[spoilers] Going Dutch: The Commodore Files

[Commodore]

Welcome, Whosit!

To see where we are with pick choice, if I was going PB19-style I'd turn in:
1. Tokugawa of Dutch
2. Pacal of Carthage
3. Shaka of Carthage
4. Pacal of Byzantium

I really doubt more will be needed...

[Whosit]

So the top 3 have Fishing as starting techs (I don't get the Byzantium pick at the end though). Assuming you get one of the top 3 civs and an EXP leader, would you go Worker first or Workboat first? EXP is still getting the bonus production to WBs, right? And there's a Forest Plains Hill. Or does it depend on the CIv? Dutch also gets Agri, so you could farm the Corn right away while teching... something else.

[Commodore]

So the top 3 have Fishing as starting techs (I don't get the Byzantium pick at the end though). Assuming you get one of the top 3 civs and an EXP leader, would you go Worker first or Workboat first? EXP is still getting the bonus production to WBs, right? And there's a Forest Plains Hill. Or does it depend on the CIv? Dutch also gets Agri, so you could farm the Corn right away while teching... something else.

Byzantium got changed to Fishing/Mysticism, so they're all fishing starts in fact. The goal is to hook the fish, then corn, then chop out more crap...ergo the oranges' techs. The Byzantine pick would got Work Boat-Work Boat-Work Boat while nailing a religion.

Expansive gets a solid six turn work boat, then takes five turns to grow, then slams out an eight turn worker. Or, I suppose, grow to size three...four more turns to grow, but then only a six turn worker. We'll see.

Non-expansive gets an eight turn work boat, but then only takes four turns to grow, so that's not awful. Mostly, I just want to try RBmod Expansive.

[Commodore]

To see where we are with pick choice, if I was going PB19-style I'd turn in:
1. Tokugawa of Dutch

Woot!

Fear us! Our Eastern Indiamen shall block out the sun!

[Commodore]

Gavagai (conservative, relentless) as
Huyana Cupac (Financial, Industrious) of
England (Mining, Fishing, Redcoat, Stock Exchange)
Gavagai is the 400kg gorilla of the Russian Alae community, and it shows. Mechanically, he is one of the more sound players in this field, proven capable of running a good builder game. He's an able and aggressive tactician as well, definitely knowing what he's doing with his military...although it feels at times that he's over-prone to building/bringing “just enough” units. That might be a function of how bleeding-edge his offensives tend to be, however; the man cannot and will not sit still. It's generally a strength of his play, as Gavagai will not fall into the trap of dithering. Like I said before, though, his weakness is an overly-analytical approach to geopolitics. Also, in the wider and more talented pool of Realms Beyond, his hegemonic power game sometimes encounters issues when he runs into a much bigger fish, meeting them on the back foot.
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I actually have a ton to like about this combination. England and Financial go together very well now, the cheap banks leading into nearby rifling setting up perfectly for the English UB and UU. Gavagai is showing his deeply entrenched game style strongly here, repeating England and both traits from his recent games. I'm sure if Darius had been available, Gavagai would have picked him too. That said, this is a strong economy choice and will be scary in the later game. Another Gav Standard is this combo's lack of anything really going for it in the early game. With a Huge Big and Small map, that might hurt him in the long, long expansion.
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Approach with caution; do not trust; always consider armed and dangerous at all times.

[Commodore]

GermanJojo (emotional, unstable) as
Shaka (Expansive, Aggressive) of
Carthage (Mining, Fishing, Numidian, Cothon)
Joey, Joey, Joey...fond of weird, and I mean weird manga, prone to getting emotionally attached to plans and perceptions...this 'uns a handful. I say GermanJojo here, by the way, because while he clearly does listen to his partners, in foreign-policy he seems to be the driver. He just cares more.
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I obviously favor Shaka of Carthage, having been near picking it myself. It's got a lot of great stuff here; aggressive for security, maintenance reduction, and Mysticism avoidance, and expansive for fast work boats/workers early on. I'm sure he'll enjoy his start with this, and well-promoted horse archers unto cheap buildings later on. Expansive Cothons on a Big and Small can be amazing. Infuriatingly, this is the other orange civ, my rival for the color of all good teams.
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Approach with kindness; mix love and spankings; always watch the mood ring.

[Commodore]

Dtay (game, educable) as
Wang Kon (Financial, Protective) of
Inca (Agriculture, Mysticism, Quecha, Terrace)
Dtay's delta definitely doesn't deserve dismissal. He keeps learning, although he's kept up some of the themes of his first games here. High MFG start, Music focus, low esoteric tech path tendencies...not at all bad. His weaknesses have been in the conversion of those solid early strengths, but I'm seeing a real effort to overcome that. It's not natural to him, but brainpower can fight dithering in a pinch. I really hope to not join a dogpile on him this time, he's a dogged defender.
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So, take Pacal of Inca. Give him CG1 archers and cheap walls, but strip half the culture from his terraces, bonus commerce from his rivers, Combat 1 from his quecha, and his discounts on workers and harbors. What do you have? Probably still the best combo in the game, certainly one of the top five. Wang Kon of Inca is what Krill piloted to an absurd runaway position in the RBmod PBEM 20 before tech trading, dogpile, and lack of oil brought him barely down. It's splendid, free border pops on cheap granaries, Financial commerce, and some value from extra protection. This is probably the scariest combo in the game being run by my third scariest rival. Ayup.
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Approach with care, proceed with caution, never call a profitable dinner.

[Commodore]

Gawdzak (promising, inexhaustible) as
Julius Caesar (Organized, Imperialistic) of
Zulu (Hunting, Agriculture, Impi, Ikandha)
I've said my bit about Gawdzak's promise; his substance is still largely unproven, save that we know he is reasonably aggressive and courageous, good at early game micromanagement, and explains his decisions and choices very well. He's also a keen judge of character, insightful about the “why” that many less empathetic players miss.
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Well this is just a lovely stew-pot of mixed nice stuff, ain't it? Krill's elegant dismissal of organized based on boredom aside, it is easily the best economic trait in the game and imperialistic is going to be tremendous on this vast, huge, not-at-all-small map. The Zulu are good, although without aggressive they're merely good instead of great. Honestly, this combo seems more like DenialOfMackLeader of DenialOfAggRivalCiv than a coherent whole. Because in RBmod JC is definitely the Mack Choice and one of the aggressives getting Zulu is just unpleasant for all involved. For all the lack of synergy? Still strong.
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Approach with attention, don't show weakness, don't get cocky due his newness.

[Commodore]

Furungy (impecunious, opaque) as
Darius (Financial, Organized) of
Vikings (Hunting, Fishing, Berzerker, Trading Post)
Furungy is of the Alae; like his fellows, he hails from a metagame more aggressive, casual, and impersonal than we're used to seeing. Fortunately, he's not incredibly experienced, still playing a very middle-of-the-road game as an empire-builder. That's not to say he should be taken lightly, however. Unlike many newer players, Furungy has shown a solid willingness to go to war early and often. He might not think about much beyond the sword, but his offensives will be competent if uninspiring. I am certain I can out-builder this guy...but I'm also pretty sure he won't particularly care about that.
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With the deep nerfs to expansive and creative, Darius is the clear best financial leader now. Fishing villages still love those cheap lighthouses, and the high sliders Darius runs can give scary tech rates. The poor Vikings got a heavy but deserved nerf, now only getting Flanking I from their trading posts. Still, they are an impressive water civ and in the upgrade-happy RBmod, berzerkers' day in the sun is long indeed. I definitely think the combo can see Furungy outkicking his coverage should his early wars go well.
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Approach with show of force, be ready for a fight, always have an idea who he's targeting.

[Bobchillingworth]

Oh man, two sets of player reviews? You're spoiling us, Commodore


Seriously, these are fantastic. You should do one of those "stat me!" type threads and hand out traits to everyone.