Best Leaders for the Pangaea Map

The Civilization series is one of the longest-running series of video games. Civilization 6 has had a long run as the newest entry in the series and has many leaders and gameplay mechanics from when it first launched back in 2017. Each of these leaders has their own strengths and weaknesses, which can impact their chances of winning greatly, especially when choosing to play on different map types.

The Pangaea map type generates a single enormous land mass for all civilizations, city-states, and barbarians to share. Things can get crowded very quickly, which can easily make the game turn more violent than map types where leaders are spread out across the world. Naval-focused leaders are mostly at a disadvantage on Pangaea, but those with strong military bonuses, improved land units, and a focus on domination can thrive on the supercontinent.

7 Lady Six Sky

Build a Small But Defensible Empire

• Civilization Ability: Mayab – Cities gain +1 Amenity for each Luxury Resource adjacent to a city center instead of extra Housing from freshwater. Farms that are adjacent to Observatories gain +1 Gold, Production, and Housing
• Leader Bonus: Ix Mutal Ajaw – Non-capital cities within 6 tiles of the capital gain a Builder when founded and receive +10% to all yields. Combat units gain +5 strength within six tiles of the capital. Cities outside this range get -15% to all yields.

Lady Six Sky is one of the Mesoamerican leaders introduced in Civilization 6. The Mayan civilization gains bonuses for having cities close together, leading the player to have smaller territory than others that tend to spread out across the map. This not only encourages the player to avoid fighting wars to expand their territory but also helps the player establish an empire that is easy to defend.

Lady Six Sky players likely will not pursue a domination victory on a Pangaea map, but with the bonuses from their closely-knit cities, they can instead turn their focus to Science, Culture, or Faith output to chase a different victory type. While other leaders fight over resources and land, the Mayans can peacefully prosper on their path to victory.

6 Shaka

Improve Armies by Conquering New Territory

• Civilization Ability: Isibongo – Garrisoned units increase city loyalty. When a unit captures a city, it is upgraded to a Corps or Armada if the civics that allow that are unlocked
• Leader Ability: Amabutho – May form Corps after unlocking Mercenaries. Corps and Armies gain +5 additional Strength

Shaka is a very strong leader when it comes to domination victories. His units can combine into Corps and Armies sooner than other leaders, which gives the Zulu an edge in combat for quite a while. In addition, his bonus for gaining loyalty with garrisoned units makes it easier to keep a recently captured city from rebelling against him.

On Pangaea maps, these military bonuses give Shaka an edge in wars against his neighbors, allowing him to expand Zulu territory across the supercontinent. By conquering his enemies earlier in the game, Shaka has less to worry about later on, when many slower civilizations start to snowball into powerful opponents.

5 Tomyris

Overwhelm Enemies With Hordes of Cavalry Units

• Civilization Ability: People of the Steppe – Whenever a light cavalry unit or Saka Horse Archer is produced, spawn a copy of that unit as well
• Leader Ability: Killer of Cyrus – +5 Combat Strength for all units. Units heal 30 hit points when they kill a unit

Tomyris, the leader of the ancient Scythian civilization, is known for defeating Cyrus The Great when he invaded her land. In Civilization 6, she is a feared leader who can quickly amass an army of light cavalry to conquer her neighbors.

Whenever Tomyris builds a light cavalry unit or a Saka Horse Archer in Civ 6, a second copy is made for free. This means that Tomyris players can build a large cavalry force in just a few turns in order to swiftly take out an opponent. She can use cavalry to strike fast and hard or to harass and raid enemy territory while infantry and siege units travel. In either case, with no ocean to separate other players from Tomyris’s army, she is a force to be reckoned with.

4 Genghis Khan

Conquer the World With the Strongest Cavalry Around

• Civilization Ability: Örtöö – Create a Trading Post in the destination city the instant a Trade Route is started. Gain +1 Diplomatic Visibility with civilizations that have a Mongolian Trading Post and gain +6 Combat Strength for each Diplomatic Visibility that Genghis Khan has over the other civilization
• Leader Ability: Mongol Horde – Cavalry units have +3 Combat Strength and have a chance to capture defeated cavalry units.

Genghis Khan conquered more of the real world than any other figure in history. In Civilization 6, his reputation precedes him as he poses a threat to all of his neighbors. All of Genghis Khan’s cavalry units have an extra +3 Combat Strength, making them the strongest cavalry in the game. As Genghis Khan players defeat enemies, their army has a chance to grow rather than shrink. There is a chance for cavalry units to capture an enemy cavalry unit rather than kill it, turning the opponent’s forces against them.

Before the attack starts, Genghis Khan can also gain intel more quickly than other leaders thanks to the Örtöö ability. Having extra Diplomatic Visibility from Trading Posts means that the player can identify the right time to attack each specific opponent, and also have the extra hand when the units start fighting. Genghis Khan is a great leader for those looking to conquer Pangaea.

3 Hojo Takimune

Defend and Dominate the Coastline

• Civilization Ability: Meiji Restoration – All districts receive a +1 adjacency bonus instead of 0.5
• Leader Ability: Divine Wind – +5 Combat Strength in coastal and shallow water tiles. Encampments, Holy Sites, and Theater Square districts are built in half the time. Districts, improvements, and units are immune to hurricanes and hurricanes do double damage to units from civilizations at war with Japan

Hojo Takimune repelled two different Mongol invasions of Japan during his brief tenure as regent of the Shogunate. Because Japan players gain extra adjacency bonuses for districts, their cities thrive when they are close together. This eliminates the need to found cities around specific terrain types and also encourages players to build dense cities close together, which means players end up with highly defensible cities like Hojo Takimune oversaw in real life.

With cities that are hard to capture, Japan has an edge against domination-focused civilizations, which is important on Pangaea maps. Coastal bonuses like immunity to hurricanes and combat strength on specific tile types also grant Japan advantages when staying away from the center of the supercontinent. These bonuses all help Japan players focus their efforts on peaceful victory types and win games set on Pangaea.

2 Simón Bolivar

March Armies Across the Continent With Ease

• Civilization Ability: Ejército Patriota – +1 Movement for all units. Promoting a unit does not end its turn
• Leader Ability: Campaña Admirable – Entering a new era grants a free unique Great Person called a Comandante General

Simón Bolívar was a revolutionary leader who helped liberate many South American countries. He went on to be the first president of Gran Colombia, which would dissolve into several different countries after about a decade. Because of his legacy, it is fitting that Bolívar’s abilities in Civilization 6 relate to fighting long military campaigns.

Gran Colombian units can be promoted and still attack or move on the same turn, which grants them some surprising advantages. On Pangaea, this ability combines with the extra movement to make it so that Simón Bolívar’s armies can quickly march across the supercontinent to attack or defend places that other leaders would not be able to reach as quickly.

1 Chandragupta

Use Territorial Expansion Wars To Conquer The World

• Civilization Ability: Dharma – Cities receive +1 Amenity and receive follower beliefs for each religion with at least one follower in the city. Religious pressure from Trade Routes is doubled and Missionaries gain +2 Spread Religion charges
• Leader Ability: Arthashastra – Can declare a War of Territorial Expansion after unlocking Military Training. After declaring this kind of war, all units gain +2 Movement and +5 Combat Strength for the next 10 turns

Chandragupta was the first leader to unite most of ancient India, and he leads a powerful iteration of India in Civilization 6. Like other Indian leaders, Chandragupta has the bonus of receiving all follower beliefs in cities under the player’s control. The more diverse the people are, the better this ability gets which is especially useful on a Pangaea map when civilizations are more likely to mix.

Chandragupta players receive bonuses whenever they declare a War of Territorial Expansion, which makes for an easy path to a domination victory. Chandragupta’s forces can use this type of war to make quick work of neighboring cities and slowly steamroll the whole supercontinent. As this conquers cities with other religions, Chandragupta’s other ability kicks in so that India becomes even more powerful with each successful expansion war.