4. Eleanor (France)
France is set up to build theaters and wonders. Catherine compliments this with some spy abilities and while spies have been made a bit better, the two abilities don’t really mesh. But Eleanor of France can turn great works into weapons, whittling away the loyalty of nearby Civs, and instantly scooping them up when they hit zero. A couple of paintings coupled with a Golden Age will suck neighboring cities right into your empire. Just focus on culture, and an offense strategy will follow. With a few cleverly placed spies and museums, you can take over more cities than an aggressive warmonger.
5. Kupe (Maori)
While really fun and different, a lot of Kupe’s abilities are actually about compensating for his weaknesses. Starting in the ocean is hella rad, but it’s not really a big advantage. It’s nice that he can still generate culture and science while he explores, but you’re still better off founding your capital sooner rather than later. Once you do, that passive production bonus from trees is nice but sometimes you just want to chop them down! But wait, Kupe is a grower not a shower. Fishing boats as culture bombs is weirdly powerful on the right map, and once you can plant forests, that passive ability becomes a lot more powerful. With the discovery of flight, you start getting a decent tourism bonus from your theater districts, putting you back in the culture game. A game as Kupe is unique, and the Maori have some flexible abilities, but to triumph as the Maori, you’re going to need a lot of luck.
6. Pachacuti (Inca)
In Civilization VI, it’s good to be focused on one thing, but there are a few Civs that make the most of flexibility. The Inca are probably the most flexible Civ next to Rome. Their bonuses mostly concern food (of all things!), which lets you potentially support cities with high populations. Most enticingly, the Incas can cross mountains centuries before the other Civs. This gives them a surprisingly significant military bonus (they can move troops and flank enemy armies) and a cool bonus to settlers (they can get where they need to go to found new cities before their opponents). All of that is fun. All of that is great. But none of it directly helps you win. The Inca don’t have any preferred victory type. To succeed as them, you’ll need to really know the ins and outs of every victory type.
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