In the last Civilization 6 Leader Breakdown, we covered the Spartan Queen Gorgo all the way through the Raven King Matthias Corvinus.
Now we pick up where we left off in the long list of Civlization 6 leaders with the infamous Montezuma of the Aztecs. Click the link below to read the previous set of Leaders.
Montezuma (Aztec)
Montezuma of the Aztecs is infamously one of the most aggressive Civilizations in the game, perfectly capable of wiping out early Civs with little wear on his own cities. Montezuma is the king of early game wars thanks to his powerful Eagle Warriors, which have a chance to convert enemy (non-Barbarian) units into builders when they defeat an enemy, so early-game aggression is highly encouraged before the Eagle Warriors are outclassed.
All of Montezuma's units gain +1 Combat Strength for each different improved Luxury Resource in Aztec territory, so if Montezuma settles on several early on, he can have quite a boost. These Luxury Resources also provide Amenities to two additional cities, lessening the blow of War Weariness. The flow of free builders is great thanks to the Aztec Civ perk, which allows the use of builders to complete 20% of a districts production with the use of a charge. Montezuma is perfect for those who want to do a high-aggro early-game Domination Victory.
Mvemba a Nzinga (Kongolese)
Mvemba is a strange leader in the sense that he cannot found his own religion, but still gains the beliefs of whatever the dominant religion is in Kongo. However, Religion is not Mvemba's area of expertise, instead focusing on Culture. The Kongo's unique Civilization Perk grants +2 Food, +2 Production, and +4 Gold for each Relic, Artifact, and Sculpture in the Civilization. Additionally, the Kongo generates an additional 50% Great Writer, Great Artist, Great Musician, and Great Merchant points. These powerful benefits will not only cause the Kongo's population and cities to skyrocket once they amass a ton of Artifacts and Religious Relics, but it will amass a great amount of Tourism that will make the Kongo hard to compete against when it comes to earning a Cultural Victory.
Pachacuti (Incan)
The Incans thrive in Mountainous areas on the map, which is rare for a Civilization. While Mountains are impassable under normal circumstances, Pachacuti can build the Qhapaq Nan, which is essentially a Mountain Tunnel that can be built far earlier than usual. This allows trade routes to be much more effective and profitable for Pachacuti. Additionally, if players want to maximize their growth and production, building Terrace Farms adjacent to mountain tiles is the way to go.
These powerful farms grant nice Food and Production bonuses based on the number of surrounding mountains. These early populaton and production boosts allow Pachacuti to sprint out of the gate for an early Science Victory thanks to Mountain adjacency bonuses. While he has no flashy ability to boost this, his unique set up allows him to reap the most out of what are otherwise useless tiles, and it will be quite difficult to have cities conquered by opposing Civs.
Pedro II (Brazilian)
Pedro II is often seen as one of the great contenders for a Cultural Victory, as Pedro II can have a near constant stream of Great People. His unique perk refunds 20% of the Great People points after recruiting or patronizing a Great Person, allowing him to make strong progress toward the next Great Person of that category. If Pedro II has a good stream of points coming in, it will be hard to compete against him for Great People of nearly any category.
Additionally, Pedro II is one of the only Civilizations to be able to thrive in Rainforests. They grant his several areas an additional +1 Adjacency Bonus per tile, and give +1 Appeal to nearby tiles, making these Rainforest Tiles incredibly valuable and probably worth keeping around. Clearly Pedro II is cut for a great Cultural Victory, but if he plays his cards right he can really go for any victory condition.
Pericles (Greek)
Not much really needs to be said about Pericles, as he is one of the more straight-forward leaders in the game. Pericles is the second leader of Greece, and while Gorgo focuses on combat to earn her Culture, Pericles has a focus on City-States. Pericles generates an additional 5% Culture for every City-State he is the Suzerain of, which can be a huge bonus if Pericles plays his cards right. The free Wildcard policy slot is always a nice bonus, and while the Acropolis is a bit harder to place than the standard Theater Square, if Pericles can set those up just right, he can absolutely dominate the Culture game.
Peter (Russian)
Tsar Peter of Russia is without a doubt one of the strongest contenders for a Religious Victory in Civilization 6. Peter's skill set revolves around claiming large swaths of land, thriving well in Tundra, and using other Civs to catch up in the Science and Culture fields. Peter's unique perk grants him +1 Science/+1 Culture from Trade Routes to other Civs for every three technologies/civics ahead they are from Russia. Essentially, this is designed so Peter can slingshot ahead after falling behind in Science and/or Culture.
Russia's perk makes it so that when a city is founded, it starts with eight additional tiles, and Tundra tiles provide +1 Faith and +1 Production in addition to its usual yields. This allows Russia to profit from the otherwise barren Tundra tiles. All Russian Districts, Improvements, and Units are immune to Blizzard damage, and any Civ at War with Russia takes an additional 100% damage from Blizzards while inside Russian territory. The Russian replacement to the Holy Site, the Lavra, grants double Great Prophet points, while also generating Great Writer, Great Artist, and Great Musician points, allowing Russia to also have a strong contention in the Culture game. Overall, Russia is incredibly well-suited for a Religious Victory, but can also be a good contender for Culture as well.
Philip II (Spanish)
Philip II of Spain is yet another front-runner in the Religious Victory race. Unlike most Religious contenders, Philip has the ability to use force to spread his religion thanks to Spain's unique unit, the Conquistadors, who will convert any city they capture (or any city they are adjacent to when it is captured) into Spain's dominant religion.
They also gain +10 Combat Strength when on the same tile as a friendly religious unit. Spain can also try to push for a Domination Victory thanks to their ability to form Fleets and Armadas earlier than other Civs, giving them a powerful early Navy. Spain is also rewarded for founding cities on different continents, as Philip's unique bonus provides heft Food and Production bonuses for internal Trade Routes.
Additionally, cities with Spain's unique improvement, the Mission, generate +2 Loyalty per turn to help offset the loyalty penalty for being far from the Capital. Spain is rewarded for settling out wide and spreading their religion - either peacefully or by force - making them perfect for a swift Religious Victory or a crushing Domination Victory.
Poundmaker (Cree)
Poundmaker is one of the Leaders in Civilization 6 that is incredibly versatile but not particularly powerful. Poundmaker excels in the early-game thanks to their unique Scout-replacement the Okihtcitaw, which is a scout with the Combat Strength of a Warrior. They also start with a free promotion. Poundmaker's Alliances will always have shared visibility, and Trade Routes will grant +1 Food in the sending city, and +1 Gold in the destination city per Camp or Pasture in the destination city.
The Cree's Civ perk grants +1 Trade Route Capacity and a free Trader when Pottery is researched, which feeds into its second part. Unclaimed tiles within three hexes of a Cree City will fall under Cree control after a Trader passes through it, giving Poundmaker great early expansion potential provided he has people to trade with. Poundmaker will want a strong starting position to capitalize on the Cree's unique Mekewap improvement, which grants bonus Production and Housing, and potentially Gold and Food. The Cree can expand quickly, which could lend well to a Science or Religious Victory, but Poundmaker ultimately does not have any Victory type that he excels at.
Qin Shi Huang (Chinese)
Science and Culture are Qin Shi Huang's strong suit, and Wonders are the name of the game when playing as this powerful leader. Qin's leader perk gives all of his Builders an extra charge - which can be stacked with one of Civilization 6's Governor abilities - and Qin can expend a Builder's charge to complete 15% of the Production on Ancient and Classical Wonders. This powerful ability allows Qin to quickly burst through Wonder Production and lets him pick how he wants to approach the rest of the game.
China's unique Civ perk grants an additional 10% progress from Eurekas and Inspirations, allowing him to research these quicker than most Civs. The Chinese unique improvement, the Great Wall, is incredibly tricky to use and requires meticulous planning to execute well. The Great Wall adds +4 Combat Strength to any unit occupying the same tile as it, and it can gain +2 Gold and +2 Culture for each adjacent Great Wall improvement. Players who pick Qin may have a rough time learning the ins and out of this Civ, but if used properly, a Cultural or Science Victory can be achieved quite easily.
Robert the Bruce (Scottish)
Scotland, led by Robert the Bruce, is a Science powerhouse - provided players have the proper setup. Scotland's unique Civ perk makes it so Happy Cities will generate +5% Science, +5% Production and an additional +1 Great Scientist points in Campuses, and +1 Great Engineer Points in Industrial Zones, while Ecstatic Cities will double this bonus. This is a massive bonus provided Robert can keep his cities happy.
Players with plenty of Luxury Resources and Entertainment Complexes will quickly skyrocket to the top of the Science charts using Robert. Robert's unique perk allows him to declare Wars of Liberation earlier, and his cities gain +100% production, and his units gain +2 Movement for 10 turns after declaring this war. This allows Robert to recapture Friends/Allies' cities if they have been captured by another Civ, but it could also be a good way to quickly boost some Production when needed.
Saladin (Arabian)
Saladin is yet another versatile Civ that has a couple routes it can take, with a minor focus toward Religion and Science. Saladin's unique perk, Righteousness of the Faith, makes it so Worship Buildings of Arabia's Religion are 90% cheaper to purchase with Faith, and Arabian cities with that building gain +10% Science, Faith, and Culture. This gives Saladin a good reason to start a religion, but thankfully Arabia's Civ perk allows him to focus on other things and keep religion on the back burner.
After the second-to-last Great Prophet is claimed, Saladin will automatically be awarded the last Great Prophet (assuming he doesn't already have one). Arabia also gains +1 Science for every foreign city following Arabia's religion. Clearly Saladin has no trouble starting a religion, but what he does with it after founding it is entirely up to the player. They could spread it to reap the rewards of Science and focus on that, they could simply push for the set-up Religious Victory, or they could dominate other players using the powerful Mamluk unique unit. Saladin is versatile, and great for those who want to try a couple different approaches to victory.
Seondeok (Korean)
Seondeok of Korea is yet another Science powerhouse that is a force to be reckoned with, and is often considered to be one of the most powerful leaders in Civilization 6. Her unique perk makes it so cities with a Governor get +3% Science and +3% Culture for every promotion the Governor has. Korea's unique perk grants +1 Food in Farms and +1 Science for Mines when either are adjacent to Korea's Campus-replacement, the Seowon. The Seowon is the centerpiece, which are cheaper to make than Campuses, but must be placed on hills. They generate +4 Science, but take -1 Science for each adjacent District, so make sure they are surrounded by Mines and Farms instead. This sole-Science focus makes that Victory Condition a no-brainer.
Shaka (Zulu)
Shaka is a powerful leader who can quickly snowball and dominate the match thanks to his strong military focus. Shaka can form Corps and Armies significantly earlier than most Civilizations, and theygain an additional +5 Combat Strength on top of their already powerful bonuses. The Zulu unique perk makes it so capturing a city will upgrade a unit to a Corp (or a Corp into an Army), provided the prerequisite Civics are unlocked. Additionally, garrisoned units give a city +3 Loyalty, increased to +5 if the unit is a Corp or Army.
The Zulu's Encampment-replacement the Ikanda can train Corps and Armies 25% faster, making it even easier for Shaka to amass an impressive military. Shaka should focus Civics first to get the Mercenaries Civic to unlock Corps, then the Nationalism Civic to unlock Armies, then he can absolute decimate any who stand in his way of a Domination Victory.
Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.