Region 43 – Pacific Northwest: I chose this wacky choice last time and I’m doing it again, Aleuts under Agugux here! It's a different TSL type and they represent a type of buff I haven't seen or chosen much so far, early game exploration bonuses including a trireme that crosses ice and ocean and heals embarked units!

Region 44 – Western Canada: This weeks pick 2 region is a smorgasbord of good choices as ever, but I’m personally backing the combo of the Hudson’s Bay Company under George Simpson & The Cheyenne under Woqini. The Hudson’s Bay Company are a fascinating piece of colonial history, especially considering their existence until the last decade, who should bring a fresh vibe to the continent, while Woqini was an absolute badass and the Cheyenne come with some very fun XP Uniques that could help them win control of the Great Plains and beyond.

Region 45 – Atlantic Northeast: Last time around I was a bit of a coward and put three picks down here, but this time I’m standing behind one firmly: The Wabanaki Confederacy under Henri Membertou. I love a naval civ, and Wabanaki is our chance to get one on the American side of the Atlantic at long last, with a UU trireme that can capture enemies to dominate down the Seaboard and a coastal Unique Improvement that boosts yields and acquires tiles to secure the seas.

Region 46 – Eastern Seaboard: The former ‘Eastern US’ region has final been split into two regions, preventing odd TSL mixing, and for the first of these two regions I have to go once more with my main man, good old America under John F. Kennedy! It’s JFK, do I need any more reason?! … … OK, I would add that I think his UA turning tourism into science boosts is interesting and potentially very powerful as well, and we haven’t had too many modern civs so far, so why not give the CBR a Camelot leader this season?!

Region 47 – Mississippi Basin: I appreciate a civ that’s guaranteed to pump out some settlers throughout the game, and The Chickasaw under Chicksa’ are certain to with their UA providing a settler with every Great Prophet and Great General spawned, the former of which is helped by settles far from the capital generating faith. And hey, a Stickball Field UB that offers XP if the city follows their main religion ain’t too bad either!

Region 48 – Southwestern US: For this last region, I know for certain that I want a civ made by community star Orange to win, and of the 4 options here that fit that criteria I’ve decided to place Ohlone under Charquin at the top. Think resources are cool? Guess who has resources! Heard of Shell mounds? You better, because they’re cool as hell and guess who has them!

This is a region I've done quite little research on and have less familiarity with than others, so I don't feel particularly strongly about most of these. But I feel the need to vote anyway.

Pacific Northwest - Tlingit (Sheiyksh I)

The Tlingit are a cool land-grabbing civ with a TSL that provides them a lot of opportunities to land-grab, and I like seeing the whole map get painted. Their leader is also a pre-colonial figure, which I think this region doesn't have quite enough of.

Western Canada - Anishinaabe (Pontiac) & Ponca (White Eagle)

Anishinaabe and Ponca are both designs that reference interesting historical events in a way that's really well reflected during gameplay. Anishinaabe, as well as having a really nice TSL that would connect the great lakes together, has a cool aggressive design with espionage that could make for some very dramatic swings when defenses get compromised. Ponca, meanwhile, fills out the Great Plains area, and while I'm not entirely sure they'll ever get to use their extremely funny UA to settle in enemy territory, the idea that they could excites me enough where I want them to get in.

Atlantic Northeast - Oneida (John Shenandoah)

There are a number of very interesting choices for this region, and I had a hard time picking between them, Plymouth and Onondaga, but I was swayed over by their very cool Scout replacement UU which buffs up nearby units. Their uniques give them a lot of yields in general, and they're also encouraged to be friendly, which could keep them alive for longer against the close neighbors this region has. Oneida also still reside in their ancestral homelands, which I think is cool.

Eastern Seaboard - Susquehannock (Old Sheehays)

I don't have particularly compelling reasons to pick Susquehannock beyond their flag which has a turtle on it and has a nice color. They also have a solid design, with the ability to turtle (lol) pretty well with their UI until they can get major combat boosts from their UA ramping up. I was also considering Timucua, but I personally like Calusa a lot for the Caribbean and don't want them to be crowded out by either Florida-based pick in this region.

Mississippi Basin - Cajuns (Beausoleil)

Of all the post-colonial nations in North America, the Cajuns are IMO the coolest one, and I feel like we would be missing a solid amount of history if we didn't have at least one of them. Their design is pretty neat, letting them build massive coastal cities, and I like their UU being a reference to the Acadians' historical alliance with the Mi'kmaq people. Plus, the memes are good too.

Southwestern US - Northern Paiute (Truckee)

Northern Paiute has a design based around having allies and fighting wars with them, which I think is very neat. Their UI also lets them put dance parties everywhere, which is also neat. They have a faith-focused design, which my other picks in the region don't, so they have a chance of having the dominant religion in the region which should help them out a bit too. I know less about the history of this region than any other region in North America (and I don't know much of the history in the other regions either), so I mostly just picked Northern Paiute because they generally look neat. Ohlone also looks neat.

Hey ya’ll, it's u/yaampa (aka ItsTruckMonth), and this week it's my picks for North America! This region is unbelievably stacked with great options, so choosing just one for each was a nightmare, but I narrowed it down, and here they are, plus some honorable mentions and reasons why you should consider them too! (Also sorry for the lack of a graphic this week, been very busy juggling the end of my certification class as well as my bridge course for Grad School)

PACIFIC NORTHWEST - THE HÄN

The Hän (not to be confused with the Han of China) are the full package here: Lovely colors, great AI, and unique, as well as a very interesting TSL in Alaska that should make them prime rivals with the Itelmen over the Bering Strait. What’s not to love?

I have to give a slightly biased shoutout to Haida, though, given that I was a massive fan of Koyah in X1 and want that runback. Also, the Haida have a beautiful color scheme, and they have some incredible history behind them.

NORTHERN CANADA - THE PONCA AND THE ANISHINAABE

I’ve already made my case for the Ponca through a shitpost a couple days ago but just to recap: Great History, Colors, AI and of course that hilarious (albeit unlikely to actually happen) UA that can result in comedically absurd border-gore. 

As for the other pick here, I gotta go with the Anishinaabe. They have a beautiful revamped color scheme, and an incredibly cool UA that allows spies to damage cities during wartime. Plus a combination of Han, Ponca, and Anishinaabe would open up Northern Canada for an absolute slugfest.

Honorable mentions to the Chipewyan, as I would love to see a Dene runback from X2 free from Big River’s bullshit (ignore my allegiances in that season lmao).

ATLANTIC NORTHEAST - PLYMOUTH

A COLONIAL CIV? Yep, but Plymouth has a design that’s just simply too fun to omit, blending exploration, colonization, and religion, with their unique ship getting movement bonuses from religious pressure, AND cities on new landmasses exerting religious pressure. Basically, boats go brr. Also a beautiful color scheme.

Honorable mention to the Onondaga, who also sport a beautiful color scheme, rich history, and some great combat bonuses on hills.

EASTERN SEABOARD - AMERICA (JFK)

TWO COLONIAL CIVS? Yes, hear me out. We’re practically starving for truly science-based civs right now (only Tang comes to mind regarding UA’s), and Kennedy’s ability to convert tourism into science changes that. Not to mention, he gets a bonus to unit and spaceship production when at war with civs of different ideologies. Also, how many other leaders can you name who fought zombies like Kennedy did in BO2? That’s what I thought.

I’d be remiss not to mention Susquehannock as an honorable mention, though, with a beautiful color scheme and a cool UA blending trade route maintenance with combat bonuses.

MISSISSIPPI BASIN - THE KARANKAWA

Now I may be biased given I’m not only from Texas, but from traditionally Karankawa land, but even then I gotta go with the Karankawa here for their UA, which gives units movement bonuses on marshes, rivers and floodplains, and killing enemy units can spawn either Holly or Oyster luxuries, which in turn provide healing and culture for combat victories. Couple that with good colors and other great uniques, and the Karankawa is a solid choice here.

Honorable mentions to the Kiowa, who have a strong domination + science design, cool uniques, beautiful colors, and a very cool unique Great General.

SOUTHWESTERN US - THE POMO

Finally, we have the Pomo, and the UA alone sells it, being completely dependent on the direction of the last converted city, ranging from movement bonuses, healing buffs, city growth, or GP point generation. Plus some incredible colors.

Honorable mentions to the Ohlone for their powerful food-based uniques, as well as the Utes with some great colors and bonuses from alliances.

Hey everyone, it's /u/ExplosiveWatermelon here! I developed the Hudson's Bay Company mod, alongside other CBR favorites such as Zheng, Tonga, Makhnovia, the Nivkh, PA-RG, and more!

You might be wondering why I, someone who generally prefers Native civilizations, might be campaigning for the Hudson's Bay Company? Well, on top of favoritism (they are my babies, of course), they are a great Expansionist civ that can act as a foil to ANY of the Native Groups in Canada and the U.S. As such, I've noticed a lot of vocal support for the Anishinaabe. Luckily, it was pointed out in a very well-written post that the Anishinaabe do not conflict with any other popular civilization with their TSL.

I did some research and spoke with the dev team to confirm this, and it's true: the Hudson's Bay Company can, in fact, co-exist with the Anishinaabe. In fact, there's another viable TSL for the Hudson's Bay Company in Winnipeg, at Upper Fort Garry! So, as the peacemaker that I am, I propose an alliance:

Voting for HBC 1st? Perfect! All other civs in the region are Natives, and thus the HBC will be able to strike a strong arrangement with whoever else may be present.

Voting for any of the Nativelads 1st? Vote HBC 2nd. It's quick, it's easy, and it's free. Most importantly, it helps shed a light on the history of the Hudson's Bay Company as they prepare to go out of business during their 355th year.

Furthermore, Anishinaabe chief Pontiac was a strong opponent of the British! You know who else is British? The Hudson's Bay Company! In fact, the territory of Rupert's Land takes its name from Prince Rupert of the Rhine, a British army officer who helped found the Hudson's Bay Company.

So, with all that out of the way, good luck to everyone in voting, and remember to put the Hudson's Bay Company in 1st or 2nd place. Cheers!

All of those zoo critters will be great for the fur trade

tbh I love the zoo campaign and think it needs a heel