A — quiet corner with open land
Lowest exposure in this checklist: few neighboring borders and room to expand from a map edge. Corner advice appears independently in AllThingsHow and TheGamesEdge (2 publishers, checked 27 October 2026). An A label describes the current position, not a permanent bonus for a named country.
B — coast or island with a workable route
A useful coastal position can offer expansion options, but you need a plan for landings and home defense. Both publishers discuss islands or coastal opportunities (2 publishers for the advice, checked 27 October 2026). B is our editorial risk label; no travel-time or economic advantage is quantified.
C — crowded start with several exposed borders
Treat a tile beside several stronger neighbors cautiously. Both guides advise avoiding early fights against stronger neighbors; the C tier is our inference from that advice, not a sourced numerical handicap. Look for open space before committing to expansion.
Why countries do not receive fixed grades
The official description mentions 88 player nations, but no public starting-stat table or measured country win-rate dataset was found in the reviewed sources. Gold, troop and win-rate columns are therefore unspecified. No invented France, Brazil or Antarctica rating is supplied. All tiers were reviewed 27 October 2026.
Source review: 27 October 2026. This page summarizes the linked public record; source-specific limits and historical observations are identified below.