(March 13th, 2014, 16:51)Gaspar Wrote: I get why we all felt the way we felt about the Grocer change, but I do think that civs that have "later" UU/UB really need to be very good to get chosen. The problem is you get to a point where you're either nerfing everybody who has Ancient/Classical stuff or your buffing everyone. I mean, these three are clearly the worst because everything was late, but nobody takes Spain either, for example.
I agree with your general claim, but maybe not with the specifics.
Spain isn't a good example because its benefits are pretty small, and it has awful starting techs. I think a better example is england, which gets picked primarily for the improved bank, and isn't hamstrung by mysticism. If you look at the free merchant specialist on the frontier post as about a third of a great library, I think it compares favorably with the marginal +15% gold of the stock exchange.