What are your top three Real-Time and Turn-Based Strategy games?

I'm hoping that this is the right forum section for this kind of post. I guess I'll find out... 
 
Age of Empires was one of the first games I played, and so was very formative for me. I played each one of the AOE games one by one, and they took up a great number of my eight-year-old self's nights. 
Several years ago, however, I kind of abandoned the RTS genre - really the strategy genre as a whole - and it took the Bombcast crew's praise of Civilization V to get me back into it.  
 
I've begun searching Steam and the internet for the highest rated Real-Time and Turn-Based Strategy games, and hope to get the opinions of my fellow Giant Bomb fans. 
 
What are your top three (or so) strategy games, whether RTS or TBS? What makes them a cut above the rest?

Sc1/2 for top two RTS, then red alert 2.  
 
Not played many turn based strategy's but I always liked the Civ games.

Literally the only strategy game I play and have ever wanted to play is Starcraft 2. I tried Civ 5 and didn't like it, and I can't play any other RTS without thinking, "Why am I not just playing Starcraft?" 

RTS: Stronghold: Crusader, Age of Empires 2, Metal Fatigue.

TBS: Alpha Centauri, Civ4... Uhmm... About it I guess.

Gonna just lump franchises together.
 
Top 3 Real-Time would be Starcraft, Age of Empires, and Total War.
Top 3 Turn-based would be Civ, Total War again, and Fire Emblem.

Does League of Legends count? No?
 
Starcraft 2, Civ 5, and Company of Heroes.
 
That's it...
 
The only other RTS I played was Warcraft 3. I'm really afraid of playing a bad one...I really need to try Dawn of War 2 though.

Age of Empires 2 is by far my favorite RTS, but if you haven't played the Starcrafts those are easy to recommend. Perhaps the most unique and notable part about Starcraft is that there are three completely different factions that play nothing like one another.

For turn-based games X-Com is the best of the best, it takes a little to get into it but once you're in you're in for the long haul. Fallout Tactics is my other favorite turn based strategy game, it plays very similarly to the combat in Fallout 1 and 2, except you level up and equip a large squad instead of a single character. Having deeper RPG style character progression keeps you committed to your squad, and makes permanent death that much more meaningful.

Edit: Final Fantasy Tactics is also superb, and there's a modding community that has done a ton of work on the game at http://ffhacktics.com/

Not a huge fan of RTS but I like the Dawn of War series. I find the whole base-building mechanic in a lot of RTS very contrived and gamey.

For turn-based you can't go past the Total War games in my opinion, despite their bugginess, because the battles have some semblance of realism in terms of the ebb and flow, morale factors, etc. I also like the more hardcore strat games by Paradox, like Europa Universalis, Victoria and so forth. Hearts of Iron looks cool but a bit daunting so I haven't messed with that yet.

Turn-based - Jagged Alliance 2, X-Com, and Civ 5. Honorable mentions go to Silent Storm, Galactic Civ 2, and Worms Reloaded. I'm purposefully leaving out SRPGs. You could argue that all the games I've listed have RPG elements, but I consider them mostly focused upon their strategic elements rather than the RPG components.

RTS's - Starcraft 2, Command and Conquer Generals, Total Annihilation. I'm fond of Star Wars: Empire at War too.

EDIT: Also? Risk Factions. Fantastic game.

TBS - Civ 5, Silent Storm, Master of Orion. 
RTS - Starcraft 2, Age of Empires 2, Rise of Nations.

I feel like I should also throw out Syndicate somewhere in that list, but I haven't played it in over a decade and I'm not sure if it holds up as well as the others.

RTS

• Company of Heroes
• Dawn of War 2
• Total Annihilation

TBS

• Civilization 5
• Total War: Shogun 2 (I consider the large part of what you play to be TB)
• Jagged Alliance 2

I tend to prefer pretty hardcore grand strategy games. So, I would have to say Europa Universallis, Victoria, and Hearts of Iron.

@CenturionCajun: Is Europa fairly accessible to newcomers? I'd like to try it sometime.

Also, does anyone who read PC Gamer in the 90's remember who the Armchair General was that wrote columns for them? I'd like to look up some of his work since then.

@Sparky_Buzzsaw: All three of Paradox core grand strategy games have a learning cliff. They make the Total War games look like a free to play Facebook game. At least in the newer iterations they've begun to put in arcade style modes where you arn't required to take control of some of the more complex aspects of the economy but it's still very in depth. It has taken me years of play to get good at EU and I'm still struggling to get the finer points of Victoria down. Despite all that If you are a huge history lover they are some of the most fun you will ever have.

This thread needs more Heroes of Might and Magic III

Supreme Commander has the biggest battlefields I've seen in any rts game. If you have the skill, you can manage several huge armies in to battle and employ different tactics to destroy your foes.

Sins of a Solar Empire is rts game placed in space with huge fleet on fleet action. If you liked Homeworld you're gonna love SoaSE.

Civilization V. I played Civ IV and really liked it, the sequel is more beginner friendly and it has a lot of tweaks which makes it better than Civ IV (imo), also HEXAGONS.

I tend to prefer pretty hardcore grand strategy games. So, I would have to say Europa Universallis, Victoria, and Hearts of Iron.

Men of War is easily the best RTS I've ever played, and I would argue ever made.
 
I guess Civ V is the best TBS I've played.

RTS:
1. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
2. StarCraft 2
3. Age of Empires 3
 
TBS:
1. Heroes of Might and Magic 4
2. Heroes of Might and Magic 3
3. King's Bounty

@CenturionCajun said:

@Sparky_Buzzsaw: All three of Paradox core grand strategy games have a learning cliff. They make the Total War games look like a free to play Facebook game. At least in the newer iterations they've begun to put in arcade style modes where you arn't required to take control of some of the more complex aspects of the economy but it's still very in depth. It has taken me years of play to get good at EU and I'm still struggling to get the finer points of Victoria down. Despite all that If you are a huge history lover they are some of the most fun you will ever have.

That's a solid enough recommendation for me. I used to love those old-school stat heavy historical war games, and if somebody says something is history intensive and a fun game, I'll bite. I'll wait until a sale and nab 'em. Thanks for the information.

Turn based:

Sid Meier's Civilization II

Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

Sid Meier's Colonization

HM: Civ 4, GalCiv 2, Heroes 2

I don't really like RTS except for Tower Defense variants, do those count?

RTS 
 
1. Starcraft 
2. Warcraft 2 
3. Dawn of War 2 
 
TBS: 
 
Frozen Synapse 
Advance Wars Dual Strike 
3. Just can't think of a third one oddly enough.

RTS: 
1. age of empires 2 
2. starcraft 2 
3. command and conquer (any of them but 4) 
 
TBS: 
1. Civilization (any of them, including revolution) 
(ive only really played civ 5 and civ rev as far as TBS games go, so those are really the only ones i can pick)

Turn Based:
 
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Tactics Ogre
Master of Orion
 
Real Time:
Starcraft
Total Annihilation
Homeworld

I haven't played almost any strategy games before SC II so I can't really talk about this one... But SC II still stands as my favourite game of all time, on par with Persona 4.

RTS: 
Dawn of War (I) 
 
TBS 
Medieval 2: Total War (I acknowledge that Shogun is better but it's less replayable due to the diminished variety)

RTS: 
 
Supreme Commander 2 
Red Alert 2 
Star Craft 2 
 
TBS: 
 
Civ 5 
Heroes of Might and Magic 3 
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic

RTS

1. Command and Conquer (PC)
   
2. Command and Conquer Red Alert (PC)
   
3. Command and Conquer Red Alert 2 (PC) & Command and Conquer Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge (PC)
   

Turn Based

1. Vanguard Bandits (PSX)
   
2. Front Mission 3 (PSX)
   
3. Final Fantasy Tactics: Advance (GBA)

RTS: 1. Age of Empires 
  2. Rise of Nations 
         3. Starcraft 2 
 
TBS:  
 
I've only really played Civ 5 very much.  

I never imagined such a great response! 
Thank you all for your input. 
 
I (finally) ordered Starcraft 2, found Company of Heroes and Fallout Tactics on Steam, and am looking into all of the rest of the suggestions. 
 
Cheers, and thanks for all the fish!

Age of Empires 
Red Alert 2 
Dawn of War Dark Crusade 
 
On pure fun factor, absolutely nothing else. 

Civ V, Advance Wars Dual Strike, and Total Annihilation, in no particular order.

Real Time:

1. Starcraft 2

2. Dawn of War

3. Starcraft

Turn Base:

1. Civ 5

2. Heroes of might and magic 2

3. X-Com: Ufo defense!!!!!!!!

My favorite real-time strategy game is Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. One of the best games ever made.

Men of War, Age of empires 2 and Napoleon Total War for RTS.

Civ 3, Medieval 2 Total War, Napoleon Total War for turn based strategy.

Ive barely played any and the only ones i ever play are LotR BFME 2 on the xbox and Empire Earth on the PC its pretty fun if your playing with in the same house. there both RTS

Red alert 2 
 
Age Of Empiers 2 
 
Europa