This is a new feature for Season Three of Civ4 AI Survivor: a preview of each game before it begins, providing a quick summary of the leaders involved and how the community expects the game to shake out.
The Wildcard Game is always a bit different from the rest of the games in the competition. Consisting of all the surviving leaders who failed to make the playoffs from the opening round, this is a free-for-all match where only the top two spots have a final chance to move on. The field of AI leaders is much larger than in our normal matches, making it more difficult to predict who will come out on top. We ended up with 11 total AI leaders in this game, by coincidence the same number as we had in Season Two. The map itself is also bigger, with a Large map size in place to prevent some kind of ridiculously cramped setup. Finally, at the request of the Livestream audience we also turned on Raging Barbarians for this game to make things even more turbulent. Under normal circumstances, it's a big advantage to have open space near a leader's starting position. In this game, that may be more of a curse than a blessing. Expect this game to be an unpredictable affair.
Brennus of the Celts
Season One Opening Round: Second Place 
Season One Playoffs: Third Place
Season Two Opening Round: Second Place
Season Two Playoffs: Third Place
Season Three Opening Round: Third Place
Total Kills: 3
Past Finishes: Season One (13), Season Two (9), Overall (6)
AI Summary from Season One: Brennus has Spiritual and Charismatic traits in Civ4. As one of the two Celtic leaders, he has access to the Gallic Swordsman unique unit and the Dun as a unique building. Outside of the Spiritual trait, all of these are viewed as being fairly weak options - I can't recall anyone choosing to play Brennus in a standard Pitboss game of Civ4. The Celts also have Mysticism and Hunting starting techs, although starting techs don't matter that much for Deity AIs since they all begin with Wheel, Agriculture, Hunting, and Archery. Brennus the AI has a medium military flavor, along with an emphasis on religion. He has an aggression rating of 7/10, which is above average and make him a bit of a warmongerer. Brennus AI also cares a lot about religion, with a major bonus to shared faith and a large penalty to other competitors. He's a fairly average AI in total. I'm still trying to figure out if his excellent past performances - two trips to the playoffs and never having been eliminated in five games - are a product of a stronger than average AI personality or dumb luck.
Joao of Portugal
Season One Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Third Place
Season Two Wildcard: Winner of Wildcard 
Season Two Playoffs: Third Place
Season Three Opening Round: Third Place
Total Kills: 1
Past Finishes: Season One (34), Season Two (10), Overall (19)
AI Summary from Season One: Joao has the most expansion-focused trait pairing in the game, with Expansive and Imperialistic traits. This has made him a desirable pick in some of our Multiplayer games when the goal is to spread out across the map like the plague. I'm uncertain if Joao the AI will be able to do the same thing, this will largely determine his success or failure. Joao's Portuguese civ brings along the Carrack and Feitoria, water-based unique tools that have limited success on a Pangaea map. Joao AI gets science and military flavors, along with average numbers for virtually everything across the board. He has a 4, 5, or 6 out of 10 in almost every category, with the one exception that he likes to make a lot of tribute and religious demands in diplomacy. Joao is pretty much your average AI, rather bland in how he's set up. Not too much going on here.
Kublai Khan of the Mongols
Season One Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Second Place
Season Two Playoffs: Winner of Game Three
Season Two Championship: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Third Place
Total Kills: 4
Past Finishes: Season One (36), Season Two (6), Overall (17)
AI Summary from Season One: Kublai Khan is another aggressive ruler and someone predisposed to dislike the "Good" leaders. Kublai has Aggressive and Creative traits, a combination that often works well on cramped Pangaea maps. Like Genghis Khan Temujin, he has the Keshik unique unit and the Ger unique building, both of which are above average. Kublai has military and cultural flavors, and at first glance looks very similar to Washington. He even has a fondness for wonders (6/10) and an aggression rating that's only a little bit higher (6.4 out of 10). The difference lies in Kublai's peace weight, which ranks him as an "Evil" leader at the other end of the spectrum from Augustus. This will cause major tensions between the leaders, and make it very difficult for them to get along. So despite having a similar AI personality overall, Kublai may find himself on the other end of a war declaration from someone like Lincoln or Washington.
Lincoln of America
Season One Opening Round: Winner of Game Five
Season One Playoffs: Fourth Place
Season Two Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Third Place
Total Kills: 2
Past Finishes: Season One (8), Season Two (49), Overall (27)
AI Summary from Season One: Abraham Lincoln is the last of the three American leaders to make an appearance this year. Lincoln has Charismatic and Philosophical traits, a pairing that's not particularly impressive. He is also tied to the terrible American civilization, with its too-late-to-matter Navy SEAL and Mall unique items. Maybe this will be the rare game where we get to see them in action. Lincoln the AI has science and growth flavors for his research. You're never going to believe this, but his favorite civic is Emancipation. That one was probably a little too easy! Lincoln AI is extremely peaceful in this game, pacifistic even. His aggression rating stands at 0.8 out of 10, the second lowest in the game behind Gandhi. It's easy to get on Lincoln's good side and hard to get on his bad side. Lincoln AI has a sainty peace weight as another "Good" leader, which will inspire love from some of our competitors and hatred from others. He has had a very binary performance in past years, either rolling peaceful neighbors and doing well or drawing warlike neighbors and getting crushed. Montezuma may pose problems in this match.
Montezuma of the Aztecs
Season One Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Third Place
Total Kills: 0
Past Finishes: Season One (42), Season Two (47), Overall (50)
AI Summary from Season One: If you've played Civ4 for any length of time, then you probably already know that Montezuma AI is completely and utterly insane. He's like a rabid dog let loose in the streets to cause as much trouble as possible before being put down. Montezuma has Aggressive and Spiritual traits, a pair that often seems to work well for the AI. His Aztec civilization has the Jaguar Warrior and the Sacrificial Altar, neither of which comes off as overly scary. It's not the traits or the civ that makes Montezuma dangerous - it's the man himself. Monty the AI has polarizing numbers all over the place. His flavors are military and religious, and along with the Mysticism starting tech of the Aztecs, this usually causes Montezuma to found his own religion and defend it to the death. Monty has a 0/10 rating for wonders - he won't waste time building them. Instead, he'll concentrate on training units (8/10), demanding tribute (10/10), and fighting wars of conquest. Montezuma's aggression rating sits at a perfect 10/10: he is the leader most likely to declare war in the entire game. With Monty around, life is always an adventure. Sure, he often falls behind technologically and gets dogpiled, but it's never a dull game with Montezuma in the field. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Napoleon of France
Season One Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Third Place
Total Kills: 3
Past Finishes: Season One (32), Season Two (38), Overall (40)
AI Summary from Season One: Napoleon is Organized and Charismatic for traits, with the amazing Musketeer unique unit and the completely not-amazing Salon unique building by virtue of being France. He is one of the most aggressive leaders in the entire game, with a heavy military emphasis and an aggression rating of 9.1 out of 10. Napoleon is also one of the most likely leaders in the game to demand tribute and demand civic changes. He doesn't care about religion though, and he's one of the easiest AIs to keep on good terms when having a different faith. Nevertheless, Napoleon is a scary leader. He builds tons of units and he isn't afraid to use them. Only a couple of leaders are more likely to go to war. He's also managed to pick up three kills in three games despite never finishing better than third place. Napoleon is a simple AI: he's going to build up an army and then attack, attack, attack.
Pacal of the Mayans
Season One Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Winner of Game Eight
Season Two Playoffs: Second Place
Season Two Championship: Third Place
Season Three Opening Round: Fourth Place
Total Kills: 3
Past Finishes: Season One (33), Season Two (3), Overall (11)
AI Summary from Season One: Pacal's trait pairing of Financial and Expansive is widely viewed as the strongest for any leader in Civ4. Pacal is therefore a universal ban for our Multiplayer events, at least the ones played without any mods. He is the only leader for the Mayans, who feature the Holkan unique unit and the Ball Court unique building. This is a rare case where the unique building is the better of the pair, as it adds a nice boost to happiness. Pacal the AI has culture and growth flavors. He places a high priority on religion, with a huge penalty for leaders of rival faiths. Pacal will likely found his own religion in this game, with the Mayans being the one of the few civilizations in this game to start with Mysticism tech. Pacal the AI also likes to build wonders (8/10 rating), and otherwise has mostly average numbers. Pacal has the strange combination of a low aggression rating (2.8 out of 10) along with an "Evil" rating in peace weight. Pacal AI will be predisposed to like the aggressive leaders, and he won't fit in with the other economic leaders in this game. If Pacal can get an early conquest, his traits will probably make him unstoppable.
Suleiman of the Ottomans
Season One Opening Round: Second Place
Season One Playoffs: Second Place
Season One Championship: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Fourth Place
Total Kills: 4
Past Finishes: Season One (6), Season Two (31), Overall (12)
AI Summary from Season One: Suleiman is the other Ottoman leader that no one ever plays because Mehmed's traits are so much better. Suleiman gets Imperialistic and Philosophical traits, a far cry from the Expansive and Organized pair of Mehmed. They share the Janissary and Hamman unique stuff by virtue of having the same Ottoman civ. Suleiman AI has culture and military flavors and is otherwise fairly average across the board, with middle of the road numbers in virtually every category. His aggression rating is slightly above average at 7/10, and that's about it. Suleiman is one of the most bland AI leaders in the game, with nothing particularly making him stand out from the crowd. On the other hand, he's been surprisingly successful in past years and even made the Championship in Season One. As one of the few unaligned leaders by peace weight in this game, he'll play a major role in shaping the diplomacy.
Suryavarman of the Khmer
Season One Opening Round: Winner of Game One
Season One Playoffs: Second Place
Season One Championship: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Third Place
Total Kills: 4
Past Finishes: Season One (3), Season Two (34), Overall (12)
AI Summary from Season One: As anyone who's played Civ4 Multiplayer games at Realms Beyond likely already knows, Suryavarman has Creative and Expansive traits. (It's a testament to his popularity that I can spell that name without looking at it!) These are extremely strong traits that favor early expansion and growth. He also gets the Ballista Elephant and Baray to play around with, which are fairly average. Suryavarman AI has gold and culture flavors, along with a high wonder emphasis (8/10). Yet he also builds a decent amount of units, and has a high aggression rating of 7.6 out of 10. His AI performance is another one that's a mixed bag, hard to figure out. Still, Suryavarman is one of the most likely leaders to expand out to a large size and start snowballing from there. Sury has had one outstanding season of AI Survivor and one disastrous season. Which path will he follow this year?
Victoria of England
Season One Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Fifth Place
Total Kills: 0
Past Finishes: Season One (27), Season Two (41), Overall (38)
AI Summary from Season One: Victoria is the one of the few Financial leaders in this match, pairing that alongside Imperialistic trait. This is one of the weaker combos involving Financial, but you can't really go wrong with the game's strongest trait. As an English leader, Victoria has the Redcoat unique unit and the Stock Exchange unique building, both of them well above average. Victoria AI has gold and growth flavors for her research emphasis. Her numbers are middle of the table for virtually everything, including her aggression rating of 5.1 out of 10. Victoria AI doesn't appear to get too high or too low in any one category. She's another leader who doesn't care very much about religious issues, and she's considered to be a "Good" leader according to peace weight, if not so high as Gandhi. Victoria is a fairly bland AI, without much in the way of defining characteristics. There's not too much that can be said about her.
Washington of America
Season One Opening Round: Third Place
Season One Wildcard: Eliminated
Season Two Opening Round: Eliminated
Season Three Opening Round: Fourth Place
Total Kills: 0
Past Finishes: Season One (22), Season Two (51), Overall (42)
AI Summary from Season One: George Washington is one of three American leaders in Civ4. Washington has Charismatic and Expansive traits, which are a bit subpar and a far cry from Washington's original Financial / Organized pairing in the pre-expansion days. Like Lincoln and FDR, Washington is stuck with a weak batch of unique stuff by virtue of playing as the Americans. Washington AI has military and growth flavors, and comes off as more militaristic than the pacifist Lincoln. Washington is very average across the board in his various ratings, with the one exception that he likes to carry out espionage missions. His aggression rating is still low (4.3 out of 10), albeit much higher than Lincoln. Washington AI also has a high peace weight, putting him firmly in the camp of the "Good" leaders. He'll need to draw a good start and use the Expansive trait to get off and rolling quickly if he wants to do well in this game.
Here's what the community was thinking based on the prediction contest before the game took place:
These pie charts are a little bit more difficult to read given all of the extra leaders appearing in this game. Pacal and Suryavarman appear to be the favorites to win the game, and then it's anyone's guess as far as who will take the runner-up spot. The two American leaders occupy the pole positions in the First to Die category, followed by everyone's favorite lunatic in Montezuma. The one place with clarity from the community is the victory condition, with over 70% of the entrants choosing a Spaceship win... which probably means that we'll get Cultural or Diplomatic this time, given our past history thus far in Season Three. Finally, here are some of the best/craziest written predictions about what would take place during the game. There were many other excellent entries but I had to pick and choose my favorites to keep this from running on too long. Thanks again for the submissions!
Warclam: De Gaulle's victory has shown me that logic is powerless in the face of Civ4's AI madness; a pack of cards made from 52 Jokers. Instead, I'm trying my hand at divination. I've rolled the bones, and they tell me that Suleiman the Magnificent will bring his culture to unconquerable legend on the 330th turn. 20 wars shall there be, speeding the Great Khan's departure from this world but thrusting the name Joćo to lofty heights. So I have seen, and so it is written.
JackDRB: Not sure how I expect to predict a winner out of 11 when I can't pick correctly out of 6. Oh well, time to reason out with what little info there is. I like Pacal's position the best, he's probably the best AI personality here on a big map, as winning via war is going to be even tougher than usual, he has a favourable set of neighbours in Kublai (as a friend) and Vicky (to steamroll over). He'll sail to an easy Spaceship win. For second, Sillyman? Same-ish reasoning as Pacal but not as strong in most ways. Washington First to Die because he has Brennus and Napoleon as neighbours.
Klops: 11 civs to predict... yeah sure, let there be chaos! 
But I do believe that the southern leaders will have a hard time with barbs because of the antarctic shelf.
RefSteel: This might be a game where random.org picks as well as anybody else, but here goes anyway! Victoria has great traits for an AI (or for a human player to pilot if it comes to that) plus capital gems and some great expansion room - even raging barbs shouldn't stop an Imperialistic AI from grabbing a good share of territory. If she doesn't get too friendly with Lincoln, and Mr. Zuma weakens him for her, Vicky's expansion room might even include at least one of her neighbors! Meanwhile, Sillyman and his apparently complete lack of strategic metal resources will get partitioned like it's World War I, and Kublai might somehow overcome his position as the tournament's second horseless Mongol because - like Vicky - his closest neighbors also border the Mad Aztec.
Eauxps I. Fourgott: Eh, screw it, I'm going to pick based on how deserving I think the leaders are of advancing to the playoffs. Lincoln's my #1, as he was second place in Game 5 right up until the end when Mansa Musa randomly attacked him without provocation, and I think it's time he reminded everybody just what he can do. Sury and Nappy both came very very close to overtaking second place from Peter and Shaka respectively, but Napoleon actually took matters into his own hands by attacking Shaka at the end of Game 8, plus this has been the season of redemption for the French, so I'm taking him for second place. Least deserving for me is a tossup between Washington and Victoria, both of whom really should have probably been eliminated in Game 3 but who got forgotten about instead. But I favor Vicky's performance slightly less - plus, when in doubt who to pick for First to Die, go for the person who starts next to Monty. 
The other predictions are based off the setup here. A larger map with a lot of civs will likely equal a later finish and a lot of wars. The increased size is also going to make Domination or Diplomatic a lot harder, and we don't have any Cultural juggernauts here, so I feel pretty safe going for Spaceship. But let's be honest, what we all REALLY want to see is Monty spreading havoc in the playoffs...
SleepingDragon5: this one is...tough...all I can guess reliably is that Joao is in trouble with lots of warmongers around, that Sury seems to have a good amount of backline territory, and Monty is going to do something stupid.
shallow_thought: Pacal still has the best traits, a decent start and isn't right on top of Monty. Still reckon there's a good chance that he'll get trolled, but he can't be so dumb two games in a row, right? I'd fancy Vicky for second, but with Monty as a neighbour? I like Kublai's isolation and space, but Nappy should kill Washington and take a decent chunk of the map, so I prefer him for second. It's a toss-up as to which of the American's is first to fall out with their neighbour and die, but Monty has other targets (and is insane) while Napoleon has no real choice but to kill Washington (as already noted) to expand. I expect him to do so quickly.
ArtDeco: Poor Suleiman starts in another 30 turn/settler position 
He is such a great leader though but Amazons ruined everything for him this tournament. Brennus is known as mysticism warmonger who will have borders popping out earlier. Given his great starting position he should be doing fine and perhaps win the game unless Suryavarman II wins. Everybody's worst enemy Lincoln will survive enough long not to die first thanks to unlucky Washington's starting place.
Kublai Khan will just sit and sit and not tech great and sit and not participate in dogpiling Portugal. Pacal II will not completely get destroyed because the game will end again. Meditation: Brennus, Polytheism: Pacal II, Monotheism: Suryavarman II. (For this Wildcard Game I rank AIs in this order:
Suryavarman II>Brennus>Napoleon>Kublai Khan>Pacal II>Suleiman>Montezuma>Victoria>Joao II>Lincoln>Washington)
Random.org: This isn't actually the worst random pick. If Vicky survives she can well win by diplo with a large field, and Kubilai has enough neighbours to snack on (and a better AI than his grand dad Chinggis). With 11 AIs there's definitely going to be wars, and diplo will be a late win as well.
Gargantua: Hard to say with so many AI. Still, I suspect this will be a rather aggressive game with "evil" leader dominating by pure virtue of number. I really see one of the americans die first by virtue of building so few unit and not expand very well. And I chose LIncoln because he has moer fearsome neighbour. For winners, I may be wrong but I suspect with many leaders we will likely see more "troll wars" (without common borders between belligerant). Therefore I don't think the strategy of overagression and snowball is going to succed. That is why I picked more reasonable and good techer/expansionist. So I bet on Pakal and Suryavarnam. Let see.
f***banana: who the f*** knows at this point
