Seven of the Best Leaders From the R&F and GS Civilization 6 DLCs

Rise and Fall (R&F) and Gathering Storm (GS) are the two major expansion pack DLCs for Civilization 6. Those expansions introduced many new gameplay features and 18 additional leaders for players to choose from. Some of the new civilizations from those DLCs have some of the best leaders in the game, more generally. These are seven of the best leaders to play as from the Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm Civilization 6 DLCs.

Kupe (Māori)

At first glance, some players might overlook Gathering Storm’s Kupe Māori leader because he starts games in oceans. Thus, you must find some land to settle cities on first when playing as Kupe, which can take a few turns. Furthermore, players can’t recruit great writers with Kupe, which might seem like a big disadvantage for cultural victories.

Yet, Kupe’s Mana civ ability is among the best in the game. For starters, it gives you Sailing and Shipbuilding from the outset, which is a big advantage for early game map exploration. Then, it also gives you one of the easiest ways to claim surrounding tiles (culture bomb) for territorial expansion by building fishing boats. Plus, all unimproved rainforest and wood tiles generate additional production yields, which makes newly settled cities somewhat more productive from the outset.

Kupe’s unique Marae building is also a great one for securing cultural victories in the Civilization 6 DLCs. The Marae generates +1 culture and +1 faith for all passable features in cities that include it, which can significantly increase your cultural and faith output. When combined with cultural envoys, Marae generates +2 culture for each passable feature It is one of the best buildings in the game for boosting culture output for cultural victories.

Seondeok (Korea)

Seondeok is the best leader for scientific victories from the Civilization 6 DLCs primarily because of the Seowon Campus district. You can build Seowons in half the time of regular Campus districts, and its +4 science starting adjacency bonus can give your scientific research a considerable boost. Plus, Seondeok’s Hwarang leader bonus enables you to boost science with governor promotions in cities by a potential 18%. With that Korean infrastructure and bonus, few other civilizations, if any, can match Seondeok for scientific output.

Kristina (Sweden)

Kristina of Sweden is a top-tier civilization choice for securing cultural victories with a leader bonus, infrastructure, and civ ability that will help you establish a very strong tourist industry. Minerva of the North automatically themes your art and archeology museums with all slots filled to boost their tourism. You can further boost culture and tourism generated in your Swedish civilization by adding an Open-Air Museum to tiles. Sweden’s Nobel Prize civ ability, which increases World Congress diplomatic favor by recruiting great persons, also makes Kristina a strong leader for cultural and diplomatic victories in Gathering Storm.

Wilfrid Laurier (Canada)

Canada’s Wilfrid Laurier is the best leader to select for securing a Diplomatic Victory in Gathering Storm. His Four Faces of Peace civ ability is one of the best for boosting diplomatic favor when combined with a strong tourist industry. Plus, it gives you a 100% diplomatic favor bonus for completing competitions and emergencies. With that civ ability, you can rack up somewhat more diplomatic favor than most other civilizations when playing as Wilfrid Laurier.

Wilfrid is quite good for cultural victories as well. You can increase tourism and culture by adding Canada’s Ice Hockey Rink to city tiles. Canada’s unique Mountie unit also enables you to establish national parks without Naturalists.

Queen Amanitore (Nubia)

Queen Amanitore’s Kandake of Meroë leader bonus is one of the best in the game, especially when combined with her Nubian Pyramid unique architecture. That bonus increases all district production by 20%, which rises to 40% with Nubian Pyramids adjacent to city centers. Her Ta-Seti also offers a significant 30% production bonus for ranged units and +1 production yields for mines over strategic resources. Those production advantages, combined with her superb, unique ranged unit, make Nubia a strong civilization for domination and scientific victories.

One thing to note about Queen Amanitore is that her Nubian Pyramid is restricted to desert terrain. She’s a more desert-focused civilization in that respect. Nubia isn’t as good when you don’t have much desert to exploit. To make Nubia truly shine, set a map’s climate to warm and dry for more desert terrain.

Eleanor of Aquitaine (France)

Eleanor of Aquitaine is a more unique Gathering Storm leader because she represents two civilizations, France and England. The French variant of Eleanor is one of the best civilizations to play as for winning games with cultural dominance. Eleanor’s Court of Love leader bonus is a potent weapon for peaceful expansion because it enables you to reduce loyalty in other civilizations’ cities with your great works. Focusing on culture is a strong way to inflict loyalty pressure on other civilizations when playing as Eleanor of Aquitaine.

Eleanor of France also shares the cultural perks of the French civilization. France’s Grand Tour doubles the tourism generated by the wonders of the world and enables you to build them faster. Then, you can stuff almost all terrain tiles in your civilization with French Châteaus to boost tourism and cultural output. Thus, Eleanor of France is a cultural powerhouse of a civilization with her leader bonus, civ ability, and unique infrastructure.

Genghis Khan (Mongolia)

Genghis Khan is one of the best leaders from the Civilization 6 DLCs for waging wars, making him a top-tier choice for the Domination Victory condition. Khan’s greatest strength is the Mongol Horde leader bonus, which gives all his cavalry-class units (Tanks and Helicopters included) a +3 combat attack bonus and enables you to capture defeated cavalry. When combined with Oligarchy and Fascism combat strength bonuses, Khan’s cavalry can become quite unstoppable.

Khan’s Ordu Encampment building turbocharges his cavalry all the more. All cavalry units recruited from cities that include Ordu buildings have a +1 movement bonus. So, you can form a formidable army of extremely strong and highly mobile cavalry units when playing as Khan.

So, take your pick from those leaders in the Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm Civilization 6 DLCs. Kupe, Kristina, and the French Eleanor are three of the best leaders for cultural victories. Seondeok is the top dog for winning space races. Genghis Khan and Queen Amanitore are formidable militaristic civilizations. To win a Diplomatic Victory in Gathering Storm, Wilfrid Laurier is the best leader choice. Choose the best leader for your preferred victory path in Rise and Fall or Gathering Storm.