I’ve spent countless hours in Civilization 6, and if there’s one thing that’s always up for debate, it’s which leader truly stands out. With over 50 options, it’s easy to get lost. The game’s meta has shifted so much over the years with updates and new content, and just reading the leader descriptions doesn’t cut it anymore. You have to really get into the synergies and know when a civ hits its power spike to get ahead.
So, I wanted to put together more than just a simple ranking. My goal here is to really break down why certain leaders are at the top of their game right now and show you how to actually use their strengths to win. I’m going to get into the specifics, with clear examples, to help you dominate your games, whether you’re trying to outplay your friends or finally beat Deity. Think of this as the strategic guide I wish I’d had when I was starting out.
How I Think About the Tiers
Before jumping into the list, I want to explain how I’m categorizing everyone. This isn’t about which civ is the most “fun”—it’s about who gives you the best and most consistent shot at winning, especially when the competition is tough.
- S-Tier (The Game-Warpers): These are the leaders that feel like they’re playing on easy mode. Their bonuses are so strong and flexible, often right from the start, that they completely shape the game. A good player with an S-Tier civ is a true force of nature.
- A-Tier (The Top Contenders): These civs are incredibly strong and can dominate with a clear strategy. They might not be as flexible as the S-Tiers, but they are absolute masters of their chosen victory path.
- B-Tier (The Solid Choices): You can definitely win with these leaders. They’re well-balanced but might have a slower start or more specific weaknesses. You’ll need a solid plan to make them shine.
- C-Tier (The Specialists): These leaders can be amazing, but they often need the perfect map or a very specific strategy to work. They lack the all-around consistency of the higher tiers but can be a blast in the right situation.
- D-Tier (The Uphill Battles): In the current state of the game, these civs just feel outmatched. Their bonuses are a bit too weak or come too late to make a real difference. You can win with them, but you’re intentionally choosing a harder path.
S-Tier: The Pinnacle of Power
These leaders don’t just play the game; they rewrite the rules. Their abilities are so powerful that it often feels like you’re cheating.
Yongle (China)
- The Game Plan: Use projects to supercharge your population growth and build an unstoppable economic snowball.
- Why He’s So Good: Yongle’s Lijia ability is just incredible. Once you get a city to 10 population, it starts printing gold, science, and culture. This feeds into his unique project that lets you turn production into food, which means you can grow your cities even faster, which in turn makes Lijia even stronger. It’s a ridiculous feedback loop. Plus, the Crouching Tiger Cannon is a fantastic unit for holding your own in the mid-game.
- How to Beat Him: Yongle needs time to set up. If you can hit him with an early rush before his cities get big, you can throw a wrench in his whole plan. In multiplayer, people will actively try to steal wonders from you to slow you down.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: I focus everything on getting my first few cities to that magic 10-pop number. I’ll settle in places with great food and use that special project to speed up growth. If I can snag the Great Bath, it’s a huge bonus.
- Mid Game: With my core cities booming, the yields start to get crazy. I use that economic power to buy whatever I need—buildings, units, you name it. The Crouching Tiger Cannons are perfect for defending my empire or taking a key city if an opportunity arises.
- Late Game: At this point, I can pretty much aim for any victory I want. Science is usually the easiest path because of the massive yields, but Culture or even Domination are totally on the table.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: He’s a beast in both. The AI usually leaves you alone long enough to get your engine running. Against human players, you have to be ready for an early war. If you can survive it, you’ll likely outscale everyone in the late game.
Basil II (Byzantium)
- The Game Plan: Use religion to fuel an unstoppable military crusade.
- Why He’s So Good: Basil turns faith into pure conquest. His cavalry deals full damage to cities that follow your religion. You combine this with Byzantium’s ability to automatically spread religion whenever you defeat an enemy unit, and you get a terrifying cycle: kill units, convert cities, conquer cities, repeat. The Tagma heavy cavalry unit is the lynchpin of this strategy, and the Dromon gives you early sea control.
- How to Beat Him: His entire strategy hinges on getting a religion. If you can prevent him from founding one or manage to convert his cities before he gets going, you’ve neutered his biggest advantage. Armies with a lot of anti-cavalry units can also give him a tough time.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: Getting a religion is priority number one, no exceptions. I build a Holy Site immediately and run the prayers project. As soon as I can, I start pumping out Dromons to clear out barbarians and put pressure on coastal neighbors.
- Mid Game: This is when the fun begins. Once I have Tagmas and a few apostles, I go on the warpath. I’ll use my apostles to flip a few of an enemy’s cities to my religion, then declare war and roll them over with my cavalry. Every win spreads my faith, making the next conquest even easier.
- Late Game: By now, I should have a sprawling empire built from my holy wars. From here, I can pivot to another victory type or just keep conquering until the world is mine.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: Exceptionally strong in both. The AI has no idea how to handle his unique style of attack. Human players know what’s coming, but a well-executed Tagma rush is incredibly difficult to stop.
Hammurabi (Babylon)
- The Game Plan: Abuse Eurekas to leapfrog through the tech tree and overwhelm opponents with futuristic units.
- Why He’s So Good: Hammurabi’s ability to get a free technology just by triggering the Eureka is, frankly, broken. It’s the most powerful ability in the game if you know how to use it. You can have Men-at-Arms while others are still using warriors. The only catch is a 50% reduction in your base science per turn, meaning you live and die by those Eurekas.
- How to Beat Him: Because he’s so reliant on Eurekas, you can try to predict what he’s going for and deny him. If he can’t chain his tech boosts, that -50% science penalty will cripple him and he’ll fall behind.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: My entire game is a puzzle of how to trigger the next key Eureka. I’ll settle near stone for Masonry, build a quarry for the Wheel, and kill a unit with a slinger for Archery. The goal is to sprint towards game-changing military techs like Crossbowmen or Knights.
- Mid Game: This is my power spike. I’ll have units that are an entire era ahead of my opponents. I use this massive advantage to conquer my closest neighbors and build an empire that can carry me through the rest of the game.
- Late Game: Things get trickier as Eurekas become harder to get, and that science penalty starts to hurt. But by then, the game should already be decided. The empire I built in the mid-game should be strong enough to win through conventional means.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: He’s top-tier in both, but you need deep game knowledge. In single-player, you can do some truly wild things. In multiplayer, your strategy is more obvious, and players will try to stop you, but an early tech advantage is often just too much to handle.
A-Tier: The Elite Contenders
These civs are fantastic and can go toe-to-toe with anyone. They might not be as blatantly overpowered as the S-Tier, but they are masters of their craft.
Frederick Barbarossa (Germany)
- The Game Plan: Build an industrial heartland that produces units and buildings at a terrifying rate.
- Why He’s So Good: Germany is the king of production. Their unique Industrial Zone, the Hansa, gets insane adjacency bonuses from Commercial Hubs and Aqueducts. This means your cities can churn out anything you want with ease. Frederick’s extra military policy slot and combat bonus against city-states are just icing on the cake.
- How to Beat Him: Germany’s power spike is in the mid-game. A strong early rush can cripple them before their industrial engine gets going. They also need specific city planning, so disrupting their ideal city placement can slow them down.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: I expand as much as I can, always thinking about where my future Hansas and Commercial Hubs will go. The main goal is to unlock the Hansa as quickly as possible.
- Mid Game: This is when Germany comes online. I start laying out my cities to create massive production centers. The amount of production you can get is staggering. I use it to build a huge army and any wonders I have my eye on.
- Late Game: With my production advantage, a Science or Domination victory is the natural choice. I can build spaceports faster than anyone or simply field an army so large that no one can stop it.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: A fantastic choice for both. The AI isn’t smart enough to mess with your city planning. Human players will see you as a late-game threat, but it’s hard to stop Germany’s economic power once it’s established.
Peter the Great (Russia)
- The Game Plan: Settle the tundra and use the vast, empty lands to generate incredible amounts of Faith and Culture.
- Why He’s So Good: Russia makes the tundra, usually a terrible place to live, the best land in the game. You get extra Faith and Production from every tundra tile. Their unique Holy Site, the Lavra, is cheaper and gives Great Person points, letting you get a religion and start generating faith like crazy.
- How to Beat Him: Russia needs a tundra start. If they don’t get one, their main advantage is gone. They can also be vulnerable to early military pressure before they’ve fully leveraged their faith generation.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: I settle exclusively in the tundra and build a Lavra in every single city. I always take the Dance of the Aurora pantheon for double Holy Site adjacency bonuses. Getting a religion is key.
- Mid Game: I use my mountain of faith for everything: buying Great People, getting naturalists for National Parks, or, later on, spamming Rock Bands for a Culture Victory. The unique Cossack unit is also very strong for mid-game warfare.
- Late Game: Russia is perfectly suited for a Religious or Culture victory. The sheer amount of faith you generate gives you a massive leg up in either path.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: A top-tier civ as long as you get that tundra start. The AI can’t compete with your faith output. In multiplayer, everyone knows your game plan, but it’s still incredibly powerful when executed well.
Trajan (Rome)
- The Game Plan: Expand, expand, expand. Use early-game bonuses to settle a huge number of cities and build a wide empire.
- Why He’s So Good: Rome is the best civilization for playing “wide.” You get a free Monument in every city you settle, which is a huge boost to culture and border growth right from the start. All your cities automatically have a road to the capital, making trade and moving troops easy. The Legion is also a fantastic early unit that can fight and build forts.
- How to Beat Him: Rome’s advantages are strongest in the early game. If you can survive their initial expansion and they fail to secure a lead, civilizations with better late-game bonuses can outscale them.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: I settle cities as fast as I possibly can. The free monuments let me grow my empire quickly. I build a few Legions to defend my new cities or to go after a nearby competitor.
- Mid Game: With my large empire established, I focus on building it up. The Bath, Rome’s unique Aqueduct, provides extra housing and amenities, which is essential for keeping a wide empire happy and growing.
- Late Game: A large empire can pivot to any victory type. Domination and Science are usually the most straightforward paths, but with so many cities, a Culture victory is also very possible.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: Rome is always a solid and reliable pick. Their bonuses are simple but very effective. In multiplayer, a Roman player expanding aggressively is a major threat that has to be dealt with early.
B-Tier: Strong and Capable
These civs are great and can definitely win you the game, but they might need the right map or a more focused approach to unlock their true potential.
Lady Six Sky (Maya)
- The Game Plan: Build a small cluster of super-powerful cities and focus on a defensive science victory.
- Why She’s So Good: The Maya are designed for playing “tall.” You get huge bonuses from farms and luxuries near your capital. Their unique Campus, the Observatory, gets great adjacency bonuses from plantations and farms, making it easy to generate a lot of science. Their unique archer, the Hul’che, is also excellent for defending your compact empire.
- How to Beat Her: Their strength is also their weakness. Because they want to keep their cities close together, they are very vulnerable to loyalty pressure from a civ that is expanding widely. They also get penalties for settling too far from the capital.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: I find the perfect spot for my capital with lots of room for farms and settle my other cities tightly around it. I rush for Observatories to get my science game going.
- Mid Game: I use my strong Hul’che archers to play defense. My goal is to create an impenetrable fortress while my science output skyrockets.
- Late Game: A Science victory is the natural path. My tall, productive cities are perfect for building spaceports and finishing the space race projects.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: The Maya are much better in single-player, where the AI won’t effectively use loyalty pressure against you. In multiplayer, a smart opponent will try to forward-settle you to flip your cities.
Seondeok (Korea)
- The Game Plan: Generate an insane amount of science and just out-tech everyone.
- Why She’s So Good: Korea is all about science. Their unique Campus, the Seowon, gives a flat +4 science and has unique placement rules that make it easy to build powerful campuses everywhere. Seondeok’s ability to get more science and culture for every governor promotion just pushes you further ahead.
- How to Beat Her: Korea is a one-trick pony. They are so focused on science that they can be weak militarily and culturally. If you can rush them with an army before their tech advantage gets out of hand, you can win.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: I build a Seowon in every city, no exceptions. My entire focus is on generating as much science as humanly possible.
- Mid Game: I use my tech lead to build defensive units like the unique Hwacha to protect myself from invasion.
- Late Game: A Science victory is pretty much a given. My science output is so high that I can fly through the tech tree and launch the exoplanet expedition while others are still figuring out flight.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: A monster in single-player; the AI just can’t keep up. In multiplayer, you will have a giant target on your back from turn one. Everyone knows they have to stop the Korean player early, or the game is over.
John Curtin (Australia)
- The Game Plan: Play defensively, bait other civs into attacking you, and then use the massive production bonus to turn the tables.
- Why He’s So Good: Australia is the ultimate counter-puncher. If someone declares war on you, you get a 100% production bonus for 10 turns. This is an absolutely massive boost that can let you build an entire army out of nowhere. They also get great adjacency bonuses for their districts.
- How to Beat Him: Don’t declare war on him unless you are ready to deal with that production surge. A smart Australian player will try to provoke you into attacking. The best way to fight them is to declare a surprise war to minimize their time to prepare or to fight them away from their home turf.
- My Approach:
- Early Game: I play a standard game, expanding and building up my cities. I’m always trying to look just tempting enough for an AI to declare war on me.
- Mid Game: This is where I shine. As soon as war is declared, I switch all my cities to producing units and turn my empire into a fortress. After I’ve defended the initial attack, I often have a large enough army to go on the offensive and take a few cities.
- Late Game: The production bonus is useful all game long. I can use it to quickly build up a modern army or to rush through the final stages of a science or culture victory.
- In Single-Player vs. Multiplayer: Very strong in both. The AI will declare war on you constantly, letting you abuse your bonus. In multiplayer, human players are more cautious, but you can often goad someone into a fight, and the production bonus is just as powerful.