In the grand tapestry of Civilization 6, where leaders rise and fall on the strength of their unique abilities, Tamar of Georgia holds a curious position. Her “Glory of the World, Kingdom and Faith” ability, which grants her double envoys to city-states that follow her majority religion, is a powerful tool for diplomatic victory. However, it is a conditional power, one that hinges on the successful spread of her faith. But what if this condition was removed? What if Tamar’s double envoy bonus was a permanent, unconditional reality from the very first turn? This single, seismic shift would not just elevate her to the top tier of leaders; it would fundamentally reshape the diplomatic landscape of the game, turning Georgia into a diplomatic juggernaut of unprecedented power. This guide delves into the strategic depths of this hypothetical scenario, exploring how a permanently empowered Tamar would dominate the world stage.
The Unshackled Diplomat: A New Era for Georgia
According to the player community, Tamar’s existing ability is a high-risk, high-reward proposition. It forces her down a religious path, demanding a significant early-game investment in faith generation to secure a religion and then spread it to key city-states. This often comes at the cost of early expansion or military development. A permanent double envoy bonus would shatter these constraints. Every envoy Tamar sends, from the first to the last, would count as two. This simple change has profound implications. The early-game scramble for a religion, while still beneficial for other reasons, would no longer be a prerequisite for her diplomatic ambitions. She could, from the dawn of civilization, begin her inexorable march towards suzerainty over every city-state on the map. Analysis on forums shows that this would free up her early-game production for settlers, builders, and military units, allowing her to build a strong foundational empire while simultaneously weaving a web of diplomatic influence.
Early Game: The Uncontested Suzerain
With a permanent double envoy bonus, Tamar’s early-game strategy would be ruthlessly efficient. The first envoy sent to any city-state would immediately grant her three envoys’ worth of influence, making her the suzerain from the outset. This is a game-changing advantage. While other leaders are struggling to gain favor, Tamar would be reaping the rewards of suzerainty from the very beginning. A popular strategy is to prioritize meeting as many city-states as possible in the ancient era. The “Diplomatic Quarter” district, while not available immediately, would become an even higher priority, as its ability to generate additional envoys would be doubly effective.
Pantheon and Early Government Choices
The choice of a Pantheon would also be influenced by this new reality. While “Religious Settlements” remains a strong choice for the free settler, other options become more appealing. “God of the Forge” would provide a production bonus for each suzerainty, a bonus that Tamar would be accumulating at an accelerated rate. “Divine Spark” would still be a viable choice to secure a religion for its other benefits, but it would no longer be a do-or-die proposition for her unique ability. In terms of early government, “Autocracy” would be a powerful choice, with its bonus to wonder production synergizing well with the pursuit of early wonders like the Apadana.
Snowballing with City-State Bonuses
The true power of this early-game dominance lies in the snowball effect of city-state bonuses. Becoming the suzerain of a scientific city-state early on would provide a significant boost to her research, allowing her to unlock key technologies faster than her rivals. A military city-state would grant her bonus production towards units, making her surprisingly formidable in the early game. A trade city-state would provide extra gold, fueling her expansion and development. Many professional gamers suggest that a Tamar with a permanent double envoy bonus would be able to tailor her early-game strategy based on the city-states she discovers, creating a flexible and adaptable approach to empire building.
Mid-Game: The Diplomatic Juggernaut
As the world transitions into the medieval and renaissance eras, a permanently empowered Tamar would become a true diplomatic juggernaut. The construction of the Apadana wonder would become her number one priority. With her ability to build wonders faster thanks to the “Autocracy” government and potentially the “Corvée” policy card, she could secure this wonder with relative ease. The Apadana grants two envoys every time a wonder is built. For Tamar, this would mean four envoys per wonder. The synergy is staggering. Every wonder she builds would not only provide its own unique benefits but also further entrench her control over the world’s city-states.
Policy Cards and Diplomatic Favor
The mid-game is also where policy cards that boost envoy generation come into play. “Diplomatic League” and “Containment” would become essential components of her government, providing a steady stream of envoys that would all be doubled. This would allow her to maintain her suzerainty over a vast network of city-states, even as other civilizations begin to compete for their favor. Furthermore, her control over so many city-states would generate a massive amount of diplomatic favor, making her a dominant force in the World Congress. She could pass resolutions that benefit her civilization, sanction her rivals, and effectively dictate the course of global politics.
A Web of Influence
Analysis on forums shows that a Tamar with this ability would be able to create a “web of influence” that would be nearly impossible for other civilizations to break. She could use her suzerainty network to fuel her own growth, with city-states providing her with science, culture, gold, and military units. She could also use her influence to strategically deny key city-state bonuses to her rivals. Imagine a scenario where a rival civilization is on the verge of a scientific victory, only to have Tamar swoop in and steal the suzerainty of all the scientific city-states, crippling their research output. This level of diplomatic control would be unprecedented in the game.
Late Game: The Inevitable World Leader
By the late game, a Tamar with a permanent double envoy bonus would be an unstoppable force. The diplomatic victory would be all but guaranteed. With her vast network of suzerainties, she would be generating an enormous amount of diplomatic favor each turn. She would also have a significant advantage in any aid requests or scored competitions that grant diplomatic victory points. The final votes for the diplomatic victory would be a mere formality, as she would have enough favor to vote for herself multiple times, securing a swift and decisive win.
The World Congress at Her Fingertips
In the late game, the World Congress becomes a powerful tool for shaping the world, and a permanently empowered Tamar would be its undisputed master. She could pass resolutions that grant her extra policy card slots, boost her tourism, or even cripple her rivals’ economies. A popular strategy is to use her diplomatic favor to push through resolutions that align with her chosen victory path, further accelerating her progress. For example, if she were pursuing a culture victory, she could pass the “World’s Fair” resolution, which grants a significant boost to tourism for all civilizations, a boost that she would be best positioned to exploit.
The Diplomatic Victory as a Foregone Conclusion
The sheer number of envoys Tamar would be able to generate in the late game would make it impossible for any other civilization to compete for suzerainty. She could, with a single policy card change or the completion of a wonder, flood a city-state with envoys, instantly stealing its suzerainty from a rival. This would make any attempt to challenge her diplomatic dominance a futile effort. The late game for a permanently empowered Tamar would not be a race to the finish line, but a victory lap.
Beyond Diplomacy: A New Path to Victory?
While the diplomatic victory would be the most obvious path for a Tamar with a permanent double envoy bonus, her enhanced ability would also open up new avenues for other victory conditions. Her complete and utter dominance over the world’s city-states could be leveraged to achieve a level of synergy that would make her a contender for any victory type.
A Cultural Powerhouse
A culture victory, for example, would become a very real possibility. Many city-states provide significant bonuses to tourism, and by controlling all of them, Tamar could generate a massive amount of tourism each turn. The “Collective Activism” policy card, which grants bonus culture for each city-state you are the suzerain of, would be incredibly powerful in her hands. She could also use her diplomatic favor to pass resolutions that boost her tourism, such as the “International Space Station” or the “World’s Fair.”
A Scientific Behemoth
A science victory would also be within her grasp. By securing the suzerainty of all the scientific city-states, she could significantly boost her science output, allowing her to race through the technology tree. The “International Space Station” project, which requires a significant investment of production, could be easily completed with the help of production bonuses from industrial city-states.
A Surprising Domination Threat
Even a domination victory, a path not typically associated with Tamar, would become a viable option. Her ability to levy the armies of every city-state on the map would give her a massive, disposable army that she could use to overwhelm her rivals. A popular strategy is to use this “city-state swarm” to soften up enemy defenses before sending in her own, more advanced units to capture the cities. The gold generated from her vast trade network, fueled by her suzerainty over commercial city-states, would allow her to maintain this massive army without bankrupting her empire.
Countering the Georgian Behemoth
So, how would one even begin to counter this hypothetical, overpowered Tamar? It would be an uphill battle, to be sure. The most effective strategy would be to try and limit her access to city-states in the early game. This would mean aggressively exploring the map and trying to meet as many city-states as possible before she does. A civilization with a strong early-game military, such as the Aztecs or the Scythians, could try to conquer city-states before Tamar can establish her influence.
A War of Attrition
Another strategy would be to engage in a constant war of attrition with her, forcing her to spend her resources on defense rather than on expanding her diplomatic influence. However, this would be a risky proposition, as her ability to levy city-state armies would make her a formidable opponent. A more subtle approach would be to use spies to disrupt her diplomatic efforts, by fabricating scandals or fomenting unrest in her suzerain city-states. However, even this would be a temporary solution, as her ability to generate envoys would allow her to quickly regain her influence. Ultimately, the best way to counter a permanently empowered Tamar would be to try and win the game before she can achieve her inevitable diplomatic victory.
A Queen Ascendant
A Tamar of Georgia with a permanent, unconditional double envoy bonus would be a force of nature, a diplomatic titan that would reshape the very foundations of Civilization 6. Her ability to effortlessly secure suzerainty over every city-state on the map would give her an unprecedented level of control over the world stage. She would be a kingmaker, a puppet master, and an inevitable world leader. While this remains a hypothetical scenario, it serves as a fascinating thought experiment, a glimpse into a world where the quiet diplomat becomes the undisputed ruler of the world. It is a testament to the power of a single, well-designed ability, and a reminder that in the game of civilizations, even the smallest change can have the most profound of consequences.