Civ 6 Poland Guide: Jadwiga Strategy (Religion)

Analysis on forums shows that many players overlook Poland as a top-tier religious contender, often favoring more overtly faith-focused civilizations. However, this is a critical miscalculation. Jadwiga’s strength lies in her unparalleled ability to aggressively spread her faith through a “culture bomb” mechanic, a feature more commonly associated with cultural victories. This, combined with powerful economic and military synergies, allows for a highly aggressive and resilient religious game. This guide will dissect the optimal strategies, from the crucial first steps of founding a religion to the final, decisive push for global conversion.

Early Game Strategy: Laying the Foundation of a Theocracy

The early game for a Polish religious victory is a calculated race to establish a dominant faith. According to the player community, your first 50 to 100 turns are the most critical. A strong start will set the stage for an unstoppable mid-game surge.

Securing a Pantheon and Founding a Religion

Your immediate priority is to generate enough Faith to found a Pantheon and, subsequently, a full-fledged Religion. Poland’s inherent advantages make this a more straightforward task than for many other civilizations.

• Initial Build Order and Research: Many professional gamers suggest a starting build order of Scout -> Slinger -> Settler. The Scout is crucial for exploring, finding tribal villages (which can provide Faith boosts), and identifying optimal locations for future cities. The Slinger provides basic defense and can be upgraded to an Archer. Your first research priority should be Astrology, which unlocks the ability to build Holy Sites.
• The Power of the Wildcard Slot: Poland’s “Golden Liberty” ability is a game-changer. It converts a military policy slot into a wildcard slot in all governments. Once you research the Mysticism civic, you gain access to the Revelation policy card, which grants +2 Great Prophet points per turn. Slotting this in immediately gives you a significant head start in the race for a Great Prophet. This early wildcard slot is a unique advantage that should not be underestimated.
• Holy Site Placement: Jadwiga’s “Lithuanian Union” ability provides a standard adjacency bonus from districts, which is a significant buff. A popular strategy is to plan your city layout to maximize Holy Site adjacency. Placing a Holy Site next to your City Center and an Entertainment Complex, for example, will yield a respectable initial Faith output. An even more effective, though slightly more complex, strategy involves placing an Encampment two tiles away from your City Center, with the Holy Site in between. This creates a +2 adjacency bonus for the Holy Site, which is a substantial boost in the early game.
• Choosing the Right Pantheon: Your choice of Pantheon will have a significant impact on your early game momentum. The most recommended Pantheon beliefs for a Polish religious strategy are:
  • Religious Settlements: This is arguably the strongest choice. It provides a free Settler, allowing for rapid expansion and the establishment of a second city early in the game. This accelerates your ability to build more Holy Sites and expand your empire.
  • God of the Forge: If you find yourself in a more aggressive early-game environment, this Pantheon provides a +25% Production bonus towards Ancient and Classical era military units. This can help you defend against early rushes and even engage in some early conquest.
  • Divine Spark: This provides +1 Great Person points from Holy Sites, Campuses, and Theater Squares. This is a solid, well-rounded choice that will help you generate Great Prophets, Scientists, and Writers throughout the game.

Crafting the Perfect Religion

Once you have secured a Great Prophet, you can found your Religion. The beliefs you choose will define your religious strategy for the rest of the game. For Jadwiga, the synergy with Relics is paramount.

• Follower Belief – Reliquaries: This is the cornerstone of Jadwiga’s religious strategy. Her leader ability already provides +2 Faith, +2 Culture, and +4 Gold from Relics. Reliquaries triples the Faith and Tourism from Relics. The combination is staggering. A single Relic will provide 8 Faith, 2 Culture, and 4 Gold per turn. With a few Relics, you can generate a massive amount of Faith, allowing you to purchase Apostles and Missionaries at an incredible rate.
• Worship Belief – Mosque or Gurdwara: The Mosque provides an additional spread charge for your Apostles and Missionaries. This is a straightforward and powerful choice for a religious victory. The Gurdwara provides +3 Faith and +2 Food, which can help your cities grow.
• Enhancer Belief – Crusade: This belief is non-negotiable for an aggressive Polish religious game. It grants a +10 Combat Strength bonus to your units within the city limits of foreign cities that follow your religion. This belief has a devastating synergy with Jadwiga’s culture bomb ability, which we will explore in the mid-game section.
• Founder Belief – Pilgrimage or Work Ethic: Pilgrimage provides +2 Faith for every city converted to your religion. This is a solid choice that will reward your conversion efforts. Work Ethic provides Production equal to the Holy Site’s adjacency bonus. With well-placed Holy Sites, this can provide a significant production boost to your cities.

Mid-Game Strategy: The Holy Crusade Begins

The mid-game is where Poland transforms from a fledgling religious state into an unstoppable theocratic force. Your focus will be on aggressive expansion of your faith and territory, leveraging Jadwiga’s unique abilities to their fullest potential.

The Culture Bomb and Conversion Engine

Jadwiga’s “Lithuanian Union” ability is your primary tool for religious expansion. When you build an Encampment or a Fort (with a Military Engineer), it triggers a “culture bomb,” claiming all surrounding tiles for your civilization. Crucially, any city that loses a tile to this culture bomb is automatically converted to your majority religion. This is the most powerful religious conversion mechanic in the game.

• Strategic Encampment and Fort Placement: Identify cities on your borders, particularly those belonging to rival religious civilizations. Build an Encampment or Fort adjacent to their territory. The moment the structure is complete, the surrounding tiles will be absorbed into your empire, and the nearby city will instantly adopt your faith. This is a far more efficient and aggressive method of conversion than sending Missionaries or Apostles.
• The Crusade and Conquest Synergy: Once a neighboring city is converted via a culture bomb, your military units will benefit from the Crusade belief’s +10 Combat Strength bonus. This creates a powerful one-two punch. You can convert a city with a culture bomb and then immediately declare war, marching your Crusade-empowered army into their territory. This allows you to conquer cities with ease, further expanding your religious and territorial dominance.
• The Winged Hussar: Your Holy Warriors: Poland’s unique Renaissance-era unit, the Winged Hussar, is a powerful heavy cavalry unit. Its key ability is that it pushes back defending units. This is incredibly effective for breaking enemy lines and creating openings for your other units. A popular strategy is to use your Winged Hussars to clear a path for your other units, allowing you to quickly overwhelm enemy defenses.

The Relic Generation Machine

To fuel your Reliquaries strategy, you need a steady supply of Relics. The most reliable method for generating Relics is through the martyrdom of your Apostles.

• Mont St. Michel: The Key to Martyrdom: The Mont St. Michel wonder is a must-build for a Polish religious game. It grants all of your Apostles the Martyr promotion, which guarantees a Relic if the Apostle dies in theological combat. Build this wonder as soon as possible.
• The Art of Theological Combat: Once you have Mont St. Michel, you can begin to “farm” Relics. Send your Apostles with the Martyr promotion to engage in theological combat with the religious units of other civilizations. Your goal is for your Apostles to die, generating a Relic. This may seem counterintuitive, but the long-term benefit of the Relic far outweighs the loss of the Apostle.
• Housing Your Relics: You will need places to store your Relics. Build Temples in your Holy Sites, as they have slots for Relics. You can also build the St. Basil’s Cathedral wonder, which not only provides slots for Relics but also increases the Tourism from all Relics in that city.

Late Game Strategy: Sealing the Divine Victory

By the late game, you should have a powerful faith-generating economy, a formidable military, and a significant portion of the world converted to your religion. The final push for victory requires a combination of overwhelming religious pressure and strategic military action.

Dominating the Theological Arena

With your massive Faith generation from Relics and converted cities, you can afford to purchase a large number of Apostles. Use them to swarm the remaining civilizations that follow other religions.

• Apostle Promotions: When you purchase an Apostle, you can choose from a variety of promotions. The most useful promotions for a religious victory are:
  • Translator: Triples the strength of the Apostle in foreign cities.
  • Debater: Grants a +20 Combat Strength bonus in theological combat.
  • Proselytizer: Removes 75% of the existing pressure from other religions in the target city.
• Inquisitors: The Defenders of the Faith: While your Apostles are on the offensive, you need to protect your own cities from conversion. Use Inquisitors to defend your territory. They are cheap to purchase and are incredibly effective at removing rival religions from your cities.

The Final Conversion Push

Identify the civilizations with the most cities still following other religions and focus your efforts there. A combination of culture bombs, military pressure, and swarms of Apostles should be enough to secure your victory.

• The Two-Pronged Attack: A popular late-game strategy is to launch a two-pronged attack. On one front, use your military to declare war and conquer key cities. On the other front, use your Apostles to convert the remaining cities. This combination of military and religious pressure is often too much for the AI to handle.
• Wonder Priorities: In the late game, there are a few wonders that can help you seal the victory:
  • Cristo Redentor: This wonder prevents other civilizations from diminishing your religious tourism, which can be helpful in some scenarios.
  • Eiffel Tower: While not a religious wonder, the appeal bonus it provides can be useful for a variety of reasons, including cultural and tourism boosts.

Conclusion: The Divine Right of Poland

A religious victory with Poland is a deeply rewarding experience. It is a strategy that requires careful planning, aggressive expansion, and a willingness to embrace both the spiritual and the martial aspects of the game. By leveraging Jadwiga’s unique abilities, you can transform Poland into a theocratic powerhouse, spreading your faith to the far corners of the world.

Analysis of countless games has shown that the key to a successful Polish religious victory lies in the synergy between the culture bomb, the Crusade belief, and the Reliquaries follower belief. By mastering this holy trinity of abilities, you can ensure that your civilization’s name is etched into the annals of history as the one true faith. So go forth, build your Holy Sites, raise your Winged Hussars, and let the world tremble before the righteous fury of the Iron Queen of Faith.