I'm relatively new to turn-based strategy games, having played only Civilization V and Total War Shogun 2. At the risk of sounding like a complete hipster, these games bore me, though Total War to a lesser extent. My problem with Civ is its claim how it's based on real history yet the map is randomly generated and the AI for the leaders don't necessarily fall in line with what any of them might do in a similar situation. Perhaps I have no room to be so choosy as a newbie to the genre, but either way I've got a few requests in searching for similar but better games. I'm gonna list this roughly in order of importance.
1. Above all I would like to see a nice, clean, intuitive UI. All useful info, but no clutter.
2. NO SCI-FI. Perhaps once I get more into the genre I'll try out some of those, but for now I'd prefer to stick to fantasy or historical.
3. I want something complex, but not to a daunting degree such as Crusaders King II. I'm kinda looking for a playable board game. That's how I view the TBS genre, anyhow.
4. I want something recent. This part is OPTIONAL, because obviously a good game is a good game. I'm just into pretty graphics where possible. 
5. I want some really good AI. Not something that will kill me because it's so smart and not something that needs to rely on crippling me/enhancing AI. All I want is a fair challenge.
6. This one is a little more petty and optional, but it's the kinda thing that can separate a good game from a great one: I want a game with a nice presentation. Clean and readable font style that is nevertheless different from something as boring as Arial or Times New Roman.
Sorry for being so specific but hopefully that can help anyone who's willing to answer. Thanks if you do take the time to help. 
