History is full of leaders who rose to fame and glory through conquest, and Civilization 6 does a great job at highlighting some of those leaders and allowing players to embody that historic persona. In Civilization 6, players can typically win a game through five possible means, and conquest is one of them. Winning a game through conquest is all about tactics, timing, and skill. Knowing when to move units and declare war is key, and picking a leader who embodies the art of war is crucial.
In our ongoing Civilization 6 leader series, we're highlighting some of the best leaders to pick when going for specific victory conditions. Our first installment covered the best leaders for a Science Victory, and now we're going to focus on the five best leaders to pick if world domination is the name of the game.
Alexander of Macedonia
It should come as no surprise that Alexander the Great, one of the most prolific conquerors in all of history, is an absolute tour de force in Civilization 6. All of Alexander's abilities revolve around war and conquering cities, so Alexander is encouraged to go to war early and stay at war until the game is over, embodying the "Alexander wept, seeing as he had no more worlds to conquer" quote.
Starting off with Alexander's Leader Ability: To the World's End. This makes it so Alexander's cities will never incur war weariness, usually a big problem for war-driven civilizations. Alexander's units will also heal if they capture a city that has a Wonder built within its borders, a nice little bonus. Alexander is designed to constantly be at war, and this allows him to do exactly that. Without war weariness, Alexander's cities will remain happy so long as Alexander has their basic needs in check, so Alexander is free to focus his attention on the front lines.
Macedonia's Civilization Perk goes hand-in-hand with Alexander's war-driven playstyle. The perk is called Hellenistic Fusion. Hellenistic Fusion grants Alexander a Eureka for each Encampment and Campus district in the city that he conquers, and a Inspiration for every Holy Site and Theater Square. This ability completely offsets the downside to starting an early war, as starting an early war means players have focused their Production on an army rather than infrastructure. Typically, this will mean that the Civilization going to war will fall behind in the Science and Culture front.
However, Hellenistic Fusion allows Alexander to keep pace with other Civilizations by shaving time off of the required research time for Techs and Civics. It's also worth mentioning that Alexander has two extremely powerful unique units in Civ 6: the Hetairoi and the Hypaspist. These two units can help cement Alexander's early start toward a snowball Domination Victory.
Basil II of Byzantium
Basil II of Byzantium is one of the newest faces in Civilization 6, added alongside Ambiorix and the Gaul Civilization. Basil II is a force to be reckoned with in both the Religious and Domination Games. Kicking it off with Basil II's Leader Ability: Porphyrogénnētos. This ability makes it so Basil II's Heavy and Light Calvary units deal full damage when attacking cities following the same religion as Basil II. Basil II's unique unit, the Tagma, is also unlocked when researching Diving Right. As one may have guessed, the Tagma is a Heavy Calvary unit which as the unique perk of granting +4 Combat Strength or +4 Religious Strength to nearby land units.
In the before-times when Civilization 6 first launched, Calvary Units used to be able to benefit from adjacent siege units like the Battering Ram and Siege Tower. That "feature" was removed some time ago, so Calvary units were all but useless against City Walls. However, Basil II's Leader Ability completely removes the 85% resistance Walls give to cities, so long as Basil II is a bit preemptive with his religion spreading. Talk about a major buff.
Porphyrogénnētos pairs quite well with Byzantine's Civilization Ability: Taxis. Taxis grants all Byzantine units +3 Combat Strength or +3 Religious Strength for each Holy City converted to Byzantine's religion (including Byzantine's Holy City). Additionally, Byzantium's religion is spread every time Byzantium defeats an opposing unit from either a City-State or other Civilization. Byzantium's Holy Sites also generate an additional 1 Great Prophet point per turn. To get the most out of this, players should focus heavily into Religion early, found their Religion, and use Missionaries and Apostles to spread their Religion to neighboring cities to get a combat bonus against them.
Then, once the religion is in place, players need to declare all-out war. The more Holy Cities (cities where a Civilization has founded a religion) Byzantium converts, the stronger their units will be, so that should be a target at all times across the map. Basil II requires a little more mental 4D Chess than some Domination Leaders, but the benefits are so incredibly worth the effort.
Shaka of Zulu
Shaka is a great leader for those who want powerful a powerful military that will essentially build itself with proper planning. Some work is required on Shaka's end before this is feasible, but having units upgrade from standard units to Corps and Armies in the blink of an eye is something that Shaka excels at. Similar to Alexander, Shaka is prone to snowballing once they get going with war, so he is a great pick for those who are looking for an aggressive, all-out war style leader. Shaka's Leader Ability is Amabutho, which allows Shaka to form Corps and Armies much earlier than other Civilizations, leading to powerful units very early on. Additionally, all of Shaka's Corps and Armies gain +5 Combat Strength.
This Corp/Army focus continues with the Zulu's Civilization Ability: Isibongo. Isibongo makes it so that when a Zulu unit takes a city, that unit is upgraded to a Corp, or a Corp to an Army, so long as the required Civic is unlocked. Cities gain +3 Loyalty per turn if a unit is garrisoned in the city, and that is bumped up to +5 if the garrisoned unit is a Corp or Army. The Zulu's unique infrastructure is the Ikanda, a replacement for the Encampment. Not only is the Ikanda cheaper to make than the Encampment, the Zulu can train Corps and Armies 25% faster in cities with an Ikanda. These factors combined allow the Zulu to amass a powerful army that continues to grow the longer it goes to war. So long as the Zulu have the appropriate Civics for Corps and Armies (which again, are unlocked earlier than all other Civs) then Shaka is a force to be reckoned with and is one of the best leaders for securing a Domination Victory.
Simon Bolivar of Gran Columbia
Simon Bolivar of Gran Columbia is also one of the newer faces to Civilization 6, added as one of the leaders in the New Frontier Pass. Simon Bolivar is unique for a number of reasons. For one, unlike most Civilizations we've covered so far, his strength lies in his Leader Ability, rather than his Civilization Perk. Two, Simon Bolivar has his own line of alternative Great Generals called Comandante Generals that are exclusive to him. Simon Bolivar's Leader Ability is Campaña Admirable, which makes it so Simon Bolivar is granted a Comandante General at the start of every Era. These Comandante Generals act similarly to Great Generals (which Simon can still earn), and have unique bonuses. Comandante Generals have passive perks which do not stack with other Comandante Generals, but they DO stack with Great Generals. So having one of each will be a massive boon to any nearby troops.
Gran Columbia's Civilization Ability is Ejército Patriota, which grants all Gran Columbian units +1 Movement. Additionally, promoting a unit does not end that units turn - a perk that should not be underestimated. Gran Columbia is all about amassing a powerful, well-promoted army, combining them with Comandante and Great Generals, and moving them quickly across the map at a speed that other civilizations just cannot match. If played correctly, Simon Bolivar will almost always have a General providing +5 Strength (+10 with both a Comandante and Great General), and that boon alone is hard to fight against. Once Gran Columbia exists the Ancient Era, their military force will begin to snowball if left unchecked.
Tomyris of Scythia
Tomyris, killer of Cyrus and leader of Scythia, has a very specific focus when it comes to her military: Light Cavalry. Tomyris is a pretty straight-forward leader whose abilities are not likely to confuse players, making her a great pick for players just starting Civilization 6 and are looking for a solid, strong leader. Tomyris' Leader Perk is Killer of Cyrus. Killer of Cyrus makes it so that Tomyris' units gain +5 Combat Strength when attacking damaged units. Upon killing a unit, the attacking unit will heal up to 30 HP. This works great when paired with an archer or other ranged unit who can weaken the target before Tomyris' heavy-hitters come in to finish the job. The bonus healing will allow Tomyris to continue fighting for much longer than most civilizations can.
Scythia's Civilization Ability is People of the Steppe. This ability makes it so that when Tomyris builds a Light Cavalry Unit (or Scythia's unique Sakka Horse Archer), they are granted a duplicate of that unit for free. Tomyris can very quickly amass a huge army of hard hitting units, especially helpful for early-game wars. Cavalry units do not do well against Walls, so attacking early is always a great plan. After other leaders begin building walls, Tomyris can still use her incredibly powerful Cavalry, but she will need siege or melee units (with support units) to help take down walls first. Few leaders can stop Tomyris' advances once she gets rolling, especially if that leader does not have walls in their city yet.
Each of these leaders will be a solid fit for anyone seeking a Domination Victory in Civilization 6. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, but if played correctly they can all be a nightmare to fight against. Players should be wary though, as one they start warring with other Civilizations, other Victory Conditions may be harder to achieve if not nearly impossible like the Diplomatic Victory.
Civilization 6 is available for Linux, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.