Oh well, I must not have read the game settings correctly.
1. No Tech Trading (will memorize this).
Some thoughts on the teams, individually.
athlete4life10 + kalin - Willem (Cre/Fin) of the Ottomans (Janissary/Hamman)
Athlete will definitely have an advantage in this game, since he's the only Creative civilization. This means that if we start next to him, we should try to negotiate borders well with him so that his creative culture isn't annoying us. He seems to be relatively new to MP judging from the RB Pitboss - but skilled.
Broker33 + Plako - Gandhi (Phi/Spi) of Korea (Hwacha/Seowon)
These guys are going to rival us in science. I know plako well from the CIV BTS Demogame and Broker33 is a solid player. Both will probably have slow starts but will take off once they gain Great People. There is definite synergy here (seowon is accelerated by the philosophical trait).
Jowy + Yazilliclick - Pacal (Exp/Fin) of Greece (Phalanx/Odeon)
These guys have an early UU so we should be wary if we are next to them. They will likely have large city populations because of their expansive trait and the odeon. I don't think the odeon is accelerated by their trait, though, so I am a little confused at what the synergy here is.
DMOC + Nakor - Darius (Fin/Org) of the Holy Roman Empire (Landsknecht/Rathaus)
Us. Darius + Rathaus. Awesome.
Iamjohn + Kodii + Zevis - Mehmed (Exp/Org) of Inca (Quechua/Terrace)
These guys will be one of the fastest to expand. They have an awesome UU which is accelerated by their expansive trait. They also have an early beefed warrior so they can somewhat delay strategic resources. They will likely have a large empire but hopefully will lack in tech. They will probably experience their prime mid-game once their initial expansion is over (most of their advantages come early). There is clear synergy there.
Speaker + Sullla - Elizabeth (Fin/Phi) of India (Fast Worker/Mausoleum)
Another civ to rival us in science. These two are skilled players and will, furthermore, have a fast start because of the fast worker. Good thing their UB doesn't come in play untl later. Other than the fast worker, there doesn't seem to be that much synergy between the traits. This team is my person favorite to win this game if we do not win.
Mortius - Ragnar (Agg/Fin) of Zulu (Impi/Ikhanda)
Nothing much to say here, other than max aggression from the start! The worst part is, Mortius is Financial AND has the awesome Ikhanda UB (personally I think it's one of the best in the game, just as good as the Rathaus). If we start next to him, we must negotiate a non-aggression pact. I think Mortius will fare well in the beginning, but fade later on.
Dantski - Julius Caesar (Imp/Org) of Mali (Skirmisher/Mint)
Dantski will probably be one of the leading civs up to 1 AD since no one wants to wage war with a skirmisher UU. If we start next to him, we will almost certainly remain peaceful with him. I'm not sure if there's much synergy between the traits, though. Probably a better leader for Dantski would have been Augustus, so the Mint is accelerated by the Industrious trait (and no one has that trait!).
LiPing - Shaka (Agg/Exp) of Rome (Praetorian/Forum)
LiPing (is it a she?) is another one of those max-aggression civs from the start. If we start next to her, we're getting our defenses up ASAP by settling on hills and packing cities with AXEMEN to counter aggressive praetorians. I suspect that she will be targeted by many other civs for obvious reasons, so she might not do well this game.
Regoarrarr + darrelljs + sunrise089 - Peter (Exp/Phi) of Byzantium (Cataphract/Hippodrome)
I'm a little confused at this synergy. Peter's a pretty good leader, but what's the synergy between his traits and the cataphract/hippodrome? The hippodrome is a theatre so why didn't they pick someone like Pericles? Nevertheless, they have a strong medieval unit so we should be wary of them. Also they have 3 players so the chances of a screw-up by 1 player are less likely to happen with teamwork.
Whew, I'm done!
