I previously laid out my ranking of the new nations. I had placed Persians ahead of Americans, merely because I had been unable, in a few tries, to beat the Toughest AI without rushing. (By rushing, you can beat MULTIPLE teamed Toughest AIs with just about any civ.)

However, I think I have "cracked the code" on the Americans, and I now move them ahead of the Persians on my favorite civ list. They gather knowledge incredibly fast and can maintain a very large barracks army. You may want to get the Colossus instead of the Hanging Gardens for that reason.

With the advent of governments and the Republic (+50 to commerce) almost any civ can be an economic powerhouse. You can have a +200 econ by the 5:00 mark. Keeping it capped will be the hard part.
posted by Tim at 7:12 AM