While many here would rate Willem over Darius for this kind of game, I believe this is a defensible choice. With a toroidal map, cities cost more in maintenance costs as compared to a cylindrical wrap -- I think it is by a factor of 1.5. Thus, being Organized is a big benefit for this kind of game due to the cheap Courthouses. When I consider Darius I combined with the English as a civilization, I think of a team that wants to completely avoid early warfare and instead use its economic advantages to be a worldwide powerhouse once the Renaissance era comes, where their unique building and units can show their prowess. In an ideal world, perhaps we could team up with these guys so that we have at least one solid ally by the time Cataphracts are present. One thing they might have considered was picking the Holy Roman Empire, for the Rathaus (-75% costs instead of -50% costs), but I can understand the English pick if their intention is to give them flexibility to pursue post-Medieval era warfare.
3. Team Master and Margarita - Slaze / Maga_R (with Jovan Kukic dedlurking)
Willem van Oranje (Fin/Cre) || Ottoman (Janissary (Musketman) and Hammam (Aqueduct); Wheel/Agri)
This team made a wise pick in Willem van Oranje, who is certainly a top-tier leader. They were then able to nab the Ottomans with their civilization pick. With a strong Unique Building and a decent Unique Unit, I forsee this team aiming to build an unusual amount of aqueducts (and possibly aim for The Hanging Gardens) and then beelining to Liberalism -> Nationalism. Thus, they can use Nationhood to draft heaps of Ormo Warriors. Like the previous team, this one seems to follow the mindset of avoiding early warfare and building up economy. Getting the Ottomans with the eighth civilization pick might be considered a steal, so we will definitely need to be wary of this team. Due to the strong leader and civ (as well as great starting techs), I have this team currently pegged on top in my power rankings despite the lack of obvious synergy. If I were in their pick position and had the same options available to me, I probably would have made the exact same decisions, though I might have possibly considered the Mayans as well.
4. Team ??? - Bowsling / Aivoturso
Mansa Musa (Fin/Spi) || Zululand (Impi (Spearman) and Ikhanda (Barracks); Agri/Hunt)
Mansa Musa as the fourth pick is a decent choice, as they again pick a Financial leader, pairing it up with Spiritual) The benefit of the Spiritual trait depends a LOT on the skill levels of the players. If they repeatedly perform deft switches of civics, e.g. Caste System to Slavery and vice versa, this is a team that can change their plans quicker than most other teams. Combine that with an excellent Unique Building, and I can see this team being hard to crack once the Renaissance era comes along and the 20% savings costs of the Ikhanda becomes more notable. They might also use several impis to launch a surprise attack, but impis alone are unlikely to be enough to completely cripple another civilization. One downside: they didn't pair up the Ikhanda with an Aggressive leader, so they'll be forced to build a slightly more expensive Barracks, but perhaps they concluded that the economic benefit would outweigh the additional hammers expended.
5. Team Orgynized - Lord Parkin / Arkipeller / Magno_uy (with WilliamLP and Dp101 dedlurking)
Huayna Capac (Fin/Ind) || Netherlands (East Indiaman (Galleon) and Dike (Levee); Fish/Agri)
This is yet another dangerous team. Getting Huayna Capac was a strong choice as the fifth leader, and they are also the only industrious leader! This gives then a huge advantage, and the team members are probably already deciding which wonders they want to build. Let's hope this map has marble and stone around, so that we will be able to reasonably compete with them in producing a few choice wonders of our own. I'm less sold on the Netherlands as the sixth leader pick, since having a ship as a unique unit and a unique building present only in the Industrial era and beyond doesn't strike me as terribly useful. This combination could theoretically, however, have a huge upside. The East Indiaman can rule the seas and may surprise teams with its extra mobility point. (Side note: we should definitely try and make sure they don't obtain the circumnavigation bonus!) Should this team make it to the age of Levees in a strong position, the Dyke might make a victory all but assured for them. But then again, how many Pitboss games here have had a situation where Levees were relevant?
6. Team Blame Caledorn - YossarianLives / Caledorn (with Scooter, Old Harry and Cheater Hater dedlurking)
Isabella (Spi/Exp) || Inca (Quecha (Warrior) and Terrace (Granary); Myst/Agri)
This team was the first to pick a civilization in the snake pick, picking the Incans. With five (!) Financial leaders already chosen, this was an excellent decision since most of the very top-tier leaders were already chosen. (I would have made the exact same choice had I been in their position.) Being the Incans, they will rely less on horses or copper than any other team, since Quechas are enough to stop Monarch-level barbarians for a good time. The Terrace is a great unique building, as it's a granary with culture. Granaries are already a must-build in this game, and when we add on culture, it's just crazy. This team correctly chose to pair up the Incans with an expansive leader to speed up granary costs, and Isabella isn't a bad choice since Willem and Sury II were both gone by the time they were up. I suspect that this team will be one that has a strong early start, which they will need to counteract the lack of Financial later in the game.
7. Team Care Bears - Yuufo / Bisons
Victoria (Fin/Imp) || India (Fast Worker (Worker) and Mausoleum (Jail); Myst/Mining)
Team Care Bears first took India, then added Victoria as their leader. It's too bad, because I was hoping that we could somehow get India with our first pick.
The Fast Worker might be the best unique unit for this kind of game, and as I said before, we'll have to watch out if we're (going to be) in war with these guys, since India is the only civilization that can road certain tiles without a delayed turn while moving onto a hill or a forest. They combined the Fast Worker with the Imperialistic trait, so this means this is yet another team that has the potential for rapid early expansion. Being the only imperialistic leader in this game means that we can expect these guys to have an early lead in city count. If there really is plenty of space between the starting locations of all civilizations, the Imperialistic trait might be better than usual due to the extra settlers produced as compared to a more cramped map.8. Team EggHeads - dick76 / DMOC (with TeddyKGB dedlurking)
Suryavarman II (Exp/Cre) || Byzantium (Cataphract (Knight) and Hippodrome (Theatre); Myst/Wheel)
Finally, our team! I thought Sury II was a decent choice for the sixth leader pick in this game. With the top Financial leaders gone, it made sense for me to focus on the next set of decent traits. Creative and Expansive are both nice for this kind of game and they go well with a civilization aiming for early expansion. I then combined this with Byzantium as the fifth civilization pick. This means we are one of just three teams whose traits speed up a unique building (along with Napoleon of Sumeria and Isabella of Inca), which shows a surprising lack of synergy in leader and civilization combinations in this game. The dirt-cheap hippodrome -- just 25 hammers for our team! -- is much stronger than the normal theatre due to the extra base +1 happiness and because horses are typically easier to obtain than dyes, and we'll want plenty of these to give us the flexibility to amass a large army of gunpowder units via the draft in a Globe Theatre city. Of course, the other way we could try and play things out is to peform a beeline to Guilds to show off our Cataphracts. We'll need to survive up to that point and be in a reasonable position, a quest which might actually be challenging if teams try to dogpile us early. Regardless of what happens, I think war for us in the Medieval era (again, should we survive to that point) is simply inevitable.
One other possible downside for our team is that we're one of only two teams (along with India) that don't start with a food tech. That's the price for choosing a strong civilization; we can discuss these tradeoffs as well as general strategies for our team in future posts.
9. Team My Little Marathon Cannibal Pony - Classical_Hero / Halvgud
Napoleon (Org/Cha) || Sumeria (Vulture (Axeman) and Ziggurat (Courthouse); Wheel/Agri)
This team made the first pick that truly puzzled me, selecting Sumeria as their civilization, and then combined that with another rather odd choice of Napoleon as a leader. Both the leader and the civilization are relatively under-played in these style of games, and it's not too hard to see why. The real benefit of the Ziggurat as the Unique Building is not that it is available at Priesthood, but that it costs 30 fewer hammers, so it's 90 hammers instead of the 120 for a normal courthouse. They correctly combined it with the Organized trait to make it even cheaper at 45 hammers. Still, I can't help but wonder why they didn't choose a different civilization, since retaining the Organized trait means courthouses still cost just 60 hammers; the way I see it, they're simply gaining 15 extra hammers per courthouse build. And courthouses won't be too useful until cities start getting larger. The Vulture, on the other hand, will be dangerous for the team that starts next to them, but it's nothing that enough shock axes or chariots can't handle. This leader and civ combination seems like their plan is to war early and often, using cheap courthouses to help carry their economy. I'm not sure if that will work out, but we'll see what happens. I have this team at the bottom of my early power rankings, but a fortuitous early war could completely change their outlook.
10. Team Gladiator's Glory - Barteq / Geo (with Harami dedlurking)
Ragnar (Agg/Fin) || Rome (Praetorian (Swordsman) and Forum (Market); Fish/Mining)
Finally, but not least, we have the team that picked Ragnar and Rome in consecutive fashion. The combination is obvious again, using the Aggressive trait to beef up an already top-5 unique unit in the Praetorian, and retaining the Financial trait to help their economy. However, many of the other teams have strong economical bonuses, so it will be up to this team to be the judge as to whether a rush will cause them to fall behind from the other leaders. On a side note: this is probably the team that I want to start next to the least. Strong diplomacy is a must! Their team name of Gladiator's Glory also seems to imply that they are not interested in peaceful, economic build-up.
---
Still with me after that?
Honestly, I thought this was one of the best snake picks I've ever seen in that the teams made excellent decisions, apart from the possibly dubious choices of Napoleon and Sumeria combination. This seems to imply that each team has at least one reasonably skilled Civ4 multiplayer, which should make our goal of winning this game mighty difficult. Just to put some things in perspective, I'm going to provide my opinion of a pre-game power rankings, based solely on the leader/civilization combination selected, so I'm ignoring the players for now. In fact, I'll probably assume that everyone else is way better at Civ than me, which will "mentally force" me to be at the top of my game. A lot of the top combinations were really close to each other in ranking, in my opinion.1. Team Master and Margarita - Slaze / Maga_R (with Jovan Kukic dedlurking)
2. Team Dinosaurs - Whiteye / Raptorous
3. Team Orgynized - Lord Parkin / Arkipeller / Magno_uy (with WilliamLP and Dp101 dedlurking)
4. Team EggHeads - dick76 / DMOC (with TeddyKGB dedlurking)
5. Team Care Bears - Yuufo / Bisons
6. Team Blame Caledorn - YossarianLives / Caledorn (with Scooter, Old Harry and Cheater Hater dedlurking)
7. Team Eagles & Condors - Kurumi / HBHR (with Oxyphenbutazone dedlurking)
8. Team ??? - Bowsling / Aivoturso
9. Team ??? - Barteq / Geo (with Harami dedlurking)
10. Team My Little Marathon Cannibal Pony - Classical_Hero / Halvgud
That concludes the power rankings and all my pre-game thoughts. It's time to get the game started.
