[SPOILERS]Cyneheard's Middle Eastern Domination

[Cyneheard]

Random post of filler.

And with 33 of us, there's a lot of it.

[Cyneheard]

Real post goes here.

Password: chasmreigns

So my roll was Mehmed (Exp/Org) of Egypt.

KEEP.

Civ thoughts:
Agri/Wheel is solid; Agri/Hunting is safest in RBMod
War Chariots are amazing.
I doubt I'll get much use out of Obelisks; a religion is going to be VERY difficult to grab in such a massive game, and I'm not Phi.

Leader thoughts:
CHEAP BUILDINGS EVERYWHERE. I get half-off:
Courthouse
Market
Grocer
Lighthouse
Harbor
Factory
Aqueduct

And the bonus to worker/WB production is good; the health and civic cost reduction are small potatoes. I tend to under-build buildings by default, so maybe this will get me to be a little more thoughtful about it, since they're so much cheaper? Unfortunately, the two most important buildings aren't cheaper, and I don't get a free source of culture. Mehmed's solid, but not spectacular. Certainly has a better opening play than my Lincoln draw from PB5 infamy.

Ratings:
Civ: 4.5/5
Leader: 8/10
Overall: 12.5/15, no real synergy to speak of.

[Cyneheard]

Since it's a snow day for me, I'm going to spend it spinning in meta speculation!

30. Whosit Sulieman America
Civ: 3.5/5 (robust starting techs, UB is bonus happy but late, UU is OK)
Leader: 6/10 (I like Imp, Phi is buffed, but they're such a weird pairing IMO)
Overall: 9.5/15
Is he keeping it? Maybe.

8. Azza/Washington/Arabia
Civ: 3/5 (Techs suck; UB is great, UU is safe)
Leader: 7/10 (Cha ~ Org)
Overall: 9.5/15; anti-synergy between UB and Cha
Is he keeping it? Probably. I think the buffed UB will tempt him to keep it.

18. Old Harry + Fintourist/Victoria/Aztecs
Civ: 3.5/5 (Techs are poor; UB is amazing and IMO more useful with the slavery tweak; UU is likely poor but could be interesting with Sword buff. I confirmed that it has the +50% City Attack bonus)
Leader: 9/10 (especially if there's water, and I think there will be)
Overall: 13/15; bonus synergy between "want the Altar because Awesome" and "will fill land because Imp"
Is he keeping it? Definitely.

14. Ruff_Hi/Willem/Babylon
Civ: 4/5 (Techs are good; UB is nice; Bowmen are marginally worse with recent tweaks to swords/archers)
Leader: 7.5/10 (Willem got hit with the nerfbat)
Overall: 12/15. Garden/Cre synergy isn't bad.
Is he keeping it? Ruff sometimes does unique strategies, but he'll probably play it straight.

31. WilliamLP/Sitting Bull/Byzantium
Civ: 2/5 (Techs are terribad; UB is strange; UU is good but no longer dominant)
Leader: 6/10 (underwhelmed, even with +150% GPP)
Overall: 8/15. No synergy detected.
Is he keeping it? Not likely.

23. Jowy/Alexander/Carthage
Civ: 4/5 (Techs are fine if he only has one type of food res or is on water; UB is great; UU is great)
Leader: 7/10
Overall: 11/15.
Is he keeping it? I think so. Not sure why.

24. Barry Lyndon/Hatsheput/Celts
Civ: 3.5/5 (Techs are poor; UB is good but requires building a wall; UU is likely good now?)
Leader: 9/10 (Cre losing Libraries hurts, but Spi is amazing and Cre is still good)
Overall: 12.5/15
Is he keeping it? I'm guessing yes, but he's a total blank to me.

15. pindicator/Qin Shi Huang/China
Civ: 4.5/5 (Techs are awesome; UB is OK; UU has potential)
Leader: 7.5/10 (Ind is terrible for World Wonders because we're huge, but cheap Metal Casting helps a lot. Pro is very good now)
Overall: 13/15 (Bonus 0.5 points for being Restricted Leaders, and 0.5 points because Pro CKNs)
Is he keeping it? I can't see pindi passing that up.

6. Cyneheard/Mehmed/Egypt
See previous post.

4. Dhalphir/Hayuna Cupac/England
Civ: 4/5 (Techs are fine; UB is good; UU is a lot less good than it used to be because of the draft nerf)
Leader: 8.5/10 (if Ind/Pro is 7.5, what is Ind/Fin?)
Overall: 13/15 (+0.5 because Fin Stock Exchange)
Is he keeping it? Definitely.

13. dtay/Mao/Ethiopia
Civ: 2.5/5 (Techs are fine, but UB is bad and UU is poor)
Leader: 6.5/10 (he's essentially BtS Exp/Null with a few random boni thrown in)
Overall: 9/15.
Is he keeping it? I wouldn't.

11. Qgqqqqq/Ragnar/France
Civ: 4/5 (Techs are good; UU is great; UB is a nice buff to an otherwise-bad building)
Leader: 9/10; similar in power to BtS Ragnar
Overall: 13.5/15 +0.5 for Agg Musketeers.
Is he keeping it? Most definitely.

2. spacetyrantxenu/Kublai Khan/Germany
Civ: 2/5; about as bad as it gets, even with the Kanone instead of the Panzer.
Leader: 7/10 (CHA/CRE now!) Not thrilled with that trait pair, even if the anti-synergy is gone.
Overall: 9/15
Is he keeping it? Depends on what the Thetans tell him. Not a great setup IMO.

32. Oxybaii/Catherine/Greeks
Civ: 3/5 (techs are fine, don't think the current meta places high value on anti-chariot Axes, though, and the Odeon isn't that great)
Leader: 8.5/10 (I think Cre/Imp just works; Imp is better than base but Cre is worse so it's a wash)
Overall: 12/15. +0.5 for cheap Odeons for the happy.
Is he keeping it? I think so.

21. darrelljs + Ichabod/Joao/Holy Roman Empire
Civ: 2.5/5 (techs are awful; UU is junk; UB is good IF you expand enough)
Leader: 8/10 (definitely rather have Catherine, but it's not like Exp is junk now)
Overall: 11/15. +0.5 for Joao getting an econ push post-REX.
Is he keeping it? Yeah.

27. Hashoosh/Stalin/Inca
Civ: 4.5/5 (Still the best UB in the game; techs are bad, and the UU is weak, but Terrace still carries it)
Leader: 5.5/10 (I think this is the wrong game for Ind, and Agg just can't carry a civ by itself)
Overall: 10/15
Is he keeping it? I think so - doesn't want to let someone else get Inca with a great leader.

34. Sullla (lurker civ)/Fredrick/India
Civ: 5/5 (still the best UU in the game)
Leader: 7/10 (not thrilled with Phi, but Org can carry it)
Overall: 12/15
Is he keeping it? He has to.

25. wetbandit/Montezuma/Japan
Civ: 3.5/5 (Techs are still poor; UB is a nice boost to a bad building; UU is fine)
Leader: 8/10 (I love Spi)
Overall: 12/15 (Agg Samurai)
Is he keeping it? I think it's too much fun not to.

28. Dazedroyalty/Elizabeth/Khmer
Civ: 4/5 (Techs are poor; UB is a nice boost to a bad building; UU is scary)
Leader: 8.5/10 (can you leverage Phi well?)
Overall: 12.5/10
Is he keeping it? For sure.

29. MYKI/DuGaulle/Korea
Civ: 4/5 (Agri/Mining!; UU is niche/bad; UB is good)
Leader: 6/10 (see above re: Ind and Cha)
Overall: 10/15
Is he keeping it? Possibly.

19. Catwalk/Saladin/Mali
Civ: 5/5 (Techs are good; UU is amazing; UB is great)
Leader: 8.5/10 (Pro can support Spi just fine IMO)
Overall: 13.5/15
Is he keeping it? For sure.

9. Nakor/Darius/Maya
Civ: 3.5/5 (Techs are poor; UU is a safety valve; UB is awesome)
Leader: 9.5/10
Overall: 13/15
Is he keeping it? For sure. And I want to be his neighbor - such an easy target.

1. Krill + Novice/ Lincoln/Mongolia
Civ: 3.5/5 (Techs are poor; UU is weak; UB is great)
Leader: 5/10 (Still bitter about rolling him in PB5? Yeah.)
Overall: 9.5/15 (Cha Ger is scary: no Barracks for 2-promo mounted)
Is he keeping it? I think so, just for Cha/Ger madness. And I think he'll come up with some kind of Phi plan.

17. The Black Sword/Gandhi/Native Americans
Civ: 3.5/5 (Techs are good; but UU is bad and UB is lame)
Leader: 8/10 (Still not thrilled with Phi)
Overall: 11.5/15
Is he keeping it? It says so in his thread.

12. yuris125/Tokugawa/Dutch
Civ: 4.5/5 (Techs are good; UU is very scary if it's in play; UB is borderline-broken if we get that far)
Leader: 8/10 (the buffs to Agg and Pro make them playable; he's going to be a tough nut to crack)
Overall: 12.5/15
Is he keeping it? I'd be surprised if he didn't.

33. Scooter/Shaka/Ottomen
Civ: 5/5 (Techs are great; UU is fine; UB is really good)
Leader: 7.5/10 (Pro > Exp now)
Overall: 13/15 (Cheap hammams!)
Is he keeping it? Obvious choice is obvious.

20. Bacchus/Churchill/Persia
Civ: 4.5/5 (Techs are the best; UU gets nothing, and UB is superfluous health)
Leader: 7.5/10 (from worst to perfectly serviceable)
Overall: 12/15
Is he keeping it? Probably.

16. Molach/Genghis Khan/Portugal
Civ: 4/5 (techs are fine; UU could be a danger or not; UB is playable now)
Leader: 8.5/10 (expand land & hold it tight; works for me)
Overall: 12.75/15 (Imp Feitorias are nice but not as valuable as other Trait/UB combos)
Is he keeping it? Would you reroll KHAAAAAN?

26. AutomatedTeller/Peter/Rome
Civ: 4.5/5 (Techs are fine; UU is still good; UB is viable)
Leader: 7.5/10 (old Peter was great. New Peter? not so much)
Overall: 12.5/15 (Phi/Forum for infinite GP spam)
Is he keeping it? The founder of the Third Roman Empire leading the First Roman Empire? Of course he's keeping it.

7. Boldly Going Nowhere/Pericles/Russia
Civ: 3.5/5 (techs are OK, UB is good, UU is great if it comes into play)
Leader: 6.5/10 (the loss of cheap libraries really kills the Instant GSci play)
Overall: 10.5/15 (Phi + free Scientists = good times)
Is he keeping it? I think so, but not sure that it'll actually work for him.

5. BRickAstley + Mardoc/Wang Kon/Spain
Civ: 1/5 (Techs are horrible, UB is useless, and the Conquistador is nearly useless)
Leader: 9/10 (Fin + Cheap granaries covereth a multitude of sins)
Overall: 10/15
Is he keeping it? Of all the people who want to see their start before deciding, I think he wants to see it the most: a bad start will kill him, but Wang Kon is good enough that he just needs to survive the opening.

22. Caledorn/Brennus/Sumer
Civ: 5/5 (great techs; viable UU; great UB)
Leader: 8.5/10 (I like Spi. Can you tell?)
Overall: 13.5/15
Is he keeping it? Definitely.

3. plako/Charlemagne/Vikings
Civ: 3.5/5 (techs are fine; UB nerf is badly needed. Go read PB13. UU is great if it's water-heavy)
Leader: 8.5/10 (the new Joao)
Overall: 12/15
Is he keeping it? He should.

10. Cheater Hater/Bismark/Zulu
Civ: 5/5 (amazing techs; UB is good; UU is deadly if used right)
Leader: 6/10 (wrong map for Ind; nerfbat on Exp, but he used to be a solid 2nd-tier)
Overall: 11/15
Is he keeping it? I think so - Zulu are hard to pass up.

Projected rerolls:
30. Whosit Sulieman America
31. WilliamLP/Sitting Bull/Byzantium
13. dtay/Mao/Ethiopia
2. spacetyrantxenu/Kublai Khan/Germany

Anyone want to take the under on that?

[Lewwyn]

Only 4 rerolls? I'd easily take the over. I think you're underestimating the grass is greener appeal of rerolling. And disclaimer I haven't read all the threads yet or anything (though I have read a few). How many rerolls did we see in pb13 with a much smaller group?

[Cyneheard]

Only 4 rerolls? I'd easily take the over. I think you're underestimating the grass is greener appeal of rerolling. And disclaimer I haven't read all the threads yet or anything (though I have read a few). How many rerolls did we see in pb13 with a much smaller group?

I don't think it was public; I'm a dedlurker for scooticator so I don't know.

Since every civ is taken, you're going to have a hard time improving your civ: it's a lot riskier to reroll if you had a halfway decent civ.

[Lewwyn]

I think you might be surprised at some of the risk takers.

[Cyneheard]

I think you might be surprised at some of the risk takers.

I see 6 rerolls, 2 of which I called (Whosit and William LP).

Krill did well to reroll - it's Ruff's old draw, which I liked.

[Cyneheard]

Password's chasmreigns

Scout moves were NW - NE, since we're reloading.

I'm having trouble taking screenshots. Need to decide to SIP or move 1N and settle - have a wet wheat and dry corn, plus Spices and wet grass Ivory for either SIP or 1N; PH is 2S and costs me everything but the wheat.

I think SIP is better because it's next to the wheat, and 1N isn't, and the 5/1/1 wheat is the priority over the 5/0/0 corn for improvement.

[Cyneheard]

Didn't sim anything for T0, but the decisions were pretty obvious:




1E would've cost me the ivory and the spices. I didn't see the deer; that would've been worth a turn to go 1NE onto the hill and sacrifice the spices for (I'd have gotten the turn back and then some by being next to the forests - Exp gets the bonus hammer at 3 base hammers).

Mining - Bronze Working (Other possibility was Myst - Religion. But I think SOMEONE is going to be crazy enough to open with a religion, say one of the Hunting/Myst civs who got a pigs at their start. If I had been Myst/Agri then religion first would've been a definite play, as I don't need a worker tech besides Agri for quite some time). So I'm going to go standard and boring and go straight for Bronze first, then likely Pottery - AH.

[Cyneheard]

Also, the astute of you may have noticed that I'm going with Dune for the naming theme - figured that if I'm going to be a Middle Eastern Mashup, then that fits.