If anything, I like all the unpopular civilisations. They're so much more varied in their strategic options. I've always taken issue with the idea of "top tier" civilisations. I've always found they've reflected popularity more than anything else. The standard five are all easy to play, but don't have many tactical choices beyond the obvious. Many of the unpopular civilisations have very strong and diverse unit compositions, but are also very difficult to play properly. The problem I think is that people conflate it being easier to play a civilisation to its full potential with it being better.
Just an example to illustrate what I mean; the Chinese are undoubtedly an economic powerhouse. The Chinese economy compares very favourably to that of Aztecs and Maya. Their technology bonus alone is massive. Yet we rarely see Chinese in 1v1 and occasionally in competitive team games. The Chinese are very difficult to play well, but in the right hands, they're deadly. Similarly, the Goths are a nightmare to deal with when they're being played by someone who knows what they are doing. Once again, playing Goths properly isn't easy; in fact, if you get it wrong, you'll be stung badly.
Teutons, Byzantines, Koreans, Turks and Saracens have very steep learning curves, but they also produce army compositions resembling death balls (arguably Korea is the only civilisation in the game which has a true death ball). If you can hold your own, you'll get access to all this. The risks are higher, but they're so much more fun to watch.
Just an example to illustrate what I mean; the Chinese are undoubtedly an economic powerhouse. The Chinese economy compares very favourably to that of Aztecs and Maya. Their technology bonus alone is massive. Yet we rarely see Chinese in 1v1 and occasionally in competitive team games. The Chinese are very difficult to play well, but in the right hands, they're deadly. Similarly, the Goths are a nightmare to deal with when they're being played by someone who knows what they are doing. Once again, playing Goths properly isn't easy; in fact, if you get it wrong, you'll be stung badly.
Teutons, Byzantines, Koreans, Turks and Saracens have very steep learning curves, but they also produce army compositions resembling death balls (arguably Korea is the only civilisation in the game which has a true death ball). If you can hold your own, you'll get access to all this. The risks are higher, but they're so much more fun to watch.