we can play vanilla, it doesn't bother me much either way. GaK is nice if you have the extra cash but it has a lot of features that should have just been built in from the start (Basically it's just stuff they removed from Civ IV then put back in and balance issues LOL.)
INCIDENTALLY if you pick up a pre-order of XCOM (before oct 10 I believe) You get a free giftable copy of Civ V vanilla.