The world of Civilization VI is a tapestry of diplomacy, warfare, and culture. Empires rise and fall, not just on the strength of their armies, but on the power of their ideas and the beauty of their creations. Great Works—masterpieces of art, music, and literature—are the currency of cultural dominance, attracting tourists and propelling civilizations towards a Cultural Victory. The current system allows for the acquisition of these works through Great People, conquest, or the high-stakes “Great Work Heist” spy mission. But what if there was another layer to this system? A shadowy underworld where stolen art could be traded, sold, and leveraged for more than just tourism. This is the world we will explore: a world with a “Black Market” for Great Works.
The Underworld of Art: How a Black Market Could Function
According to the player community, the introduction of a Black Market for Great Works would fundamentally alter the dynamics of espionage and cultural gameplay. This clandestine marketplace wouldn’t be a simple “sell” button. Instead, analysis on forums shows that a more intricate system would be required, one that integrates with existing game mechanics while adding new layers of strategic depth.
Accessing the Black Market
The Black Market would not be a publicly accessible interface. Instead, it would be unlocked through specific actions and affiliations. Many professional gamers suggest that access could be granted through several potential avenues:
- The “Criminal Underworld” Government Plaza Building: A new Tier 2 Government Plaza building, mutually exclusive with the Intelligence Agency, could serve as the primary gateway to the Black Market. This building would provide access to the Black Market interface and unlock unique spy promotions and policy cards related to illicit trade.
- The “Black Marketeer” Governor Promotion: The existing “Black Marketeer” promotion for the Governor Liang could be expanded. In addition to its current benefits, this promotion could grant access to the Black Market, creating a powerful synergy for players who favor a more “grey-area” approach to their economy.
- A New “Criminal” City-State Suzerainty: A new type of City-State, perhaps with a unique “Criminal” designation, could grant access to the Black Market to its Suzerain. This would create a new strategic priority for players looking to engage in the illicit art trade, forcing them to compete for influence over these valuable allies.
The Currency of the Underworld
The Black Market would not operate on Gold alone. A popular strategy is the introduction of a new currency, “Favors,” which would be generated through successful spy missions, particularly those related to theft and sabotage. This would create a closed-loop system where espionage directly fuels the player’s ability to operate in the Black Market.
- Generating Favors: Favors would be earned through a variety of illicit activities:
- Successful Great Work Heists: The primary source of Favors, with the amount earned scaling with the “value” of the stolen work (e.g., a work by a famous Great Artist would yield more Favors than one from a less renowned one).
- Sabotage Missions: Successfully sabotaging Industrial Zones, Campuses, or other districts would yield a smaller number of Favors.
- “Recruit Partisans” Missions: Spawning rebels in an enemy city would also generate a moderate amount of Favors, representing the player’s growing influence in the global underworld.
- Spending Favors: Favors would be the primary currency for transactions on the Black Market. Players could use Favors to:
- Purchase Stolen Great Works: The core function of the Black Market, allowing players to acquire Great Works from other civilizations who have successfully stolen them.
- Acquire “Forgeries”: A new type of “Great Work” that provides a smaller, but still significant, tourism bonus. Forgeries would be cheaper than authentic Great Works but would come with the risk of being “exposed,” leading to a diplomatic penalty.
- Hire “Art Thieves”: Special spy units with unique promotions geared towards Great Work Heists, available for purchase with Favors.
- Purchase “Black Market” Policy Cards: Unique policy cards that provide powerful bonuses related to espionage and illicit activities, such as increased spy capacity or reduced production costs for spies.
The Art of the Steal: Profiting from the Black Market
The introduction of a Black Market for Great Works would create a new and exciting avenue for players to pursue victory. Analysis on forums shows that this system would be particularly beneficial for civilizations that lack the cultural output to generate their own Great Works but possess a strong espionage game.
The “Art Broker” Strategy
A popular strategy is the “Art Broker” approach, where a player focuses on stealing Great Works not for their own cultural benefit, but to sell them on the Black Market for a profit. This strategy would involve:
- Investing heavily in Espionage: The player would prioritize building the “Criminal Underworld” Government Plaza building, training spies, and pursuing spy-related technologies and civics.
- Targeting High-Culture Civilizations: The player would identify civilizations with a large number of Great Works and make them the primary target of their espionage efforts.
- “Flipping” Great Works: Once a Great Work is stolen, the player would immediately list it on the Black Market, selling it to the highest bidder for a large sum of Favors. These Favors could then be used to purchase other valuable assets, such as military units, buildings, or even Diplomatic Favor.
The “Cultural Assassin” Strategy
Another, more aggressive strategy is the “Cultural Assassin” approach. This strategy focuses on using the Black Market to cripple the cultural output of rival civilizations, paving the way for a different victory condition.
- Targeting Key Great Works: The player would identify the Great Works that are providing the most tourism to a rival civilization and make them the primary target of their heists.
- “Burying” Great Works: Instead of selling the stolen works, the player would hold onto them, preventing them from generating tourism for anyone. This would be a costly strategy, as it would tie up valuable Great Work slots, but it could be devastating to a rival’s Cultural Victory aspirations.
- Creating Diplomatic Incidents: The player could intentionally sell a stolen Great Work to a rival of the original owner, creating a diplomatic firestorm and potentially leading to war. This would be a high-risk, high-reward strategy that could reshape the geopolitical landscape of the game.
The Art of Defense: Protecting Your Cultural Heritage
The existence of a Black Market for Great Works would make cultural assets more vulnerable than ever before. Many professional gamers suggest that players would need to adopt new strategies to protect their hard-earned masterpieces from the clutches of art thieves.
Strengthening Counter-Espionage
The most direct way to counter the Black Market would be to invest heavily in counter-espionage. This would involve:
- Deploying Spies Defensively: Players would need to station their own spies in their cities with high concentrations of Great Works, with the primary mission of counter-spying.
- Building the “Intelligence Agency”: The Intelligence Agency Government Plaza building would become even more valuable, providing an extra spy and increasing the effectiveness of counter-spying operations.
- Utilizing “Listening Post” Spy Promotion: The “Listening Post” promotion, which increases the chance of catching enemy spies, would be a must-have for any player looking to protect their cultural assets.
“Securing” Great Works
In addition to counter-espionage, players could also take steps to “secure” their Great Works, making them more difficult to steal.
- The “Secure Vault” Museum Upgrade: A new building, the “Secure Vault,” could be added as an upgrade to the Art Museum and Archaeological Museum. This building would significantly increase the difficulty of Great Work Heists in that city.
- “National Treasure” Policy Card: A new policy card, “National Treasure,” could be introduced that provides a global bonus to counter-spying and increases the diplomatic penalty for any civilization caught trying to steal a Great Work.
- “Cultural Heritage” World Congress Resolution: A new resolution could be added to the World Congress that, if passed, would increase the cost of Great Work Heists for all players and impose a global tourism penalty on any civilization caught engaging in the illicit art trade.
The Ripple Effect: How a Black Market Would Change the Game
The introduction of a Black Market for Great Works would have a profound impact on the overall strategic landscape of Civilization VI. According to the player community, this new mechanic would create a more dynamic and unpredictable game, where espionage and culture are more intertwined than ever before.
A New Path to Power
The Black Market would provide a new and viable path to power for civilizations that are not traditionally cultural powerhouses. A civilization with a strong espionage game could use the Black Market to generate a significant income stream, which could then be used to fund a military conquest or a scientific victory. This would make the game more balanced and less dependent on a civilization’s starting biases.
Increased Diplomatic Intrigue
The Black Market would also add a new layer of diplomatic intrigue to the game. The trade of stolen Great Works would create new opportunities for alliances and rivalries, as players would be forced to choose between protecting their cultural heritage and profiting from the illicit art trade. The “exposure” of forgeries could also lead to diplomatic incidents, creating new flashpoints for conflict.
A More Dynamic Late Game
The late game of Civilization VI can sometimes become a predictable race to a specific victory condition. The Black Market would help to make the late game more dynamic and unpredictable, as players would have to constantly be on the lookout for art thieves and be prepared to adapt their strategies in response to the shifting tides of the illicit art trade.
In conclusion, the addition of a Black Market for Great Works would be a game-changing feature for Civilization VI. It would add a new layer of strategic depth to the game, create new and exciting opportunities for players, and make the world of Civilization VI a more dangerous and unpredictable place. It would be a world where a stolen painting could be as valuable as a standing army, and where the fate of empires could be decided not on the battlefield, but in the shadowy back alleys of the Black Market.