I'd say that the only nations that really have any meaningful value are the Romans and Germans, because these are the only ones that provide any kind of offensive benefit. You can raid several times in a session, but you can only lose a single battle when away. So overall, offense matters more than defense. Furthermore, if you don't get attacked, you won't get the extra crowns that you get when you lose a battle. Crowns don't matter any way; what matters is being able to win an attack. Romans and Germans are the only ones that help you to do that. If you're japanese, you probably can't beat an enemy japanese at all, because they have insane defenses and you have nothing to counter it with, whereas the Romans get some extra troops to counter the effect of the japanese and chinese defenses. As for chinese citizens, they may seem useful early on, but in the long term, you will find that you don't really use all citizens simultaneously continuously. French and Greeks, really why do you need quickened time for attacking, when you don't have any advantage when attacking. If you want to play this game, you have to learn to have patience no matter which civ you play, otherwise you run a large bill. The british get some extra loot; its marginal and really, you are better off being able to guarantee a more successful attack which will end up giving you more loot than the marginal loot they give you. I myself chose Romans.
Gadzair
Leader of Domination line
kik: gadzair