THE OFFICIAL CIVILIZATION BATTLE ROYALE X POWER RANKINGS: EPISODE 7

Msurdej: In last place (to little surprise) is Canada! Yes with military, production, and population in the gutter, King's Canada will never be the regional power that Pearson's Canada was in Mk2. With the Metis in Winnipeg to the west, and the Iroquois capital to the south, the 2 remianing Canadian cities are on thin ice . They aren't out yet, but when one of the aforementioned civs decide to take them out, Canada will quickly fall.

Thy: Are you familiar with the myth regarding the Minoan Labyrinth? In short, artificer Daedalus constructed it for King Minos to hold the Minotaur, who preyed upon those who got lost in the labyrinth. The tale tells that Daedalus himself had difficulty finding his way out of the labyrinth after building it, and perhaps that is exactly what has happened to our battle royale's Minos. Lost in the labyrinth, he has had no chance to leave his advisors rule in the immortal's steed. And, of course, this has resulted in unimaginable stagnation. And a temperamental war declaration against their Nubian rivals. In truth, no one can probably tell the difference.

Adm. Cloudberg: The only reason Ching Shih didn’t fall farther this part is because there wasn’t much farther to fall. Episode 7 was a rollercoaster for Canton, in which Ching Shih faced a coalition war from just about all their neighbours and captured a city from the Khamug-Mongols, only to face an invasion by Shikoku and Qin that could threaten her very existence. So, while Sulu and Tonga have been beaten back, the real fight might only be just beginning—and Canton looks woefully unprepared to win it.

Msurdej: Things are still looking bad for Gambu. His military is the smallest on the cylinder, and both Papua, new Zealand, and Australia could spell doom for the Murri. The only thing that could be considered their saving gace is their production is not the worst, and if they could west into the Australian and set up more cities. But if Hawke, Seddon, or Rajapapua make a move on them, the Murri could be joining the Xia in the grave.

Doom: A disastrous part for Poverty Point as they fall into the bottom 5 from the mid 30s. The Iroquois and Apache seem to have noticed the stakes and are now settling while Táhera sends her settler to war instead. Poverty Point have lost Montréal in a war they started and are down to two cities with no hope of recovery. The main question left is whether Canada or Poverty Point will be the first North American civ to die.

Lacs: Oh. Man. The otherwise excellent narrator may have missed it, but we sure didn't. Oman handed over their third city of Nizwa to Parthia this part, after a war which saw no blows exchanged. While Oman's fortunes have been in freefall for a few parts now, this is not only a huge blow to their production and science but traps them even further in the Arabian peninsula, a subcontinent that's famously barren and increasingly Palmyrene. Pre Part 0, our hopes for Oman were centred around a naval empire that would encircle the Indian Ocean - it's not too late for Oman to take that route, and it's now their only realistic option of getting back into the game.

Lordie: What's a Nenets?

Editor's Note: The writeup was as difficult to find as the actual Nenet cities.

Msurdej: Its a bird, its a plane, its the ~~Seljuq~~ Turks!
Memhed the II just doesn't know when to quit does he? After failing to take Ostrava countless times, he tries for a different tactic. Throw troops at Ostrava, WHILE the HRE attack Czechia as well. Is this a better plan than the ones before? Yes. Will it succeed? Eh, probably not. While the Turkish army is stronger on paper, its mostly in Comp. Bowmen. Memhed has failed many times, and this looks like it will be just another failure for Memhed

Aaron: Is it Tonga time yet? Well, no, but it might be next part if we're lucky. Unfortunately, their attack force on Canton has evaporated and fled back home - don't expect any gains on that front. The newest interesting development is their settler is currently on an island between Papua and New Zealand, and it is protected by a sizeable fleet. Will it be a double forward settle? Tonga is still weaker than Sulu, Papua or New Zealand (their fleet only being half the size and with less production to build new ships) so Siaosi will have to tread carefully if he doesn't want the bigger islands to see him as food. And blocking the path between New Zealand and Papua while forward settling both does not seem to be particularly conductive to that goal of treading carefully... It would probably be better to settle the rest of polynesia first or at least build a bigger fleet before attempting something like this!

Adm. Cloudberg: The Horde plunges into the 50s this part due to a series of catastrophes. First, they needlessly gave away Atil in a peace treaty to Zenobia, who proceeded to raze it. Then they found themselves on the receiving end of a war with the Goths, and although the captured an outlying city from Alaric, they lost their newly founded Black Sea port and it looks as though the hammer will next part. There’s a strong feeling among the rankers that by the end of the next part, the Golden Horde might be a left as city-state. Only the uncertainty of that outcome is keeping them from falling lower.

Techno: If there's one thing that Algeria has done right over the past few parts, it's been building more cities. Despite being nearly wiped out by the Songhai, Algeria is back up to 6 cities, a total far higher than many comparable civs. Unfortunately, virtually all of Algeria's new cities are passive-aggressive forward settles against Songhai, and given how Algeria's military is mostly composed of their unique great general, I doubt that Algeria would keep these cities for more than a few turns once Songhai gets around to finishing them off. But for now, at least Algeria has cities to work with.

Lacs: LIBYA: It's funny how fast the early game moves, isn't it? A couple of parts ago, Libya still had ample expansion opportunities, both in Africa and Europe. Now they're even running out of Sahara to settle, as Nubia and Songhai approach their borders. Their relative inactivity, settling only one city in the last two parts in territory they already controlled, is responsible for their painful hit in the rankings this week. That said, they don't border too many giants, with Songhai distracted by mutual nemesis Abdelkader. And incredibly, they field the third largest army in Africa, only a sliver less than second placed Ndongo, and more than Songhai. With a lot of that consolidated in their navy, they might be one well-timed war with Venice away from a transcontinental empire. The only way is up?

Msurdej: At this point, the attacks on Ostrava have become something of a meme. Memhed declares war on Czechia, attacks Ostrava for a bit, then peaces out before anything really happens. this time though, they also face a foe in the north: the HRE. Liberec has begun to take damage, and William's troops show no sign of letting up. Havel has had a hard time in the European clusterfluff, and it doesn't look like the bad times are ending anytime soon.

Msurdej: the Scots rise to their highest point ever in the CBRX: A whopping 47! This is mostly due to the fall of other civs (cough Poverty Point) than Robert's own power. But one major thing changed from last week: their army is now stonger than the Manx! An attack on Douglas or Peel could be a decisive step for Robert if he wants to take control of Brittania

Andy: At long, long last, the wandering scout settler has found his way to a home. Sirenek is settled far, far south of the Yup'ik domains. If this were Civ VI, the city would've flipped to Haida in a heartbeat from loyalty pressure alone. That being said, we are in Civ V, where these sorts of enclaves can exist, perfectly fine.

What Apanuugpak needs to worry about is not loyalty pressure, but military pressure. No sooner than the part it was settled, the Southern Yup'ik found themselves immediately encroached upon by angry Aztecs, while the Haida continue to be a threat to the north. Yup'ik colonial efforts have given us one hell of a story, but doubtless, it will be a story that ends in blood.

Aaron: The Kuikuro go down this week, as their production drops to second lowest in the cylinder (only Canada is worse). But who needs production? Production is for icky military units; food is what cities need! And cities are the Kuikuro's main combat unit! On that front there is good news: the Kuikuro have built not just 1, but 2 settlers! The southern settler appears to be starting phagocytosis of Paredones (in my opinion it would have been better to capture that city last part but who am I to question the wisdom of Anetu? That would have meant using units other than cities, which would have been unacceptable.) Meanwhile, the northern settler seems to be off on holiday to the Carribean which Haiti has failed to settle; maybe it's going to commit phagocytosis of Gonayiv? I have severe doubts on the effectiveness of aquatic cities as a unit, since trying to settle islands without any coastal cities means there wil be no navy to protect it... It seems likely that without any jungles or archers hiding in the trees, the Kuikuro cities might lose their reputation as being invincible...

Scissor: Things are looking up for Muscovy! Not really though. They settled a new city and all but their avenues of expansion have been entirely cut off by the Goths. Now all Ivan has to look forward to is to get ganked by Goths to the east, Prussians to the west and Sami to the North. Maybe he inherited the curse of Stalin, alcoholism. Would explain a lot about his performance.

Thy: So close, yet so far. Pyongyang falls, and this time, there's no counter-offensive: peace has already been made. They stand in high 40s because unlike many other civs on the losing end of a war, they still stand at a respectable four cities, and with much available land to their north. While their stats are more like that of a civ in the 50s, Qing's sleepiness is an opening for Korea, an opening to survive longer than most other short-stick-pullers. One can only hope that Qing continues to sleep, and that Seonjo continues to make settlers.

Msurdej: Its a bird, its a plane, its the Seljuq ~~turks~~!
And would you look at that, Alp Arslan rises up a few ranks. Yes with the razing of Atil, the Seljuqs have a window of oppurtunity to break out of Persia. But that's not all: They could also take a city off of India in Hyderabad. But it would be tough. The Seljuq army isnt that much weaker than India's, but if the Parthians or Palmyra decide they want a snack, it could mean the end for Alp Arslan's empire.

Aaron: Haida gains a few ranks this week, probably because they have built not one, not two, but 3 whole settlers! For a civ that has been widely criticised for not building any, they certainly seemed to have taken everyone's advice to heart. Two of the settlers are still in the Haida core and could be going anywhere, but the third is heading round to the north. There are essentially two possible options at that point: they could either forward settle the Yup'ik by going on one of the Aleutian islands, or they could go on further to the lands of Japan and Asia in general. The former is of course the superior option: as Haida have complete naval dominance and the Yup'ik barely have any ships, that city would be well defended and could be used as a base in order to conquer the Yup'ik. The latter option would be a useless colony that would eventually get taken by probably Qing.

Aaron: Haiti go up this week, not really because of anything they did, but because they currently have a very good opportunity to join the coalition against Venezuela, alongside the Nazca, Aztecs and Uruguay. With so many opponents, Venezuela would be very likely to lose some cities - maybe even their capital. However, this is all just speculation. Haiti's early stats lead thanks to their island start is petering out as civs that have actually settled (including Venezuela) are now beating them. They will have to do something in order to avoid dropping through the table, whether that be settling the Carribean or capturing cities off other civs. Sitting still will do them no good.

Techno: The Evenks finally receive the light of day! At last, we have pictures from within the part itself to showcase the Evenks in all their glory! Unfortunately, that glory is overshadowed by the cause of their noteworthiness this part. The Evenks were on the receiving end of a long chain of DOWs this part, putting their military might to the test for the first time since the Dawn of Man. If there's a bit of good news though, out of all the wars, the only one of relevance is with the Kazakhs. And while a city or two may fall to the blue blob, the Kazakh war record is poor enough that we doubt the Evenks' legacy will end here.

Scissor: Piye just can't seem to get a break. It was only a few parts ago where he escapes being the object of every African's hatred. Now Zenobia seems to have turned her gaze towards Nubia. Nubia's military is nearly 2K, which would be pretty good if it weren't for the fact that Palmyra has the 2nd largest military in the cylinder. Nubia has a tough fight coming but if he manages to keep Zenobia's forces from overwhelming them, then the brunt of a expansionist Palmyra might be averted

Techno: This part was nothing but good news for our favorite blind merchant. The Moors made peace without so much as flipping a city. Meanwhile, despite being known as one of the least expansionist civs on the cylinder, Venice has successfully accumulated 8 cities and has a settler that might be able to settle central Italy. However, this doesn't erase the fact that Venice still has a lot of catching up to do when it comes to stats. So while they may be middle-of-the-pack now, they have to work to keep that position secured.

Scissor: Opportunity presents itself in Beta Israel for Ranavalona. Land on the eastern coast of Africa has been quickly snatched up. The only targets Ranavalona had were Zimbabwe and Beta Israel and the best choice was Beta Israel by far. Gudit has played a very reserves game so far but the Horn of Africa is notoriously hard to invade. If Ranavalona makes the most of this, she could salvage her slow start yet and establish a strong African presence.

Adm. Cloudberg: New Zealand holds steady in its slightly-worse-than-mediocre position in 35th place after another part of doing very little. New Zealand's stats are decent on paper and they have a settler about to add another island to their empire, but in order to move back up in the rankings, Seddon needs to conquer something. Could Tonga Time actually mean time for New Zealand to invade Tonga?

Adm. Cloudberg: The Manx jump up five places this part, and for good reason: they have a wave of settlers heading north to Iceland and Greenland, and a strategic naval war has blocked HRE settlers that were trying to get there first. We should see several new Manx cities next part, and once those colonies are up and running, we might see Illiam Dhone go up another 5 places, if not more. This is ultimately a winning strategy: by locking down Iceland, the Isle of Man will put itself in a position to eventually outproduce and surround Scotland, allowing the Manx to potentially roll over the British Isles just like Iceland did in Mk. 2

Aaron: Beta Israel build 3 cities and gain a rank for each one. Though things are still not looking that good. They are still having massive science issues and food shortages. The main source of food in the region: Lake Victoria, has been settled by Zimbabwe. The big news this week is that they have declared war on Nubia, while Madagascar has declared war on them in turn and is sending a large army to capture their coastal cities. Gudit only has 4 units defending Balankab, while most of their army is to the North attacking Nubia. Beta Israel has just discovered sailing so will soon be able to fight back against the Madagascan fleet, but half their coastal cities are stuck in the red sea blocked off by Oman. We'll see if they manage to defend themselves.

Andy: Out of all people, it's the Manx declaring against William's Holy Roman Empire. Imperial efforts to settle Iceland and the Faroes are dashed, with Manx triremes sinking underdefended settlers in the North Sea. While statistically William's military is larger, it's telling that now, the Manx have the edge on production, and more importantly have the edge on North Sea settlement. Doubtless, when the next election comes up, William's failure to actively protect the North Sea settlers and prosecute the Manx war will be an oft-hammered point for his detractors.

However, his supporters have their own points to hammer back in turn. Under William's command, and his continental policy of expanding the empire into Czech lands, Liberec is falling. As the Czechs find themselves embroiled in a two-front war, despite the Imperial army being drained, it's very possible William will walk out with all the lands of Bavaria added to his crown.

Thy: In a great showing of competence, Sakamoto Ryoma has recaptured Pyongyang, and this time he has made peace with the Koreans before they could get a chance at taking the city back. Certainly a redemption after the earlier blunder against the Koreans. And now, still high off the Korean war, Shikoku turns around and invades Canton! Already targeted by half a dozen civs, Ching Shih will find it difficult to defend Ba'arin against the veterans of the Korean war. Shikoku is far from down, and even if their settler production has left much to be desired, they may very well have a bright future ahead. To wage successful wars is not a common theme on the cylinder this early, after all.

Adm. Cloudberg: Contrary to expectations, Papua doesn't drop this part, instead actually gaining a place and edging into the top half for the first time since part 0. Much of the naysaying around Papua might have been due to the possibility of a declaration of war from Sulu, but Jamalul Kiram decided to throw his forces against Canton instead, giving Rajapapua more time to secure his position. I would argue that Papua is still riding the high of its war against Australia, but so far all people who bet -Papua in Gragg's prediction game are looking at disappointing returns.

Doom: Nepal move up this week as India falter in their war with Maratha. With a surprisingly well placed citadel and India already on the defensive against Maratha, Nepal should be able to win any war with India in the immediate future. A coalition with Parthia could also topple India. Beyond that Nepal still lag behind the other Indian civs in terms of cities which will hurt them in the long term. Taungoo and Qin look set to take most of the lands traditionally held by Nepal in tests. That said, it's certainly not impossible for Nepal to take the initiative if they play their cards right.

Techno: While their rank shifted up by two places this part, this shift is more due to the failure of the Sami to make significant headway against the Vikings than due to any Viking successes. If there's any good news when it comes to Viking progress, Ragnar has figured out that boats exist, although given how few triremes we see patrolling Viking waters, I don't think Ragnar knows HOW to boat. Or how to make military units in general, given how the Vikings are ranked 56th in military size. At least the Norwegian fjordlands protect the Viking core enough that Ragnar will likely have the opportunity to rebuild his military once he figures out how to add units to the production queue.

Andy: It is time for some Suluspam! While the Sulu have yet to truly wake up and settle the rest of their surrounding islands, creating definite cause for concern with regards to the potential for Marathan and Taungoo encroachment, as well as a potential Qing settle onto Luzon, the fact that Sulu woke up and sent their navy after Canton should be a reassuring sight to any Sulu fans, confirming that they are awake, and able to start doing things.

While it's possible that snipes of Cantonese cities would occur, giving Sulu a foothold onto the mainland, next steps for Sulu should probably be to move against Taungoo. While Taungoo has more cities, and overall more production, the Taungoo navy is currently trapped on the far side of Marathan Singapore, and Sulu has a tech advantage. Sulu also has a larger military overall, which could result in favourable peace deals involving further footholds beyond Sum Chen, Dala, and Mottama.

Andy: For Benin, the part has most certainly not been benign. While Ewuare successfully repelled the Songhai in the last war, a new invasion is faced, this time from Ndongo, with Zimbabwe joining in. That being said, however, Zimbabwe, by far the scarier of the two, is on the wrong side of the Ndongo, severely limiting their ability to contribute to the war. This means that for Benin, their main risk regarding Zimbabwe is the risk of surrendering cities in peace, rather than losing them in war.

With regards to the Ndongo, however, the situation is much more mixed. While Ndongo has a production and military advantage over Benin, it's not a particularly massive one - only a few hundred swords, just over a dozen hammers. Provided the Songhai stay out of the war, and Benin effectively leverages their production and troops to hold down the more exposed southern cities, Ndongo's progress should be severely limited.

Lordie: We interrupt our regularly scheduled Nazcar broadcast to discuss the fact that the Drivers' Union, led by the maverick speedster that is Cahuachi, has declared open war against the Venezuelan Automobile Society, owing to their hoarding of oils. Based on recent performances though, experts are not sure if Nazcar can indeed break through Chavez's defence, however the show of derring-do has made their stock rise slightly. The pitstop city that is Paredones is still vulnerable but as of now the Kuikuro seem to be ignoring it. Looks like lights are mostly coming up green for Nazcar.

Aaron: This week, the large army that people were hoping would fight Zimbabwe has instead been turned north towards Benin alongside Zimbabwe. Unfortunately, they appear to have caught Mexico syndrome as despite surrounding the city of Esi with bowmen, no damage has yet been done to it. Their military is slowly bleeding itself dry against the walls of Benin for zero progress while Zimbabwe's is growing ever more (as it is unable to reach any Benin cities). This is not a good thing. Although they managed to settle the island of Sao Tome and Principe and still have a few settlers, those settlers will struggle to find room with Zimbabwe having already eaten most of the land. Despite all this, Ndongo gains a rank this part, probably because they finally discovered writing and thus doubled their science.

Thy: You know that meme about Gold and Painful, Agonizing Failure? That's Selk'nam, except they forgot the Gold part. Paysandú didn't fall, and Selk'nam made peace. This was your chance to break out, Selk'nam! Why did you disappoint me? Why did you disappoint us? And now Uruguay is spamming settlers even more intensely. Sure, Selk'nam has good stats in global comparisons, but it means nothing when your only neighbor is a Uruguay on the loose. But of course, not all hope is lost. A new invasion supported by naval supremacy could have a great chance at threatening Paysandú again - even more so if Selk'nam manages to invite Nazca and/or Kuikuro into the party. But at this rate, Selk'nam's future will grow more and more uncertain...

Techno: It took me a while to remember what India did this past part, and given that they're once again fighting their arch-rival Maratha, I'd say that's almost an accomplishment. However, while this grudge match has been mostly forgettable so far, this CBRX equivalent to the IRL India-Pakistan conflict has a decent chance of heating up in the near future. Maratha units have begun to damage Hyderabad, and given how much Maratha has managed to grow recently, there's a chance that this mostly stagnant war might see a city flip, a first on this subcontinent despite the land's bloody history.

Techno: The window is closing fast for Apache to grow as strong as we thought they'd be in our initial rankings. The Metis, Iroquois, and even the Aztecs are all outpacing or roughly even with the Apache, giving the Apache precious little time if they want to settle the Rockies and secure their high-rank spot. Fortunately for Geronimo, he has 3 settlers on the board right now, giving the Apache the chance they need to strengthen their empire.

Lacs: We're a friendly bunch, us power rankers. We all enjoy a gentle ribbing when someone submits a ranking that's a little out-there - it's good fun whichever side you're on. That all goes out the window when we're talking about Prussia. Voices get raised, chairs get thrown, divorce papers are finalised and no one's opinion ever changes. Prussia are the greatest civ in Europe and a shoe-in for the top 10, with their exemplary stats and inferior neighbours. They're also bottom third no-hopers, completely hemmed in by civs that have just enough carpet to stop Prussian forces from making any headway, and who had one of their cities flipped by Muscovy. That they've consistently hovered around 20 in the rankings is testament to how entrenched these opinions are - and until their situation changes, which it didn't this part, I'd expect that ranking to endure.

Thy: And so, at last, Monty has declared a war in search of human sacrifice. But all he will find, I fear, is a grinder in the jungles of Central America, between the mountaintops. While Venezuela's northern cities are lightly defended at best, it will be difficult for the Jaguars of the Aztecs to actually traverse the rough terrain and properly lay siege to a city. Indeed, the Aztec navy might face much better success, but even that seems frail for a ray of hope, as the Aztec navy is weak and seemingly ill-prepared. Perhaps even more worryingly for Monty, the Apache continue to spam settlers to their north - already now, the Aztecs are practically locked in. While Apache's new settles are barely defended, Monty attention is directed towards the Venezuelans, who are much harder to attack right now...

Thy: With the continent finally calming down from the wars that have ravaged it recently, Australia has been given a chance to recuperate. All the same, the wounds of the Papuan war are still very much visible, and Australian cities in the northwest remain barely garrisoned. Has Hawke learned nothing? How many times will innocent people have to die only because Hawke didn't realize that far-off settles need to be defended, even if they're settled on your civ's name-sake continent? Hubris invites destruction, Hawke. You better be ready next time.

Doom: The Moors move up this week but it's not clear why. Algeria are still fairly inaccessible to the Moors and if they can't take cities from Venice it's unlikely they'll have more luck against the other civs of west Europe such as the HRE and Manx.
The Manx are currently busy with the HRE so the lightly defended French colonies are no longer in imminent danger, giving them a chance to adequately reinforce the area. No amount of time will give the Moors the ability to fight wars good.

Scissor: Seems like everyone took Montezuma's advice and decided to move to Venezuela. The Aztecs, Nazca, and Uruguay all attack Venezuela but the Aztecs seem like the only one to make immediate gains, with their invasion of Central America. Luckily for Chavez, the terrain favors defense and all he needs to do is place a decent garrison up north to fend off the Aztecs and their low tech military. The Nazca to the South are blocked off by mountains and Uruguay is blocked by Kuikuro. The conflict probably won't be serious for Venezuela unless Haiti get involved.

Lordie: The Iroquois move up after managing to take Montréal from Poverty Point. With direct borders with two civs in the bottom five, despite not running hot, Hiawatha is in a perfectly good place and moves up a fair chunk because of it. The real worry comes if, whilst they clean up Canada and PP, one of the Apache or Métis gains ascendancy and they have a proper fight on their hands. That, if anything, will be the main test of their Autocratic mettle.

Thy: Kazakhs, they are back in the game! Not that they were ever out of it, in all honesty. The blunders in the Parthian war were but a flesh wound, in reality, and the Kazakh AI is ready to mercilessly pound its army against yet another elusive Siberian civ - except for some reason this one is universally hated. Some things never change, though: Kazakhs are the only one in the coalition with realistic access to Evenk cities. This might just be their chance to redeem themselves, because a big army means very little if you can't use it.

Aaron: A common thought last episode was that Maratha was trapped in the indian subcontinent by Nepal and India. This part, they prove that wrong, and escape the triangle by settling Dhar on Singapour. With 2 more settlers on the way and their core not too far away, this new colony should be able to grow adequately and give them a foothold for further colonies into Indonesia. The biggest threat to their new colonies is of course Taungoo, who may wish to remove this intrusion. In the case of war, Taungoo's cities are extremely well protected, both from sea and by land, while the Marathan cities would be vulnerable to attacks from the sea. Still, it's the start of an escape, and for that, Maratha remains high.

Msurdej: It appears Bayinnaung may have pulled out of his war with Canton too early. Now with everybody and their grandma attacking Canton, it would hav been a great time toexpand further east. Instead, Taungoo just continue to solidify their gains, but alas, a new challenger approches. Maratha has settled on Singapore, and it could lead to tensions between these two civs. While it remains to be seen what will happen, a Taungoo/Maratha rivalry looks certain.

Doom: The Qin-Qing-Khamug power triad remains stable for now but the Qing are beginning to look vulnerable as they fall outside of the top 10 for the first time since part 2. The Qin have caught up to them in all important demographics and are removing all potential threats from the east. Meanwhile, Cixi does nothing. The chance for an easy war against the Qin is gone but Korea are still a tempting target. The Qing now have to focus on avoiding any war with both Qin and the Khamugs to stay alive.

Aaron: Parthia lose a rank, though it is difficult to see why as their situation is pretty similar to last week. Fresh off their success against Kazakhstan, the horse lords are enjoying top-tier production and a large military. After rushing straight for horseback riding, they are now lacking a few key techs such as writing, making them one of the only illiterate civs in the entire cylinder, with correspondingly low science to match - they had best fix this before it becomes a problem. They are also kindof boxed in. The alternative horselords in blue to their north appear to have barely noticed the loss of two of their cities, and have even more production and military than Parthia. On their south, both India and the Seljuks, although a lot weaker, still have many mountain passes to defend themselves and enough military to make any invasion extremely costly. Probably the best expansion opportunity would be to bounce on the floundering Golden Horde with whom they share a small border.

Adm. Cloudberg: The Sami pop back up a spot, although it’s not entirely clear why. Eadni was unable to make headway against the Vikings and shows no interest in attacking Prussia, but at least she’s still settling cities at a decent clip. And unlike most European civs, she still has space to put more if she expands eastward into the Russian Arctic. The jury is still out on the Sami, and if there’s one thing they have a lot of, it’s time.

Adm. Cloudberg: The Goths surge into the top 10 for the first time ever this part as power rankers eagerly await their expected smackdown of the Golden Horde. You might say, wait a minute, didn't the Goths actually lose a city this part? You'd be right, but the situation on the battlefield at the end of episode 7 strongly suggests that they will not only take back their lost city, but could very easily surge all the way in to Sarai Batu. At the same time, their swordsman UU, the Gadrauht, is now in play, receiving extra HP from pillaging and extra combat strength in rough terrain. These things will be hard to take down with mere archers.

Adm. Cloudberg: Palmyra continues its climb through the top 10, hitting a new high of 7th this part. It's hard to say it's not deserved. So far Palmyra has locked down almost all of the Middle East and Anatolia, defying stereotypes about the region from previous marks. They also have the world's second largest army and are currently using it to invade Nubia, with the city of Gournia all but guaranteed to fall next part. Palmyra's future is far from certain, but so far they're playing a lot like Mk. 2's Vietnam: fighting and conquering their way to a top position, instead of having it handed to them on a silver platter like Zimbabwe.

Adm. Cloudberg: Songhai falls another place, now to sixth, as other civs accelerate past them in the stats. Songhai is not to be trifled with and could rise again if they attack Algeria, a war that would result in significant gains, but as it stands they are not comparing quite as well with other top tier civs as they used to. That said, falling to sixth is something of a first-world problem, which means in the grand scheme of things Songhai is actually doing pretty well. They are, after all, the undisputed second best civ in Africa after Zimbabwe.

Aaron: Another quiet part of settling for the Metis. Statistically they are the 3rd biggest civ on the entire cylinder (behind only Uruguay and Zimbabwe), with vast amounts of free land and a bunch of settlers to grab it! What is more, they are on the continent of North America, which is getting a bit of a reputation for being the land of AIs that don't understand how settling works, in which the Metis's success shines even brighter. Their biggest threats are the Apache and Iroquois, who are both only just starting to get their settler trains going, several parts later than the Metis and indeed, most civs on the cylinder. As it currently stands, the Metis have a lot more cities, production, science and military than any other North American civ. And it's not even close! And they have succesfully declared war on the Iroquois and taken a city off them, showing they won't be a Yakutia. With all this going for them, why aren't they at the very least in the top 3? I honestly don't know.

Adm. Cloudberg: After waffling between first and second for five parts, the Khamug Khanate slides back to fourth (so terrible, I know) mainly due to other civs doing better. The Khamug-Mongols have largely stopped settling, even though they still have room to do so, and their military is no longer as powerful relative to its neighbours as it used to be. They also lost their pointless forward settle to Canton, and while it was guaranteed to fall, it was actually a significant blow because it was one of , if not their biggest city. All of that said, the Khamug Mongols have plenty of opportunities available. They could team up with Qin or Qing to attack the other, or they could invade the Evenks. Or they could just keep settling. Any of these moves will keep them in the top 5.

Lordie: I've been getting the Qin a lot, and a lot of the time it feels like I'm saying the same things over and over again: they've got a stonking military, are playing with good aggression and in general doing the right stuff. Given another positive part, with aggression towards a slightly depleted canton, they remain in the top five, and are the power rankers' Asia number one. If i had any advice, just keep going, kill Canton, then use the growth to worry about your stronger neighbours.

Adm. Cloudberg: After grasping a draw with Selk’nam from the jaws of defeat, Uruguay just misses out on first place this part not because the rankers didn’t want them there—most of them did—but because one ranker put them 11th and dragged them down. So, with that said, what do we see in Uruguay’s position? The stats say they’re pretty much at the top of the pack, first or second in most categories, with neighbours unable to knock them off their pedestal. They’re expanding rapidly through peaceful settlement but they have few easy wars to choose from if they wanted to try a different tack. The Kuikuro are an impenetrable fortress until at least dynamite, the Nazca are behind mountains, and Selk’nam is not to be trifled with. Uruguay’s strategy might just be to sit back and tech up and wait for first place to fall into their hands.

Techno: Either through a fluke in our ranking system or through sheer strategic competence, depending on who you ask, Zimbabwe has managed to secure the #1 spot for the third week running. I happen to fall into the latter camp due to two key syllables: ben-in. Nyatsimba Mutota of Zimbabwe has managed to persuade Nzinga of Ndongo to send all of Ndongo's units into Benin's labyrinth of walls, leaving Ndongo's core rather empty of units. On top of this, Zimbabwe maintains the largest production base, the 4th-largest military, and has an empire of 12 cities without needing to conquer a single one so far. But what truly sets Zimbabwe apart from other high-tier civs is their neighbors. Of this week's top 4, the Khamugs and Qin have each other and the Qing as powerful neighbors, and while Uruguay might lack any powerful neighbors who pose a direct threat, the terrain in South America is horrific for conquest. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, has both Ndongo's core and the coastal cities of Beta Israel and Madagascar a stone's throw away from their borders and with no rough terrain in the way. So while the rest of the top four are at risk of stagnation, Zimbabwe only needs to declare war to cement their control of southern Africa. Truly the Boers of our time.