The Most Iconic and Deserving Leaders

[RideASpaceCowboy]

Below I’ve listed not my ideal list of civilizations, but rather those I consider most probable, for both the main game and future expansions.

The leaders which I’ve listed next to these civilizations are the individuals I consider the most iconic and deserving of a spot in Civilization V. This discussion is not in regards to which Civilizations you want in the game, but which leaders you want to see for any given civilization.


Original 18 Civilizations

1) American Empire (George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan)
2) Aztec Empire (Montezuma II)
3) Babylonian Empire (Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar)
4) British Empire (King Arthur, Henry VIII, Winston Churchill)
5) Byzantine Empire (Justinian I)
6) Chinese Empire (Qin Shi Huang, Mao Zedong)
7) Egyptian Empire (Khufu, Ramses II)
8) French Empire (Louie XIV, Napoleon)
9) German Empire (Otto von Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolf Hitler)
10) Greek Empire (Leonidas, Alexander the Great, Pericles)
11) Indian Empire (Gandhi)
12) Japanese Empire (Tokugawa, Hirohito)
13) Mongolian Empire (Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan)
14) Persian Empire (Darius, Xerxes, Cyrus)
15) Roman Empire (Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, Constantine the Great)
16) Russian Empire (Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Joseph Stalin)
17) Spanish Empire (Ferdinand, Cortez)
18) Viking Empire (Erik the Red, Leif Ericson)


16 total expansion pack civilizations…

19) Akkadian Empire (Sargon of Akkad)
20) Apache Empire (Geronimo)
21) Arabian Empire (Saladin)
22) Carthaginian Empire (Hannibal)
23) Holy Roman Empire (Charlemagne, Charles V)
24) Incan Empire (Huayna Capac)
25) Indochinese Empire (Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot)
26) Israelite Empire (Moses, David, Solomon)
27) Lakota Empire (Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse)
28) Mayan Empire (Pacal II)
29) Ottoman Empire (Suleiman the Magnificent)
30) Polish Empire (Pulaski)
31) Portuguese Empire (Henry the Navigator)
32) Sumerian Empire (Gilgamesh)
33) Trojan Empire (Hector, Aeneas)
34) Zulu Empire (Shaka Zulu)

[Mesteut]

The trailer shows Istanbul under Ottoman control (Hagia Sophia has minarets and the city is full of mosques - and they actually placed some trees of native to Arabia which shouldn't be there, like palms and hurma trees), and the Ottomans/Turks aren't in your first 18.

=\

Note: Mehmed II, Suleiman I, Mahmud II, Abdülhamit II and if it's general Turkish - Mete Han, Atatürk, Bilge Kagan, Kültigin, Melikshah could all be great leaders for the Ottoman/Turkish side.

[RideASpaceCowboy]

The trailer shows Istanbul under Ottoman control (Hagia Sophia has minarets and the city is full of mosques - and they actually placed some trees of native to Arabia which shouldn't be there, like palms and hurma trees), and the Ottomans/Turks aren't in your first 18.

"...I know how to raise a small and obscure city to glory and greatness."

Byzantium was a small and obscure city until Constantine I founded Constantinople there. It was hardly small and obscure when it was taken over by the Turks.

The presence of the minarets around the Hagia Sophia could be merely anachronistic, with the speaker likely being Justinian I.

[HolmstN]

[1) American Empire (George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan)

Washington, certainly. Lincoln and Roosevelt are far more prominent than either of the latter two mentioned, though.

4) British Empire (King Arthur, Henry VIII, Winston Churchill)

King Arthur wasn't real (as far as we're aware) by the way...

[CasterF]

King Arthur wasn't real (as far as we're aware) by the way...

It is certainly debatable if he was real. Maybe better choice would be the King Richard I (called Lionheart).

[menzonac]

the quote from trailer;
"I never learned how to tune a harp, or play upon a lute; but I know how to raise a small and obscure city to glory and greatness...where to all kindreds of the earth will pilgrim.

—The Greek Admiral Themistocles, who defeated the Persians at the Battle of Salamis, on being taunted with his lack of social skills, 5th century BC

So speaker is not Justinian but a Greek Admiral. The city is definitely Istanbul under Turk influence. Greeks are surely one of civs with Alexander as a ruler, and probably Ottomans is an another civ with Suleiman as a ruler. I prefer Ataturk as a second leader or like Civ IV Mehmed will take the other slot.

[Sol.Invictus]

For the spanish Ferdinand is ok but he wouldnt be anything without Isabella so the most common name given in Spain to the two of them is traduced into: "The Catholic Kings" I know it is not ideal (in spanish it sounds much better hehe) but to include the king of Aragon without the queen of Castilla sounds bad to me

[jbstrick]

I would switch the Byzantine Empire with the Ottomans and the Babylonian Empire with the Arabian Empire. I think those two have better shots of being in the first 18 civs. The other two will come in expansions.

On the expansions civs, I would combine the Native American Empire into one civ, like they did on four. That would live room for the Celtic or Mali empire. I like the inclusion of the Israelite Empire, I've always wanted that Civ in the games. I always thought it would be called the Hebrew Empire, but I think Israelite sounds better.

[Mesteut]

It is certainly debatable if he was real. Maybe better choice would be the King Richard I (called Lionheart).

I believe Queen Elizabeth (of the Tudors, you know) and Queen Victoria (Victorian British Empire) would be much better choices. Churchill should be in though.

...

For Spain... Cortés? The guy conquered Tenochtitlan and ruined the Aztecs, but he was no head of state, nor was he a very prominent political figure. Same for the Greeks, Pericles is good, Alexander is Macedonian but is shown as Greek in previous Civ games, but Leonidas? =\

Also, Russia "must" have Catherine the Great. Promiscuous or not, she made Russia VERY strong.

[Gunslinger79]

For American leaders, I prefer Ronald Reagan over Roosevelt. In truth, Washington was a poor general and should have lost the revolutionary war, but Britain didn't have the heart to force the war enough to win it, so here we are. So other than being the first president, what exactly did he do that was so great? I would say Lincoln and Reagan are our two best presidents of all time.

[Mesteut]

For American leaders, I prefer Ronald Reagan over Roosevelt. In truth, Washington was a poor general and should have lost the revolutionary war, but Britain didn't have the heart to force the war enough to win it, so here we are. So other than being the first president, what exactly did he do that was so great? I would say Lincoln and Reagan are our two best presidents of all time.

*cough* Bill Clinton *cough*

If he was allowed more terms, you wouldn't be fighting El-Kaide right now (or if the Republicans didn't accuse him for exaggerating the threat)

Oh, and Britain couldn't enforce the war in America because of the economical devastation brought on her by the 7 Years' War, as I remember, not because some sort of emotional stuff. If not for the war, you wouldn't see the heavy taxation anyways. Note that the same war also caused the economical distress in France, which in turn paved the way to the French Revolution.

[Pry87]

It is certainly debatable if he was real. Maybe better choice would be the King Richard I (called Lionheart).

Arthur is a myth, so I hope not to see him and I would be even less impressed to see Richard I, a man who nether stepped foot in England and spent most of his reign on futile crusades.

I really want to see Oliver Cromwell as an option for the British leadership, led the country to revolution, formed the New Model Army, was successively elected protectorate, turned down the offer to be crowned king.

Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington would be another good leader, one of the greatest British Generals, undefeated (excluding 1 minor insignificant skirmish), beat Napoleon at Waterloo, was elected Prime Minister later in life as well.

Alfred the Great and Henry VIII are two monarchs that maybe should be considered.

But I expect it will be Churchill and either Victoria or Elizabeth I. Churchill maybe deserves it for WW2, probably would have won with a different leader, victory was more down to the generals and allied help, and if he was such a good leader why did he loose the election after the war. Victoria did nothing she was a head of state and that was it, just happened to be on the throne at the height of the empire and lived a long time. Elizabeth I possibly deserves it as well, but again her major victory was against the Spanish Armada which was more down to the admirals. Come on Sid mix it up a bit.

[freethinker]

I know it doesnt fit with the civ games but i for one would LOVE to set up a George W Bush Vs Adolf Hitler deathmatch. If i had to chose one i'd go for Hitler though.
It would definately be fun to play out alternative history with Hitler as the leader and pit him against a frenzied Moses of the Israelites. I dont think it would go over well with the jews though if Rommel ransacked Israel and forced moses to pay tribute.

Sorry if someone find my post offensive but its a CIV game after all and nobody bat an eyelash when my Josef Stalin nuked Ghandi.

[Pry87]

I have to be Honest I wont be surprised if I see Barack Obama in the game, lol.

[Morgan Pain]

For Spain... Cortés? The guy conquered Tenochtitlan and ruined the Aztecs.

well, When it comes to cruelness, sadism and pure evil Hitler is a choir boy compared to this guy....

[Mesteut]

well, When it comes to cruelness, sadism and pure evil Hitler is a choir boy compared to this guy....

Persona non grata in Mexico. Killed about 250000 people... with about 300 expeditioners, if I remember right.

That's surely a "high efficiency".

[Sol.Invictus]

well, When it comes to cruelness, sadism and pure evil Hitler is a choir boy compared to this guy....

Hmmm nothing particularily sadistic about him imho, history is full of blood and massacres.
Can you imagine Julius Cesars Death toll? and some things he did like maiming a whole city so it would spread terror among the rebelious Gaulls? or the massacres of the japanese during WWII?
The sacking of south america in essence does not differ from these.

For Spain... Cortés? The guy conquered Tenochtitlan and ruined the Aztecs, but he was no head of state, nor was he a very prominent political figure.

Cortés was Gobernor and Captain General of the New Spain, he was also given a nobiliary title as marquis, so I think it qualifies him for Spanish leader.
He was never head of state in Spain as such but de-facto he was "king" of "New Spain", very far away from the Spanish Crowns authority.

[mitrydates]

Most of your types match mine.

For the Americans I'd take George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, F. D. Roosevelt.
For the British: Elizabeth I, Victoria, Winston Churchill.
For Byzantium: Constantine I, Justinian I.
For France: Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoleon.
For Germany: Otto I, Otto von Bismarck, Adolf Hitler.
For Japan: Tokugawa, Meiji, Hirohito.
For Russia: Peter I, Catherine II, Joseph Stalin.
For Spain: Ferdinand I, Isabel I.
For Vikings: Olaf Tryggvason, Erik the Red.
For Khmer: Suryavarman II, Pol Pot.
For Turks: Suleiman, Mehmed, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
And finally for Poland: Casimir III, Jan III Sobieski, Jozef Pilsudski.

[frimple]

Austro-Hungary.

If Franz Joseph or someone from the Habsburg dynasty can't make it into the game, something is amiss.

[LondonerinVT]

Just saw on the Firaxis website that theres a link for the April edition of Gamepro mag and Civ V is on the cover (George Washington anyway). Says Washington is in the game along with an assortment of new world leaders that have not appeared in the franchise before.

Sorry for some reason I cant cut and paste the link, but just go to Firaxis.com and the links on there.

Oh and I hope Justinian isn't in the game as the last 3 Beyond the Sword games I've played I thought I was doing good until he showed up over 500 points ahead......how does he do it?

[President Kyle]

For American leaders, I prefer Ronald Reagan over Roosevelt. In truth, Washington was a poor general and should have lost the revolutionary war, but Britain didn't have the heart to force the war enough to win it, so here we are. So other than being the first president, what exactly did he do that was so great? I would say Lincoln and Reagan are our two best presidents of all time.

Our you kidding me Ronald Regan has nothing on Roosevelt and your prob-ly getting to two Roosevelt's mist up. Their Theodor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt in civilization 4 it was Franklin D. Roosevelt(FDR). And to put Regan over him is bull ****. FDR was the first crippled president and the first president to have more then 2 term in the office. He was a hero to America for bring us out of the Depression after world war I and president during world war II. Regan an republican with a war WOW how typical.

[RideASpaceCowboy]

Our you kidding me Ronald Regan has nothing on Roosevelt and your prob-ly getting to two Roosevelt's mist up. Their Theodor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt in civilization 4 it was Franklin D. Roosevelt(FDR). And to put Regan over him is bull ****. FDR was the first crippled president and the first president to have more then 2 term in the office. He was a hero to America for bring us out of the Depression after world war I and president during world war II. Regan an republican with a war WOW how typical.

Regan was also re-elected with the largest margin in American history. He didn't lead the country into the cold war (it had already been going on for decades), he helped end the war through diplomacy.

And if you want to disqualify Republicans that led the country into war, the Lincoln is certainly out of the game (which I would actually have no problem with).

Furthermore, it is entirely plausible for an individual claim dislike for Franklin D. Roosevelt without having confused him with Theodor Roosevelt. I'm somewhat neutral on Teddy myself, but regard FDR as the worst president in American history (he prolonged the Depression and established the New Deal). At the same time, I recognize that he was a prominent and influential leader, much like Stalin or Mao, for whom I also harbor great disdain, who's inclusion I do endorse.

[Bumbaclot]

Going by the same civ list as the TC. Here are some ideas.

1) American Empire (George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt)
2) Aztec Empire (Montezuma II)
3) Babylonian Empire (Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar II)
4) British Empire (Alfred the Great, Elizabeth II, Victoria)
5) Byzantine Empire (Justinian I, Alexios I Komnenos)
6) Chinese Empire (Qin Shi Huang, Mao Zedong)
7) Egyptian Empire (Ramesses II, Thutmose III)
8) French Empire (Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoleon)
9) German Empire (Alaric the Visigoth, Otto I the Great, Bismarck)
10) Greek Empire (Pericles, Alexander the Great, Pyrrhus of Epirus)
11) Indian Empire (Chandragupta Maurya, Asoka, Babur)
12) Japanese Empire (Oda Nobunaga, Tokugawa Ieyasu)
13) Mongolian Empire (Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan)
14) Persian Empire (Cyrus, Xerxes, Darius)
15) Roman Empire (Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, Constantine the Great)
16) Russian Empire (Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Joseph Stalin)
17) Spanish Empire (El Cid, Isabella, Francisco Franco)
18) Viking Empire (Ragnar Lodbrok)

[Tongan]

Mexico:

Benito Juarez, was a Zapotec Amerindian who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872. Benito Juárez was the first Mexican leader who did not have a military background, and also the first full-blooded indigenous national ever to serve as President of Mexico and to lead a country in the Western Hemisphere. For resisting the French occupation, overthrowing the Empire, and restoring the Republic, as well as for his liberal efforts to modernize the country, Juárez is often regarded as one of Mexico's greatest and most beloved leaders.

Emiliano Zapata, was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution.

[Tongan]

Israel:

Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel on 17 March 1969, after serving as Minister of Labour and Foreign Minister. Israel's first and the world's third female to hold such an office, she was described as the "Iron Lady" of Israeli politics years before the epithet became associated with British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Former prime minister David Ben-Gurion used to call Meir "the best man in the government"; she was often portrayed as the "strong-willed, straight-talking, gray-bunned grandmother of the Jewish people".

Theodor Herzl was an Austro-Hungarian journalist and the father of modern political Zionism.

King David, the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel. He was known a righteous king, although not without fault, as well as an acclaimed warrior, musician and poet, and honored for composing many of the psalms contained in the Book of Psalms.

[Tongan]

Palestine:

Yasser Arafat, was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and leader of the Fatah political party, which he founded in 1959. Arafat spent much of his life fighting against Israel in the name of Palestinian self-determination. Originally opposed to Israel's existence, he modified his position in 1988 when he accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242.

Arafat and his movement operated from several Arab countries. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Fatah faced off with Jordan in a brief civil war. Forced out of Jordan and into Lebanon, Arafat and Fatah were major targets of Israel's 1978 and 1982 invasions of that country. He was "revered by many Arabs," and the majority of the Palestinian people, regardless of political ideology or faction, viewed him as a freedom fighter who symbolized their national aspirations. However, he was "reviled by many Israelis" and described "in much of the West as the world's number one terrorist" for the attacks his faction led against civilians.

[Tongan]

Our you kidding me Ronald Regan has nothing on Roosevelt and your prob-ly getting to two Roosevelt's mist up. Their Theodor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt in civilization 4 it was Franklin D. Roosevelt(FDR). And to put Regan over him is bull ****. FDR was the first crippled president and the first president to have more then 2 term in the office. He was a hero to America for bring us out of the Depression after world war I and president during world war II. Regan an republican with a war WOW how typical.

Nazi's would show a lack of simple skills like typing.

[Gunslinger79]

Our you kidding me Ronald Regan has nothing on Roosevelt and your prob-ly getting to two Roosevelt's mist up. Their Theodor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt in civilization 4 it was Franklin D. Roosevelt(FDR). And to put Regan over him is bull ****. FDR was the first crippled president and the first president to have more then 2 term in the office. He was a hero to America for bring us out of the Depression after world war I and president during world war II. Regan an republican with a war WOW how typical.

Yeah, that's right, I don't like FDR, the new deal, Kinsian economics, social security, big bloated debt increasing governmnet, socialism, or Obama. Lincoln abolished slavery and brought the states into the union for good. So yeah, I like old Ronald much better, seeing as he defeated the USSR without going to war and actually helped the economy, unlike FDR, who didn't do jack to get us out of the depression, the war and good old capitolism brought us out of the great depression.

[Mesteut]

Austro-Hungary.

If Franz Joseph or someone from the Habsburg dynasty can't make it into the game, something is amiss.

I think "the German Empire" would count in the Holy Roman Empire as well. The First Reich?

Although, in Civ IV, the Holy Roman Empire was added as a seperate civilization. Still, the Hapsburgs were Holy Roman Emperors.

[frimple]

I think "the German Empire" would count in the Holy Roman Empire as well. The First Reich?

Although, in Civ IV, the Holy Roman Empire was added as a seperate civilization. Still, the Hapsburgs were Holy Roman Emperors.

To include them in the German Empire is to imply a continuity with the Prussian German Empire and modern Germany which they do not possess.

Also the Habsburg HREmperors and dynasty as a whole ruled a lot more than just the HRE over time, not least of course Habsburg Spain, the Austro-Hungarian holdings [and considerable portions of Italy and Venice] not part of the HRE as such.

Austria warrants a Civ in itself even without descent from their theoretically elected dynasty in the HRE, the Habsburgs doubley so.

[JefA]

Arthur is a myth, so I hope not to see him and I would be even less impressed to see Richard I, a man who nether stepped foot in England and spent most of his reign on futile crusades.

I really want to see Oliver Cromwell as an option for the British leadership, led the country to revolution, formed the New Model Army, was successively elected protectorate, turned down the offer to be crowned king.

Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington would be another good leader, one of the greatest British Generals, undefeated (excluding 1 minor insignificant skirmish), beat Napoleon at Waterloo, was elected Prime Minister later in life as well.

Alfred the Great and Henry VIII are two monarchs that maybe should be considered.

But I expect it will be Churchill and either Victoria or Elizabeth I. Churchill maybe deserves it for WW2, probably would have won with a different leader, victory was more down to the generals and allied help, and if he was such a good leader why did he loose the election after the war. Victoria did nothing she was a head of state and that was it, just happened to be on the throne at the height of the empire and lived a long time. Elizabeth I possibly deserves it as well, but again her major victory was against the Spanish Armada which was more down to the admirals. Come on Sid mix it up a bit.

Prob means Alfred not Arther.. may should be Athelstan

Oliver cromwell Killed his (Bad King) for not listening to Parlement and people, and for refusing to allow parlement to sit. Refused king ship and instead Became Lord Protecter (ie King) after refusing to allow the Parlement to sit and carrying out a military Coup. (Not to mention irish campaigns -though most deaths were famine related after he had left prosecution of war to others) so make Cromwell Bad Man Good King. Suppose that might qualify him to be added.. many Bad man good Kings here

Wellesley was good general but bad PM (opinion here yvmv)

Tho Richard was pretty much French and only spent a reputed 6 months in England as King..fighting abroad.. He was born here so did set foot. Albeit both parents Henry 2 and Eleona of Aquitain were French. An Angevin really. Held bothe most of France and England as fief's

Like you I dont rate Churchill as much. Galipoli Norway even Italy maybe... but dont blame him for losing post war election. I am prob a deal older than many here and my parents generation fought the war. Their descriptions of the still class dominated societies than ran army airforce Navy.. whole country stuck in peoples craw. The swing to socialism was almost inevitable. Perhaps a weakness of democracy people vote with their gut not their Brain.
One of my dads pals took part in what is i believe the only (short lived) mutiny in the RAF. A mechanic in a nightfighter quadron they were based in an American sector and very unusually supplied by the Americans rather than British. American rations included a lot of stuff just not available to brits..certainly not in quantity.. including spirits and choc' Not wanting to spoil the troops the Squadrons officers (living in the local chateux not the tents just kept all the goodies for themself. Hence mutiny over apparently small thg. Hushed up obviously. Don't think he was having me on.. wasnt the type. staright up accountant later Co.secretary to ICI main board. He said a lot of that went on and when the troops went home and talked there was a revulsion against thiose old class ways that lead to a landslide to Labour. But Churchill did win relection in '51 as that "kneejerk"reaction cooled off

[Deathwing00]

Why is the Byzantine civilization split off the Greek one? Byzantine is a term used nowadays, but as found in medieval literature, it was actually called those days "Hellenic Empire". Shouldn't those Greece and the Hellenic Empire be merged?

Apart from that, there are missing glorious leaders. Of course, you have Alexander, Pericles and Justinian, but what about Solon and Pyrrhus in ancient times? What about Constantine in medieval times? What about Rigas Fereos, Ypsilantis and specially Kolokotronis in modern times?

Can these great heroes be added and the concepts of civilization merged?

[karnivorious]

I really want a Scandinavia(Sweden, Denmark, Norway) instead of the "vikings". This would make sense since both Denmark and Sweden were empires at one point after the viking age. This could very well be reality if the Scandinavian union didnt dissolve. Germany for example is a relative new country.

And one of the Kings that would make most sense Gustaf Adolf the Great (Gustavus Adolphus Magnus).

"Father of Modern Warfare". Future commanders who studied and admired Gustav II Adolf include Napoleon I of France and Carl von Clausewitz. His advancements in military science made Sweden the dominant Baltic power for the next one hundred years (see Swedish Empire). He is also the only Swedish monarch to be styled "the Great".

Btw Vikings did more than just "discover" North America or invade the british isles Iceland and normandy etc. There was alot more going on in the east and they pretty much controlled all of the trade all the way down to the black sea aswell as founded the first russian state and took service as elite warriors in Constantinople as the famous Varangian Guard(the emperors personal bodyguards).

[Pry87]

I really want a Scandinavia(Sweden, Denmark, Norway) instead of the "vikings". This would make sense since both Denmark and Sweden were empires at one point after the viking age. This could very well be reality if the Scandinavian union didnt dissolve. Germany for example is a relative new country.

And one of the Kings that would make most sense Gustaf Adolf the Great (Gustavus Adolphus Magnus).

"Father of Modern Warfare". Future commanders who studied and admired Gustav II Adolf include Napoleon I of France and Carl von Clausewitz. His advancements in military science made Sweden the dominant Baltic power for the next one hundred years (see Swedish Empire). He is also the only Swedish monarch to be styled "the Great".

Btw Vikings did more than just "discover" North America or invade the british isles Iceland and normandy etc. There was alot more going on in the east and they pretty much controlled all of the trade all the way down to the black sea aswell as founded the first russian state and took service as elite warriors in Constantinople as the famous Varangian Guard(the emperors personal bodyguards).

You make a good point but I think that Viking is much more likely because it is more iconic and I'm sure they'll be plenty of focus on the trade and seafaring aspects rather than just rape and pillage (although I expect that will be in for game play sake)

[LuisGomes]

Below I’ve listed not my ideal list of civilizations, but rather those I consider most probable, for both the main game and future expansions.

The leaders which I’ve listed next to these civilizations are the individuals I consider the most iconic and deserving of a spot in Civilization V. This discussion is not in regards to which Civilizations you want in the game, but which leaders you want to see for any given civilization.


Original 18 Civilizations

1) American Empire (George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan)
2) Aztec Empire (Montezuma II)
3) Babylonian Empire (Hammurabi, Nebuchadnezzar)
4) British Empire (King Arthur, Henry VIII, Winston Churchill)
5) Byzantine Empire (Justinian I)
6) Chinese Empire (Qin Shi Huang, Mao Zedong)
7) Egyptian Empire (Khufu, Ramses II)
8) French Empire (Louie XIV, Napoleon)
9) German Empire (Otto von Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolf Hitler)
10) Greek Empire (Leonidas, Alexander the Great, Pericles)
11) Indian Empire (Gandhi)
12) Japanese Empire (Tokugawa, Hirohito)
13) Mongolian Empire (Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan)
14) Persian Empire (Darius, Xerxes, Cyrus)
15) Roman Empire (Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, Constantine the Great)
16) Russian Empire (Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Joseph Stalin)
17) Spanish Empire (Ferdinand, Cortez)
18) Viking Empire (Erik the Red, Leif Ericson)


16 total expansion pack civilizations…

19) Akkadian Empire (Sargon of Akkad)
20) Apache Empire (Geronimo)
21) Arabian Empire (Saladin)
22) Carthaginian Empire (Hannibal)
23) Holy Roman Empire (Charlemagne, Charles V)
24) Incan Empire (Huayna Capac)
25) Indochinese Empire (Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot)
26) Israelite Empire (Moses, David, Solomon)
27) Lakota Empire (Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse)
28) Mayan Empire (Pacal II)
29) Ottoman Empire (Suleiman the Magnificent)
30) Polish Empire (Pulaski)
31) Portuguese Empire (Henry the Navigator)
32) Sumerian Empire (Gilgamesh)
33) Trojan Empire (Hector, Aeneas)
34) Zulu Empire (Shaka Zulu)

It would be probably something like that. I don't think that the byzantine civilization is one of the first, but the Arabian empire is more likely.
Put João II and Cavaco Silva in Portugal.

[karnivorious]

You make a good point but I think that Viking is much more likely because it is more iconic and I'm sure they'll be plenty of focus on the trade and seafaring aspects rather than just rape and pillage (although I expect that will be in for game play sake)

I suspect that it was the berserkers among the vikings who gave them this fierce reputation of rape plunder and mayhem. They were extra brutal to say the least and totally fearless. And even to this day the word "berserk" has become an entity of its own in popular culture. Imo rape and plunder is something that has been going on forever in human history more AND/OR less.

[Mesteut]

Forget the less part. Wars are getting more barbaric as time goes on.

[RideASpaceCowboy]

This discussion is about ideas for leaders. There is a separate thread for what countries will or should be in the game.

Edit: This was a reply to off topic discussion, but I guess it's been removed.

[Pry87]

I'm sure the leaders have already been decided but it would be nice to run an official poll or something to let people decide what leaders they would like to see it the expansion, preferably people only allowed to pick leaders from their own nation (to avoid Hitler being picked lol). Unlikely though

And looking at the screenshots on the civ fanatics it looks like Bismark and Washington are already in.

[Jinzor]

I have to be Honest I wont be surprised if I see Barack Obama in the game, lol.

I bloody hope not. Don't get me wrong, I like Barack Obama, but he doesn't deserve to be in this game because we don't know if he will mess up or do anything really successful/important for America yet (he's only been in office for over a year now). If they do put Obama in as an option as a leader for the American civilization in the game, then they might aswell have somebody like Margaret Thatcher as an option as a leader for the British civilization in the game aswell because she was the first female British Prime Minister, but she turned out awful in the end.

Arthur is a myth, so I hope not to see him and I would be even less impressed to see Richard I, a man who nether stepped foot in England and spent most of his reign on futile crusades.

I really want to see Oliver Cromwell as an option for the British leadership, led the country to revolution, formed the New Model Army, was successively elected protectorate, turned down the offer to be crowned king.

Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington would be another good leader, one of the greatest British Generals, undefeated (excluding 1 minor insignificant skirmish), beat Napoleon at Waterloo, was elected Prime Minister later in life as well.

Alfred the Great and Henry VIII are two monarchs that maybe should be considered.

But I expect it will be Churchill and either Victoria or Elizabeth I. Churchill maybe deserves it for WW2, probably would have won with a different leader, victory was more down to the generals and allied help, and if he was such a good leader why did he loose the election after the war. Victoria did nothing she was a head of state and that was it, just happened to be on the throne at the height of the empire and lived a long time. Elizabeth I possibly deserves it as well, but again her major victory was against the Spanish Armada which was more down to the admirals. Come on Sid mix it up a bit.

You know, Oliver Cromwell would actually be an EXTREMELY good choice for a British leader in the game. He did a LOT during his time like you said, a lot more than Queen Victoria lol.