[spoilers]Commodore is Tokugawa of Zulu, or, playing for second place.

[Commodore]

Yay for Toku! So glad I didn't get someone bad like Sury.

[Commodore]

-Future site of opposition analysis

Ceiliazul - Louis XIV of Egypt
Plako - Mao Zedong of Spain
Commodore - Tokugawa of Zulu
Cyneheard - Lincoln of Byzantium
Dazed/Scooter - Stalin of Vikings
Pindicator/Regoarrarr - Bismarck of Ethiopia
Azza - Shaka of India
Yuri - Kublai Khan of Netherlands
Krill - Brennus of Aztec
BrickAstley - Suleiman of Sumeria

Going down the list:


Ceiliazul (competent, robotic) as Louis (Cre, Ind) of Egypt (Agriculture/Wheel)

Hoy vey. The last think we needed in this game is the hyper-competent Ceil getting a good combo, and Louis of Egypt is a pretty good combo. Obviously the obilisk is pretty pointless with Creative, but the main boost of them is a cheap preist slot for an early shrine, so Ceil is still well-placed to use that. War chariots are really scary for all of the not-me civs, and and while Louis lost the cheap libaries, if there is stone around he's still a threat for the 'mids. I expect good thinks from Ceil in this game, as his mixture of caution and odds-playing should serve him well in this sprawling game.


Plako (competent, experienced) as Mao (Exp,Pro) of Spain (Mysticism/Fishing)

Hum. Plako is easily one of the threats to win this from the begining, and with Mao...I honestly don't know. A lot of it depends on his starting food, with Exp's new workboat boost seafood would be heaven. Otherwise, he might be off to a bit of a slow start. Basically, he's playing a buffed Exp, plus Pro that treades cheap castles for grocers. Not a terrible setup, actually. I expect good things from Plako here.


Cyneheard (bridesmaid, specialist) as Lincoln(Phi,Chm) of Byzantium(Mysticism/Wheel)

Okay, Cyneheard, who for some reason I always want to call Cyanhead, managed to snag a strong leader for this weak field. Byzantine cataphracts, while nerfed, are still very respectable in the field of battle, and with a wise bulb path I could see Cyneheard moving up the tech tree fairly quickly too. As is a theme here, his ought to be a very big threat and we'd rather he get isolated off on an island with Krill. Scary.


Dazedroyalty (competent, straightforward) and Scooter (Machiavellian, erratic) as Stalin(Agg/Ind) of the Vikings (Hunting/Fishing)

Dazed and Scooter are two of the least scary players here, which is pretty scary when you consider both are competent, experienced players with an Agg leader. Stalin isn't terrible with the cheap culture and the good forges. Vikings are going to be harsh on a Big and Small script (assuming no inland start), with Agg zerks and Nav1 galleys a holy terror to fight. I'm curious to see their wonder plans, Oracle -> MC -> Colossus would make a lot of sense if they can beat Regoicator and Ceil to it. I do expect a heavy REX from both, so here's to a(nother) crashed economy.


Pindicator(microer, sneaky) and Regoarrarr (microer, slimy) as Bismark(Exp,Ind) of Eithiopia(Hunting/Wheel)

Here's the third of the brother Ind, and probably the best. Cheap workers and Ind means a lot of races will be won just from the ability to chop earlier. Knowing Rego and Pin, I suspect the preist economy is going to be a draw (although Mr. Theo Bulb Ceil can get it first), and either GLH or Colossus will probably anchor their early economy. Both players are obsessive micromanagers and good tactical thinkers, so in a non-Krill game they'd probably be the favorites.


Azza (rushed, doomed) as Shaka(Exp, Agg) of India(Mysticism/Mining)

Oh yeah, there's one more sorta-Ind civ; INDia. Fast workers are notably nerfed, but still probably the best UU in the game, and Exp means Azza is getting them out fast. Agg will be a nice cultural boost as well as protecting his army of two-movers (if in neutral ground, all his units are at least two-movers) from being Seven'd. Azza seems competent from what I hear, but dedlurking in both 33 and PB7 mean it's all secondhand. Mist, an evaluation?


Yuris (passive, nice) as Kublai Khan (Cre/Agg) of the Dutch (Agriculture/Fishing)

Yuri is an interesting player. He's solid in almost all his general skillset, but thus far he's had trouble getting everything to gel. He did win handily in the duel as a late-game leader/civ in an ancient-era start, so there's that. KK is probably the weakest leader here, and the Dutch, while awesome late game, have no early bonuses. His success here will be largely predicated on how long he can keep alive. If he does make it to Astronomy intact he'll be very well off...largely depends on if he's on an island or continent, I suppose.


Krill (unholy, terror) as Brennus(Spi,Chm) of the Aztecs(Hunting/Mysticism)

Krill wins a lot. Brennus is possibly the best leader here. The Aztecs are pretty good. We are doomed.

Expanding that a bit, Spi/Chm will make Krill and very happy man and the Sacrificial Altar basically anulls the slavery nerf. The Jagguar is normally somewhat less than impressive but in a random map with no one metal assured the resourcelessness is a boost, and Woodsman II Jaggs can mess up anyone's day. Krill, for all his impressive fireworks, actually has a very solid, standard way of playing and he uses the cottage economy heavily, just better than anyone else.


BrickAstley (green, spammer) as Suleiman(Phi/Imp) of Sumeria(Agriculture/Wheel)

Ah, Brick. He's a RL friend of mine and a sharp guy, so I fully expect him to do very well after a few games are under his belt. As it is, though, he's going to be a lamb amidst the wolves here, and he's got one of the most passive empires to boot. Vultures' mild buff is nice, but they still aren't incredible, and while ziggurats mean the Preisthood line is nice and the Oracle loves Phi, with India and all the Ind I suspect he'll get beat out if he tries it. For all that, Imp with cheaper courthouses is nice, and Phi is solid. If Brick manages to get an isolated start he'll do well. If he's in the middle, sadly, I suspect he's doomed.

[spacetyrantxenu]

Amusing writeup, Commodore. I have to ask, do I have a description (x, y) in the PBEM 29g lurker thread? I don't want to know what it is yet if there is one, I'll wait until after the game.

What are your thoughts on Toku and Zulu? Does a particular game plan come to mind? I haven't played with RB mod so I don't know how the changes will impact a typical game plan.

[Commodore]

Amusing writeup, Commodore. I have to ask, do I have a description (x, y) in the PBEM 29g lurker thread? I don't want to know what it is yet if there is one, I'll wait until after the game.

What are your thoughts on Toku and Zulu? Does a particular game plan come to mind? I haven't played with RB mod so I don't know how the changes will impact a typical game plan.

Nope, no (X, Y) stylings for you, but Ceiliazul and I have both written many accolades for you in the lurker thread.

I appreciate the segue here for the last but not least pairing, my own:

Commodore (ruthless, faceplanter) as Tokugawa (Agg,Pro) of the Zulu (Hunting/Agriculture)

Tokugawa has a reputation as the most terribad leader in the game, and in BtS I'd probably agree with that. Here in RB Mod, though, he's...actually pretty okay, and the Zulus are a synergistic pairing. Aggressive Ikhandas are something you want everywhere, with +3xp, +1culture, and -20% maintenance in a half-price building (30 hammers, or same cost as a monument). Then the other building you want everywhere, a granary, also comes at half price. We're going to be REXing up a storm, I think.

Backing the REX we have the nice Agg Impi, 2-move with mobility and easy shock (because remember, barracks everywhere). A shock impi still gets beat by a vanilla axeman, but not terribly, and they beat everything else in the era handily. Barbs are on, so we can expect to get a nice core of veterans going too.

Overall, we're playing a nerfed Sury game...expand strong and fast, and hope your bigger empire can beat the smarter empires surrounding you. This will probably fail spectacularly, but I predict we'll win a moral victory in the end.

[Mist]

Azza seems competent from what I hear, but dedlurking in both 33 and PB7 mean it's all secondhand. Mist, an evaluation?

Honestly? Not enough data. He does seem competent, but his choices in pb7 ( AH before mining faced with a neighbour with fast rising power, not guaranteed horses and no way to chop or whip chariots? Settler without at least putting some hammers in an emergency archer in the same situation ?) were at best questionable. Not a hint of microplan or sandbox either. I'd hazard a guess he's at Brick's level.

[Commodore]

Mr. Seven, may we please see our start? I'm a little scared about clams and a deer.

Right then. So, picking blind as we are always wont to do, the really question is going to be cottage economy vs specialist focus (preist economy and GLH are supplemental boosts, not primary foci). Tokugawa has no particular strengths biasing towards one or the other. In general, I prefer cottage economies, and without Fin there certainly aren't any people who do cottages massively better than everyone else.

For all that, there are some people with strong specialist advantages here, particularly the Phi civs and Ind set ('mids). Cottage economies tend to be somewhat slower bloomers than the specialist racers, but in the long-term they can certainly outperform the others...and techs get a lot more expensive around the same time CEs come into their own. It's a sticky wicket.

The bog standard Currency run will definitely be the first move, and then we'll have to decide where we go once libraries come online. A lot is map dependant, of course. The Forever War plan is an esoteric side shot, finding the GLH or 'mids nearby I think we might build the wonders the Zulu way, with lots and lots of assegai.

A final note, if stone is nearby, the Great Wall is probably a worthwhile side project, EP economies are scary and new to me, but it certainly sounds like fun to leach from another, and it matches with a REX strategy very well with courthouses and spies in each city.

[Mist]

Cottage economies tend to be somewhat slower bloomers than the specialist racers, but in the long-term they can certainly outperform the others...and techs get a lot more expensive around the same time CEs come into their own. It's a sticky wicket.

To throw your own words back at you - we don't have a lot of long term prospects. I don't think late blooming economy model is something we want with no long term prospects. I'd aim for some sort of bastard hybrid of whatever's on hand at a given moment.

A final note, if stone is nearby, the Great Wall is probably a worthwhile side project, EP economies are scary and new to me, but it certainly sounds like fun to leach from another, and it matches with a REX strategy very well with courthouses and spies in each city.

Ehh, probably not. From what I remember from Ruff's attempts in bts13 always war and no open borders makes this really expensive proposition. Especially if you don't have a willing partner and everyone runs counterespionage missions at us.

[Commodore]

Ehh, probably not. From what I remember from Ruff's attempts in bts13 always war and no open borders makes this really expensive proposition. Especially if you don't have a willing partner and everyone runs counterespionage missions at us.

Ah, but this is not AW, This! Is! CTON! AI diplo, basically. OB and peace can happen and will, at times, although a fast GSpy bomb and steal is probably better than any sort of long-term leech plan.

All that aside I think our economy is going to live on the following buzzwords:
Rattletrap
Clunky
Smoking
Shambling
Hybrid
Bastardized
Ad-hoc

And finally, Whatever Works.

Basically, if it's an engine of comerce, it makes a sound that can be described as "chitty-chitty bang bang".

[Commodore]

Okay, so after mulling over the RB Mod thread for changes, I think I have a general ranking for the combinations. I'm trying to be objective, but there are a couple sets (Louis) that are probably stronger than I think.

1. Krill - Brennus of Aztec (Spi/+buffed Chm, plus UB boosts 1-pop whipping)

2. Azza - Shaka of India (Exp/Agg is okay, and India is still great even with Wheel over Mining)

3 or 4. Commodore - Tokugawa of Zulu (Good early traits, strong UB and UU)

4 or 3. Cyneheard - Lincoln of Byzantium (Phi is solid in TT on game. Chm nerfed cataphracts > non-Chm normal cataphracts)

5. Plako - Mao Zedong of Spain (Exp/Pro is BtS Exp + cheap grocers and walls, decent, will live to use the UU)

6. Dazed/Scooter - Stalin of Vikings (cheapish useful culture, Ind is always nice, Agg VIKINGS on a very sea-laden map)

7. Ceiliazul - Louis XIV of Egypt (War chariots still golden, Ind is nice (and no 'henge temptation), leg up on priest economy with bulbs)

8. Pindicator/Regoarrarr - Bismarck of Ethiopia (Exp is nerfed badly but faster workers is a boost to Ind, decent draftable unit)

9. BrickAstley - Suleiman of Sumeria (Phi is decent, Imp plus cheaper courthouses is fine, otherwise meh)

10. Yuri - Kublai Khan of Netherlands (Agg's boost is uneeded, Dutch are darned late-game)

[SevenSpirits]