Civilization VI – Meet the Leaders – Part 1

With the dawn of a new Civilization emerging on the horizon, it is once again time to adorn our grand-strategy hats and pull up our alternative history pants. For the last few months, Firaxis has been teasing us with glimpses of the Civilization VI leaders and their respective civs. Here at Checkpoint we have collected these leaders/civs and propped them up for our very own model UN. Which leader will you follow unquestioningly?

America

Leader – Theodore Roosevelt
Unique Units – P-51 Mustang / Rough Riders
Unique Structure – Film Studio

America is a territorial, defensive civilisation who aims for a cultural victory. Their units and abilities give them combat advantages and benefits when fighting on their home continent so be careful when invading American territory. America thrives in the mid to late game when their unique units come in to play to fend off aggressive civilisations and when there cultural buildings and national parks give them a big tourism boost towards cultural victory.

England

Leader – Queen Victoria
Unique Units – Sea Dog / Redcoat
Unique Structure – Dock Yard

The British empire are a very threatening expansionist civilisation. They thrive on naval combat and movement as well as cross-continent settling. England has some flexibility when working towards victory, early and continued aggression can lead them to a conquest victory yet their archaeological prowess makes them a threat in the culture department as well. The English get bonuses when fighting away from their own continent, so be wary of the British invasion.

Egypt

Leader – Cleopatra
Unique Unit – Maryannu Chariot Archer
Unique Structure – Sphinx

The Egyptian civilisation gains advantages in Wonder building and are the masters of trading. The Egyptians make for a great potential ally because establishing a trade route between them and another civ provides bonuses on both ends. This means that the Egyptians may have a lot of friends by the end of the game, but don’t get too friendly or they’ll use their position to take the victory.

Japan

Leader – Hojo Tokimune
Unique Unit – Samurai
Unique Structure – Electronics Factory

The Japanese civilisation gains bonuses from fighting near coasts and have the capability of building compact and powerful cities. This means that Japan vastly benefit from island chain cities or cities built up along a coast. Japan can become a force to be reckoned with even if their territorial space isn’t actually that large, so consider that Japan may be more of a threat then they first appear. Their unique samurai unit also makes for a threatening mid game power spike.

China

Leader – Qin Shi Huang
Unique Unit – Crouching Tiger
Unique Structure – Great Wall

China is a very efficient civilisation. Builders within the Chinese empire gain 1 additional use and can also be used to boost the construction of Wonders. This means that China is able to get things built quickly, including Wonders and general tile improvements – making them an early game force. Their unique structure, The Great Wall, also allows China to create a strong defence against attacking civs.

Aztec

Leader – Montezuma
Unique Unit – Eagle Warrior
Unique Structure – Tlachtli

The Aztec civilisation are a district and luxury focused civ who gain militaristic bonuses for every luxury tile that is worked. Combine this military bonus with their more powerful warrior unit, the Eagle Warrior, and you have a very scary early game conquest force. The Eagle Warrior’s are also capable of turning defeated enemies into builder units, which the Aztecs can use to speed the construction of districts.

France

Leader – Catherine de Medici
Unique Unit – Garde Imperiale
Unique Structure – Chateau

France is a powerful culture and Wonder focused civilisation. The Chateau unique structure provides culture bonuses, with additional bonuses for being constructed near Wonders. In the mid game, France is capable of constructing Wonders like the best of them, but what France excels at is espionage. France gets additional diplomatic information for every civ they come across and an additional spy after constructing a castle. Don’t let your guard down when around France, they might just know more than you think.

Brazil

Leader – Pedro II
Unique Unit – Minas Geraes
Unique Structure – Carnival District

Brazil is a civilisation which heavily focuses on the construction of ‘Great People’. After recruiting a Great Person, Brazil will recuperate some of the points cost, allowing them to recruit another sooner than other civs. Brazil’s Carnival District also helps them to generate additional Great Person points. With a high Great Person turn over, Brazil becomes a big threat in potentially any of the victory conditions, dependent on which Great People they recruit.

Scythia

Leader – Tomyris
Unique Unit – Saka Horse Archer
Unique Structure – Kurgan

The Scythian civilisation is a threatening combat driven civ. Scythian combat units gain bonuses when attacking wounded enemies and regain some health back when defeating an enemy unit. The Scythian’s are also capable of building two units rather than one when constructing light cavalry or their unique, more mobile horse archers. Be wary when playing against Scythia because they can create a mobile, dominant army much earlier than you may expect.

With Civilization VI releasing October 21, it’s important to understand the civs that you will be fighting as, fighting with or fighting against. With more ‘First Look’ leader videos yet to be released, expect a ‘Meet the Leaders – Part 2’ in the near future. Which civilisation will you play as?