Phoenicia, under the leadership of the astute Dido, is one of the most formidable naval and expansionist civilizations in Civilization VI. This guide delves into the strategic depths of leveraging Phoenicia’s unique abilities for rapid coastal colonization and naval supremacy. Analysis of player community discussions and expert playthroughs reveals a powerful set of strategies that can lead to a decisive victory. This guide will provide a comprehensive roadmap, from initial settlement to late-game victory conditions, based on proven, community-vetted tactics.
Civ 6 Phoenicia Guide: Dido Strategy (Naval & Expansion)
Mastering Phoenicia requires a shift in thinking from a land-based to a sea-based empire. The core of their strategy revolves around the “Mediterranean Colonies” ability, which grants 100% loyalty to all coastal cities on the same continent as the capital. This, combined with Dido’s “Founder of Carthage” ability to move the capital, unlocks a uniquely powerful engine for expansion.
Understanding Phoenicia’s Core Mechanics
A successful Phoenician game begins with a thorough understanding of their unique abilities and units. These are the tools that will allow you to build a sprawling, wealthy, and loyal coastal empire.
- Founder of Carthage (Dido’s Leader Ability): This ability is the linchpin of Phoenicia’s global strategy. It allows you to move your capital to any city with a Cothon by completing a special city project. This isn’t just a defensive maneuver; it’s a tool for aggressive, intercontinental expansion. Furthermore, Dido gains an additional trade route for the Government Plaza and each of its buildings, and the city hosting the Government Plaza gets a +50% production bonus towards other districts.
- Mediterranean Colonies (Phoenicia’s Civilization Ability): This ability is the foundation of your early-game dominance. It provides two key advantages: 100% loyalty for coastal cities on your capital’s continent, and settlers with +2 movement and sight when embarked, with no movement cost to embark or disembark. You also begin the game with the Eureka for the Writing technology.
- Bireme (Unique Unit): The Bireme replaces the Galley and is a powerhouse in the Ancient and Classical eras. It’s stronger, faster, and cheaper to produce than the Galley. Crucially, it also protects friendly trader units within a 4-tile radius from being plundered at sea, securing your early-game economy.
- Cothon (Unique District): The Cothon is a cheaper replacement for the Harbor district and is the economic and military heart of your coastal cities. It provides a +50% production bonus towards naval units and Settlers, and it allows naval units to heal fully in one turn within the city’s borders.
The Early Game: Aggressive Coastal Expansion
The first 100 turns are critical for establishing a dominant position. Your goal is to leverage your loyalty and settler bonuses to claim as much valuable coastal territory as possible.
Initial Settlement and Exploration
Many professional gamers suggest using your starting settler to scout the immediate coastline before settling. The extra movement and sight when embarked allows you to find the optimal location for your capital. Look for a coastal tile with good production (hills, woods), access to sea resources, and a river if possible, though fresh water is less critical for Phoenicia due to the housing provided by the Cothon and Lighthouse.
Your first builds should be a scout and a slinger to deal with barbarians and explore your starting continent. As soon as your population allows, begin producing settlers. Thanks to the “Mediterranean Colonies” ability, you can forward-settle aggressively against your neighbors without fear of your cities flipping. Use this to your advantage to claim strategic chokepoints, luxury resources, and areas with high adjacency potential for your Cothons.
The Bireme Rush: Securing Your Seas
A popular strategy is to execute an early Bireme rush to cripple a coastal neighbor. The combination of the Cothon’s production bonus and the Maritime Industries policy card (+100% production to ancient and classical naval units) allows you to build a large fleet of Biremes with astonishing speed.
A fleet of 6-8 Biremes is often enough to overwhelm an unprepared opponent. Target their coastal cities, and since Biremes are melee units, they can capture cities on their own. A successful Bireme rush can eliminate a rival from the game and provide you with a second continent to colonize much earlier than normal.
Even if you don’t plan a full-scale invasion, a small fleet of Biremes is essential for protecting your settlers and trade routes from barbarians and opportunistic rivals.
The Intentional Dark Age
Analysis on forums shows that a powerful, though counter-intuitive, strategy is to intentionally aim for a Dark Age in the Classical Era. This is achieved by delaying the construction of your unique Cothons and Biremes. Because your coastal cities are immune to loyalty loss, you can weather the Dark Age with minimal negative effects.
The goal of this strategy is to set up a Heroic Age in the Medieval Era. By saving your unique units and districts for the Medieval Era, you can earn a massive amount of Era Score and unlock powerful dedications like “Monumentality” (allowing you to buy settlers and builders with faith) or “Free Inquiry” (providing science equal to your harbor adjacency bonuses). This can create a “slingshot” effect, propelling you far ahead of other civilizations.
The Mid-Game: Intercontinental Colonization
This is where Phoenicia’s true power comes to the forefront. Your goal is to transition from a continental power to a global, intercontinental empire.
Moving the Capital: The Heart of the Strategy
Once you have a solid foothold on your starting continent, it’s time to look overseas. Send a settler to a new, resource-rich continent. Found a city, build a Cothon, and then begin the “Move Capital” project. While the production cost of this project is high, the strategic payoff is immense.
Once your capital is established on the new continent, all coastal cities you found there will now benefit from the 100% loyalty bonus. This allows you to rapidly colonize a second landmass without any loyalty issues. You can repeat this process throughout the game, creating a vast, loyal, and interconnected network of coastal cities.
Economic Powerhouse: Fueling Your Empire
Phoenicia is an economic powerhouse, and the mid-game is where you should focus on building your financial empire.
- Cothons and Commercial Hubs: Build Cothons in every coastal city and supplement them with Commercial Hubs. The combination of these two districts will generate a massive amount of gold.
- Government Plaza: Place your Government Plaza in a high-population coastal city. The extra trade routes from the plaza and its buildings, combined with the production bonus to districts, will turn this city into an economic and production juggernaut.
- Policy Cards: Utilize policy cards that enhance your harbors. The card that doubles harbor adjacency bonuses is particularly potent, as the Shipyard building adds production equal to the harbor’s adjacency bonus.
Naval Dominance and Exploration
With Cothons in most of your cities, you can produce a massive and technologically advanced navy. Focus on recruiting Great Admirals to further boost your fleet’s effectiveness.
A key target in the Medieval Era is the Great Admiral Leif Erikson. His ability allows your naval units to cross ocean tiles much earlier than normal, opening up the world for exploration and colonization long before other civilizations. This can give you a decisive advantage in the race for unclaimed territory.
Advanced Strategies and Victory Paths
With a sprawling, wealthy, and technologically advanced empire, you are now in a position to pursue a variety of victory conditions.
Offensive Loyalty Pressure
While your own cities are immune to loyalty pressure, you can use this to your advantage offensively. By settling a line of cities along an opponent’s coast, you can exert significant loyalty pressure on their cities, potentially causing them to flip to your side without firing a single shot. This is particularly effective against civilizations that have settled on a different continent than their capital.
Wonder Selection
Several wonders are particularly synergistic with Phoenicia’s strategy:
- Venetian Arsenal: This is a must-build for a naval domination game. It creates a second naval unit every time you train one, effectively doubling your naval production.
- Casa de Contratación: This wonder provides significant bonuses to cities on other continents, making it a perfect fit for your intercontinental empire.
- Statue of Liberty: For a diplomatic victory, the Statue of Liberty provides a significant boost to your diplomatic victory points.
Victory Paths
Phoenicia is a versatile civilization that can effectively pursue several victory conditions.
- Domination Victory: This is the most natural victory path for Phoenicia. Your strong economy can support a large, modern navy. Use your naval superiority to conquer coastal cities and project power across the globe.
- Science Victory: A wide empire with many cities can support a large number of Campus districts. Your early Eureka for Writing gives you a small but helpful head start, and your production and gold advantages can help you complete the late-game science projects.
- Diplomatic Victory: Your vast gold reserves are a significant asset in aid emergencies and for influencing city-states. A diplomatic victory is a very viable option, especially if you can secure the Statue of Liberty.
While a Culture or Religious victory is possible, it requires more effort and a significant pivot in your strategy, as Phoenicia’s bonuses do not directly support these victory conditions as strongly.
Conclusion
The player community’s consensus is clear: Phoenicia is a top-tier naval civilization with a unique and powerful playstyle. By mastering the art of coastal expansion, leveraging the “Move Capital” project, and building a dominant navy, you can create a global empire that is both wealthy and unshakeably loyal. From the early-game Bireme rush to the late-game intercontinental colonization, Dido offers a dynamic and rewarding strategic experience that is unmatched on the high seas. By following the principles outlined in this guide, you will be well on your way to leading Phoenicia to a glorious victory.