Oh boy if that isn’t fitting enough! Smolensk’s national idea set is all about artillery. If you haven’t noticed, Smolensk’s flag is a cannon. Smolensk is most unique due to its national ideas. They’re an excellent choice for a unique campaign, unlike any other involving Christian nations! Zaporozhie’s unique horde-like government is discussed in-depth in our list of the Best Horde Nations. While Galicia-Volhynia has the most development and Kiev controls the original capital of the Rus, the two principalities that stand out are Smolensk and Zaporozhie. Some of these principalities, though, are more interesting than the others. Choosing one or two of them and feeding them the Ruthenian lands is a great way to save on governing capacity and aggressive expansion. They can also be used to expand into Ruthenia efficiently. Ultimately, your goal will be to unify Ruthenia and bring all Eastern Europe under your control. Smolensk, along with the other Russian principalities in Ruthenia and Belorussia, start the game integrated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.Īll these nations have rather similar starting positions and similar idea sets.

Smolensk and the Ruthenian Principalities (Click for full-size)

Just make sure to weaken Castile before releasing or you‘ll find yourself always looking over your shoulder.Įven if playing as a nation outside Iberia, if you conquer into Iberia, it’s always worth considering releasing Asturias and León as vassals.Įven if they won’t have exploration and expansion ideas (AI will never pick them as a vassal), they will put their free colonist to good use.Ģ. If you’re bored playing as the OG Iberian colonizers, you can always give these two a try. Both get a free colonist from their ideas, which is quite a big deal. The reason both these nations make the list is their national ideas and map position. While León has the slightly stronger idea set and more development, Asturias has a unique achievement.Īs most achievements of releasable nations, this one can be cheesed by releasing and feeding Asturias the necessary provinces in the late game, annexing them, and then releasing and choosing to play as them. Asturias and León go hand in hand in this double entry.

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