exactly. Why are civs OP? Alright, let's start:
France, the strongest treaty civ for sure:
80 cdbs are equivalent to 100 settlers, meaning that they have another 20 pop space for military while having a full economy. That's already a huge advantage.
They have all of the standard eco cards + Fur trade. Fur trade sets them apart at the start as well as allowing them to send their coin cards later, and other cards like adv arsenal earlier.
The Gendarme: an incredibly strong cavalry unit. It defeats other cavalry, trains instantly, can beat any unit that's not well-defended. It also only costs 254 resources with thoroughbreds.
French infantry and Cavalry: they have a great skirmisher unit (with wilderness warfare, especially), great team cards for ranged inf and hand cav. In addition, they have musks that get a card, strong goons, and good hussars too if they should ever desire them (though there's not much point in that)
Cannons: One of france's stronger points. Not only do they have engineering school (limited to only a few civs), but they also have gibreauval (sp?) system, giving their cannons another 25% attack. That means they have faster and stronger artillery with no compensation elsewhere.
They also have the strongest natives, aside from maybe iro nats. That's a pretty big plus too. Oh, did I mention that they still have fast-build, a good church card, and tons of mili cards in addition that take up all the spaces in their deck? They have a lot of very nice cards.
Japan, the second strongest civ:
They have 75 villes + shrines, meaning that they have 125 pop space for military with a decent eco (not as bad as some say it is, especially with a teammate feeding you livestock).
Their military is really the strong point, so I'll focus on that, just keep in mind that they have an eco to support everything.
Wonders: They have a semi-spies wonder, which allows for detection of new fbs, complete base layouts, and unit positions, which is LOS shared with the team. Then there's the golden pavilion, providing AA w/o a card as well as a large military attack boost. The Toshugo Shrine is a powerful shrine that makes their eco stronger, again, without a card. Then there's the Shogunate, which trains daimyos, gives 2k xp if used in imperial, another daimyo, and makes units 5% cheaper (not sure about how much the train speed boost is).
Consulate: They get a church (train time boosts), arsenal (more boosts), bank, faster shipments, 2 different mercantillism techs (chuch and spain) and larger crates. Then they have portuguese as well, to help their boom a good deal. Finally, they have isolation, giving their units more attack, as well as allowing them to train in blocks of 10, which makes up for slow train times, especially with bakufu. The hatamotos and shinobi from the consulate are also quite nice, and not too expensive. A good way to burn leftover export.
Daimyos: They are mobile barracks. Yes, you can kill them, but you can get them back, they can move, and they can train troops quickly and in blocks of 10 (I know I already said that). Also, the shogun can spawn tons of artillery quickly, and can defend himself if need be, with his 297 attack and 4k hp or w/e.
The Ashigaru: while powered down some in the RE patch, they still have hit very nice amounts of attack, are faster than normal musks, have great hp, and have 4.5x vs cav with close combat.
The Yumi: They have some 51 attack FU with golden pavilion, as well as 1.5x vs HI. This means that they do pretty well vs heavy infantry, but excel vs dragoons and ranged infantry. They're also pretty cheap, and japan can pump out wood with those shrines forever.
Cavalry: The naginata's pretty strong for a heavy cav unit, dishing out tons of damage to RI while still maintaining good hp/base attack. The Yabusame is great for sniping artillery, and can really take a beating with .50 rr and 400+ hp.
Artillery: The Flaming arrow trains quickly and can deal with culvs and infantry alike. They are extremely easily massable, I cannot stress this enough. Besides, they're a strong unit, and are cheap with veteran battery. They also are decently mobile, and take only 4 pop. The morutaru is a cheaper, lower-pop mortar with tons of range and pretty strong attack. While very slow, the shogun makes up for it by being able to train them.
Oh, and mobile barracks means you don't have to risk as many villes and can assist allies more easily for team trty.
You could try and argue that their eco sucks, but it really doesn't.
Russia: Not nearly as overpowered as the other two, but still quite powerful.
Andes isn't their best map, but it does make them have instant troops all around and faster cannon. On other maps, they have more space to run and harass.
Their economy: a strong economy that possesses all of the normal eco cards and booms fairly quickly. Sevastopol + 3 ville batches speed things up.
Their military:
They have musketeers that can build forts. All of their units are extremely eco efficient. The tartar can deal with cavalry for a cheap price, the musks are instant and dirt cheap, if weaker. The strelet allows for a very cost-efficient counter to heavy inf/goons as well as resisting ranged infantry.
Their oprichniks burn things very VERY quickly. Their have 139 siege or so with 1.25x vs buildings. Their grenadiers burn things even faster, though they lack the speed/ville killing power of the oprichnik. They have some 150 siege 1.25x vs buidlings if memory serves, maybe more like 170.
The cossacks is a very powerful, though costly if used incorrectly unit. They have near-hussar stats for half the population.
Then there are the mortars. 975 attack and train twice as fast as other civs. That's crazy.
Did I mention that their musks can build forts? Because they can. They also can build walls very quickly, along with tcs and blockhouses.
Oh, and in team games, their teammates because seriously stronger because of TEAM dueling school.
China: OP on andes for sure, their train times may be too bad elsewhere to really be called OP.
Their Economy: the best in the game imo. They have 120 villes + cows + good eco cards + effectively 2 facts with trickles, wonder, and actual fact. Their german consulate makes units even cheaper, while france boosts it during the boom.
Infantry: Pikemen generally aren't great in treaty, but qiangs cover ckn very nicely, with their 21 attack and 300+ hp. Chu Ko Nu (ckn) have effectively 45 base attack and about 300 health, putting them above most ranged infantry, and they cost only food. Not sure of the exact amount, but take off 15% because of german consulate. The changdao's not great, but dirt cheap. The Arquebusiers complement ckn quite nicely, with decent stats and a low price tag.
Cavalry: China can spam cavalry with their insane eco. The steppe rider is very cost/pop efficient and has some great siege/ville killing power. The Meteor hammer is a great unit that can dish out tons of damage to artillery, and stays at range, making musks have to switch to melee mode to be very effective. The Iron flail costs only food, and dishes out a whopping 76 (or so) damage to RI, in area of effect. Both iron flails and meteor hammers have fairly good hp and .41 rr with the card. The Keshik, while not great, does provide some much-needed anti-cav.
Artillery: The flamethrower burns through infantry very quickly. I might be wrong, but if memory serves, they are not tagged as artillery, but rather as ranged infantry, meaning that culvs don't work on them, though some cav work better. They also kill artillery at close range. The hand mortar is a very pop-efficient culverin/mortar, allowing china to dominate culv wars vs almost ever civ.
Then there are the infinite shipments: Flying crows, powerful rockets, and rattan shields, light infantry that make for a nice cav flood.
They also have the monk, who can make more light infantry, and packs quite a punch himself. 70 attack, 3.5k hp, and 10 disciple for 80 food apiece.
Combine this all with team engineering school and an infinite eco, and you've got yourself an OP civ (when the train times are manageable)
Did that answer your question, muzzies?