Tecumseh Leader Guide For Civ 7

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Tecumseh Strategy For The Antiquity Age

Best Civilization For Tecumseh

Tecumseh is all about Independent Powers in Civilization 7. Make friends with as many as you can as you’ll receive significant Food, Production, and Combat Strength bonuses for doing so. This is often easier said than done, of course, especially when you’re playing on one of Civ 7’s higher difficulties. You’ll need to scout quickly, earn enough Influence to befriend the city-states, and try to make sure the opposing AI doesn’t get them first.

Civilization 7: Leader Tier List

A work-in-progress leader tier list for Civilization 7.

This guide mostly covers the Antiquity Age for Tecumseh. Here’s how to make the most out of the leader during the start of the game.

Updated March 1, 2025: We’ve updated this article to include in-depth look at the Diplomatic Mementos that can work for Tecumseh and more information on different city-states.

Tecumseh Overview

+1 Food and Production per Age in Settlements for every city-state you are a suzerain of.

+1 Combat Strength for all Units for every City-State you are a Suzerain of.

Tecemsuh’s entire leader bonus revolves around befriending city states. Reaching suzerainty status with an Independent Power will grant you excellent bonuses for the entire game, but actually getting to that point can be a bit tricky.

The AI absolutely loves to become the suzerain of Independent Powers as well, which means in any given game you’re likely limited to just a handful (if that!) of city-states.

Tecumseh Strategy For The Antiquity Age

Tecumseh needs to rely heavily on quick scouting to reveal as many city-states as possible. Then it’s all about generating enough Influence to actually befriend those city-states.

Scouting Strategy

You should build three Scouts as Tecumseh. Use the map to figure out whereabouts you are in the world (you can view the ice wall to the north and south of the map to orientate yourself.)

If you are to the north, send scouts south, if you are in the south, sends scouts north.

Obviously, you are on the lookout for Discoveries to get early Culture, Science, and Gold, but you are also looking for city-states.

You can tell where a city-state might be by locating enemy Scouts which spawn at the start of the game. Usually head in the opposite direction of the scout to find the Independent Power they came from.

Befriending City-States

Unlike many other leaders in Civ 7, you should ignore virtually all diplomatic Endeavors with the AI and save your Influence solely for befriending city-states. On Standard Difficulty, the first befriending action costs 170 Influence.

We might not even have a Friendly Greeting the first time we meet an AI just to save more Influence.

There are several types of Independent Powers, from Economic to Militaristic. Which ones you choose to become suzerain of depends on what sort of victory condition you’re pushing for. Generally, we like to take Economic for the bonus Gold and Science and Culture for their boosts to research and civics.

Early Monuments

The early Monument strategy doesn’t apply to many of the leaders in Civilization 7 (Production is much more valuable in the early game), but as Tecumseh you want to prioritize grabbing the Masonry tech and building a Monument in your capital as soon as possible. This is to make the most of the bonus Influence you receive from the Monument.

Pantheon

You want to get to Mysticism as quickly as possible to grab the City Patron Goddess Pantheon as quickly as possible. This provides +3 Influence on the Altar.

If you can’t get City Patron Goddess, grab Stone Circles instead for bonus production.

Wonders

The absolute best Wonder for Influence in the game is the Weiyang Palace, and although it arrives late in the game to make much use of it in the Antiquity Age, it will still be useful for befriending city-states in the Exploration and Modern Age.

Best Civilization For Tecumseh

We think the best civilization choice for Tecumseh is Greece. Forget all about historical accuracy; we’re going off track.

Greece

+3 Influence on the Palace.

+30% Production towards constructing the Oracle.

Greece has lots of Influence bonuses in the early game, including +3 Influence on the Palace. Combined with the Unique Parthenon building, you can get some really fast Influence which will help Tecumseh befriend more city-states.

The goal is to get to the city-states before your enemies can, and Greece helps you secure them.

This is also helped by the Greek civic Ekklesia. This comes with a policy that reduces the cost of befriending city-states by 50 percent. Not only will you be generating more Influence, but you’ll also be able to become a suzerain for significantly less cost.

Best Mementos For Tecumseh

Here’s a look at Tecumseh’s unique Memento unlocks:

Poteskwate (Level 2) – +1 Food per Age in Settlements for each city-state you a suzerain of.
Wampum Belt (Level 5) – +1 Production per Age in Settlements for each city-state you a suzerain of.
Warclub (Level 9) – +1 Conbat Strength for all units for every city-state you are a suzerain of.

Out of these, we think that the Wampum Belt is the best, as Production is more valuable than Food.

The Warclub pairs nicely with the Greek civilization’s bonus to Combat Strength from city-state suzerainty.

Other Memento Choices

Tecumseh benefits mostly from Diplomatic Mementos, which means the basic Treaty Of Kadesh (+1 Diplomatic Attribute Point) is actually very useful for earning extra Influence and reducing the cost of befriending city-states.

You could combine this with the Globus Cruciger which grants +50 Influence when you spend an Attribute Point on the Diplomatic Attribute point tree.

Likewise, you could opt for the Shisa Necklace (Gain 100 Influence when you become Suzerain of a city-state) which basically causes a knock-on effect. Suzerain a city-state, then start befriending another instantly.