I don't know about Poland being necessarily the best fast science civ, not with Babylon and others around, but its versatility can't really be replicated by anyone else. A common refrain in all your Civ 5 reports I see is that you simply don't get enough policies fast enough for certain strategies to materialize before it no longer matters, especially considering how one must prioritize Rationalism once Renaissance rolls around.
I mean just consider that, from the moment you enter Renaissance to the Radio slingshot for an ideology, you gain three free policies in the process. That's half of Rationalism just done, at absolutely zero cost to yourself. Instead of needing to spend 5 or 6 policies on Rationalism before you even think about dabbling into ideology or Commerce or whatever else, you only need 2 or 3. And that's not even getting into finishing Tradition 400-500 (or more) culture sooner, or even being able to splash into Piety or Aesthetics or Patronage or whatever without delaying the Tradition finisher for longer than normal because of the two free policies pre-Renaissance. Or bulbing straight through Atomic Era into Rocketry/Ecology, immediately popping Rationalism finisher to get an Info era tech and then using yet another free policy to do whatever for your preferred late-game play.
And since the policies are truly free and don't increase the culture counter or anything like that, it just completely skews the timing of your policy acquisition in your favor in such a massive way and only gets better as the game goes along. Hell the biggest problem with playing Poland is getting your policies too fast and being forced to burn a policy or two in a tree that doesn't immediately help you because it's too early in the game.
Does this make Poland better than all other civs in all situations? Probably not, after all they don't get any direct food or science bonuses that other civs enjoy, but because of their UA they take what is usually an integral element of developing your empire, policy acquisition, sometimes requiring careful timing and tough choices as to where and when to deviate from the most optimal paths, and trivializes it.
I mean just consider that, from the moment you enter Renaissance to the Radio slingshot for an ideology, you gain three free policies in the process. That's half of Rationalism just done, at absolutely zero cost to yourself. Instead of needing to spend 5 or 6 policies on Rationalism before you even think about dabbling into ideology or Commerce or whatever else, you only need 2 or 3. And that's not even getting into finishing Tradition 400-500 (or more) culture sooner, or even being able to splash into Piety or Aesthetics or Patronage or whatever without delaying the Tradition finisher for longer than normal because of the two free policies pre-Renaissance. Or bulbing straight through Atomic Era into Rocketry/Ecology, immediately popping Rationalism finisher to get an Info era tech and then using yet another free policy to do whatever for your preferred late-game play.
And since the policies are truly free and don't increase the culture counter or anything like that, it just completely skews the timing of your policy acquisition in your favor in such a massive way and only gets better as the game goes along. Hell the biggest problem with playing Poland is getting your policies too fast and being forced to burn a policy or two in a tree that doesn't immediately help you because it's too early in the game.
Does this make Poland better than all other civs in all situations? Probably not, after all they don't get any direct food or science bonuses that other civs enjoy, but because of their UA they take what is usually an integral element of developing your empire, policy acquisition, sometimes requiring careful timing and tough choices as to where and when to deviate from the most optimal paths, and trivializes it.