In the sweeping saga of Civilization VI, where nations clash and empires rise on the back of conquest, the Cree—led by the insightful Poundmaker—chart a distinctly different course to triumph. Their legacy isn’t carved by swords or siege engines, but woven through a global network of trade routes and fortified by enduring diplomatic bonds.
Playing as the Cree means embracing the art of subtle influence. This is a civilization that thrives not on brute force, but on economic finesse and strategic alliances. Their strength lies in the prosperity of their cities and the loyalty of their partners, crafting an empire that flourishes quietly yet powerfully.
This guide will walk you through the essential strategies for mastering Poundmaker’s unique toolkit—unlocking the full potential of the Cree’s economic and diplomatic prowess to secure a victory that’s as elegant as it is unstoppable.
Poundmaker’s Arsenal: Understanding the Cree’s Unique Abilities
To lead the Cree to glory, one must first understand the powerful tools at their disposal. The Cree’s unique abilities are not a collection of disparate bonuses, but a synergistic engine of growth and influence.
Favorable Terms (Leader Ability)
This is the cornerstone of Poundmaker’s genius. “Favorable Terms” transforms the very nature of alliances and trade. The most immediately noticeable benefit is that all alliances grant shared visibility, a perk normally reserved for a level 2 military alliance. This provides an unparalleled intelligence advantage, allowing you to see vast swathes of the map and anticipate the movements of other civilizations.
The true power of this ability, however, lies in its impact on trade routes. Analysis on forums shows that a popular strategy is to create a “fuel city” with numerous camps and pastures.
* Trade routes you send provide +1 Food in the origin city for each Camp and Pasture in the destination city. This allows you to supercharge the growth of your new or underdeveloped cities by sending trade routes to a well-developed city with many improved animal resources.
* Trade routes sent to your cities from other civilizations or your own cities grant +1 Gold for each Camp and Pasture in the destination city. This turns your resource-rich cities into economic powerhouses, generating a steady stream of gold that can fund your ambitions.
A popular strategy is to establish a “fuel city” – a city with a high concentration of Camp and Pasture resources. By directing your internal trade routes to this city, you can generate immense food yields in your other cities, leading to explosive population growth.
Nîhithaw (Civilization Ability)
The Cree’s civilization ability, “Nîhithaw,” gives them a significant head start in building their commercial empire. Upon researching Pottery, you receive a free Trader and an extra trade route capacity. This is a massive early-game advantage, allowing you to establish your first trade route long before other civilizations.
Furthermore, your Traders claim unclaimed tiles within three tiles of a Cree city as they pass through. This unique mechanic allows for rapid and free territorial expansion. Many professional gamers suggest settling your cities about six tiles apart and running a trader between them. This will create a continuous, wide swath of territory under your control, saving you significant gold on tile purchases and effectively blocking off rivals from settling in your backyard.
Okihtcitaw (Unique Unit)
The Okihtcitaw, which replaces the Scout, is one of the best early-game units in Civilization VI. It has the same combat strength as a Warrior and, more importantly, starts with a free promotion. This makes the Okihtcitaw a versatile and powerful tool in the early game. It excels at:
* Exploration: Its free promotion can be used to gain extra movement or visibility, allowing you to explore the map more quickly and efficiently.
* Barbarian Control: An Okihtcitaw with the “Ambush” promotion can easily dispatch barbarian scouts and even hold its own against barbarian warriors.
* Early Offense: A small force of Okihtcitaw can be surprisingly effective at harassing and even capturing undefended city-states or rival settlers in the very early game.
Mekewap (Unique Improvement)
The Mekewap is a versatile and powerful unique improvement that provides a mix of Production, Housing, Food, and Gold. Its yields are heavily dependent on its placement, making careful city planning essential.
* Base Yields: +1 Production and +1 Housing.
* Adjacency Bonuses:
* +1 Gold for each adjacent Luxury Resource. This increases to +2 Gold with the Cartography technology.
* +1 Food for every two adjacent Bonus Resources. This improves to +1 Food for each adjacent Bonus Resource with the Conservation civic.
* Additional Yields: +1 Production after researching the Civil Service civic.
A key rule to remember is that Mekewaps cannot be built adjacent to each other. This necessitates careful planning and encourages wider city spacing, which synergizes perfectly with the Cree’s Nîhithaw ability.
The Dawn of a Trading Empire: Early Game Strategy (Turns 1-100)
The early game for the Cree is all about laying the foundation for your economic and diplomatic dominance. Your priorities are exploration, expansion, and kickstarting your trade engine.
First 25 Turns: The Opening Moves
Your initial build order should be focused on getting your Okihtcitaw out to explore and a second city founded as quickly as possible. A common opening is:
1. Okihtcitaw: Your first build should almost always be an Okihtcitaw. Its scouting and defensive capabilities are too good to pass up.
2. Settler: Your second build should be a Settler to found your second city.
While your first Okihtcitaw is exploring, look for city-states, other civilizations, and, most importantly, locations with a high concentration of Camp and Pasture resources. According to the player community, a popular tactic is to delay the completion of the Pottery technology until your second city is founded. This ensures that you have an immediate and valuable destination for your first, free trade route.
Settlement Strategy: Fueling the Engine
Your settlement strategy should be guided by the “Fuel City” concept. Your capital, or another city with a high number of Camp and Pasture resources, will serve as the destination for your internal trade routes. Your other cities, the “feeder cities,” will send their trade routes to the Fuel City, receiving a massive food bonus that will allow them to grow at an astonishing rate.
As mentioned earlier, settling your cities approximately six tiles apart is a highly effective strategy. This gives each city ample room for Mekewap placement and allows your traders to claim a large, continuous territory for your empire.
Economic Development: Kickstarting the Machine
Once your second city is founded and Pottery is researched, your economic engine will roar to life. Your first Trader should be used to establish an internal trade route from your new city to your Fuel City. This will immediately start generating bonus food and gold.
In terms of early policy cards, Caravansaries (+2 Gold from all trade routes) is an obvious choice. For your first Governor, many professional gamers suggest appointing Magnus to your Fuel City and rushing his Surplus Logistics promotion. This adds +2 Food to domestic trade routes ending in that city, further amplifying your growth engine.
Early Wonders: A Foundation for Greatness
The Cree are well-positioned to build early wonders, thanks to their strong production from Mekewaps. The Temple of Artemis is an exceptional choice for the Cree. It provides bonus amenities and food for cities with Camps and Pastures, synergizing perfectly with your overall strategy.
The Golden Age of Commerce: Mid-Game Strategy (Turns 100-200)
With a booming population and a strong income, the mid-game is about leveraging your economic power into unbreakable alliances and preparing for your chosen victory condition.
The Art of the Alliance
Your primary diplomatic goal in the mid-game is to form as many alliances as possible. Rush to the Civil Service civic to unlock this ability. Your “Favorable Terms” ability makes any alliance incredibly valuable, but you should prioritize:
* Economic Alliances: These provide bonus Gold from your trade routes, further boosting your already impressive economy.
* Research Alliances: If you are considering a Science Victory, this will provide a significant boost to your research.
* Cultural Alliances: This is a strong choice if you are aiming for a Culture Victory, as it will increase your tourism.
Remember, your shared visibility with all allies gives you a massive intelligence advantage. Use it to your advantage to anticipate your rivals’ moves and plan your own strategy accordingly.
Optimizing Your Trade Network
As you enter the mid-game, you should begin to transition from a purely internal trade network to a mix of internal and international routes. Sending trade routes to your allies will not only provide direct yields but also strengthen your relationships and provide a +25% tourism bonus for a future Culture Victory.
Every completed trade route establishes a trading post. Later in the game, routes that pass through multiple trading posts will generate significantly more gold. Diversify your trade partners to establish a wide network of posts.
Furthermore, becoming the Suzerain of city-states like Kumasi (+2 Culture and +1 Gold per district at the origin) or Jakarta (your trading posts in foreign cities provide +1 Gold) can dramatically increase the value of each trade route.
Mekewap Mastery
The mid-game is where your Mekewaps truly start to shine. The Cartography technology doubles the gold adjacency bonus from luxury resources, turning your well-placed Mekewaps into gold mines. The Conservation civic is another game-changer, increasing the food bonus from bonus resources. As you unlock these technologies and civics, it’s worth re-evaluating your Mekewap placement to ensure you are maximizing their yields.
Mid-Game Wonders: Solidifying Your Advantage
Your strong economy and production should allow you to build several powerful mid-game wonders. The Colossus and Great Zimbabwe both provide extra trade routes and significant gold bonuses. Casa de Contratación is another excellent choice, providing bonus Governor promotions and significant boosts to gold, production, and faith for cities on other continents.
The Diplomat’s Gambit: Late Game Strategy and Victory Paths (Turns 200+)
By the late game, you should have a powerful economy and a network of strong alliances. Now it’s time to leverage these advantages to secure your victory.
The Path of the Diplomat: Achieving a Diplomatic Victory
This is the most natural victory path for Poundmaker. Your emphasis on alliances will have already been generating a steady stream of Diplomatic Favor. Your massive gold reserves will allow you to win aid emergencies, build key wonders, and sway the World Congress.
To win a Diplomatic Victory, you need to accumulate 20 Diplomatic Victory Points (DVPs). These are earned through:
* World Congress: You gain DVPs by voting for a resolution that successfully passes.
* Wonders: The Mahabodhi Temple, Potala Palace, and Statue of Liberty all grant DVPs.
* Technology and Civics: Researching Seasteads and the Global Warming Mitigation civic will provide DVPs.
* Emergencies and Competitions: Winning scored competitions and emergencies will award you with DVPs.
A key challenge in the late game is that once you reach 15 DVPs, other civilizations will likely vote for you to lose points. Analysis on forums shows that a clever strategy at this stage is to cast a single vote for yourself to lose points. This will result in a net loss of only one DVP, as you still gain a point for voting with the winning resolution.
The Merchant Prince’s Conquest: Alternative Victory Paths
While a Diplomatic Victory is the most straightforward path for the Cree, their powerful economy makes them a flexible civilization capable of pursuing other victory conditions.
* Culture Victory: Your extensive trade network is a powerful tool for a Culture Victory. Trade routes with other civilizations increase your tourism output. Your high-population cities can support numerous Theater Squares, and your vast wealth can be used to purchase Great Works from other civilizations.
* Science Victory: Your high-population cities are perfect for supporting numerous campuses and research labs. Your gold can be used to purchase campus buildings and Great Scientists. Your alliances can be leveraged for powerful Research Agreements to pull ahead in the space race.
Late-Game Policies and Wonders
In the late game, policy cards like Wisselbanken and Arsenal of Democracy will provide massive boosts to your trade routes with allies. In terms of wonders, focus on those that support your chosen victory path. For a Diplomatic Victory, the Statue of Liberty is a must-build.
Conclusion: The Enduring Legacy of the Cree
Playing as the Cree is a masterclass in the art of soft power. Poundmaker’s ability to build a thriving trade empire and forge unbreakable alliances allows him to exert his influence across the globe without firing a single shot. By following the strategies outlined in this guide, you can lead the Cree to a glorious victory, building an empire that will be remembered not for its conquests, but for its prosperity, its diplomacy, and its enduring legacy of peace and commerce.