Cleopatra VII was the last pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Egyptian dynasty who ruled Ancient Egypt during a period of considerable Roman expansion. This was a leader who aligned Egypt with Antony’s Roman Empire, albeit eventually losing the War of Actium. Cleopatra VII is also the leader of Egypt in Civilization 6, with which you get your chance to establish an Egyptian empire. Cleopatra offers notable economic and cultural advantages that will help you obtain victory in Sid Meier’s Civilization 6.
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Cleopatra VII’s Bonuses: Mediterranean’s Bride and Iteru
Mediterranean’s Bride is the unique leader bonus for Cleopatra of Egypt in Civilization 6. This bonus provides a +4-gold yield increase for Egypt’s international trade routes. It also gives you +2 gold and +2 food for trade routes sent by other civilizations to Egypt. Thus, the economic benefits of trading when playing with Egypt in Civilization 6 can be considerable.
Lucrative Egyptian trade routes
Playing with Egypt in Civilization 6 also gives you the Iteru productivity bonus. This bonus increases the production of districts and wonders built beside rivers by 15 percent. However, that bonus isn’t always especially useful for wonders because many have specific placement requirements.
The Cleopatra leader description
Cleopatra VII’s Unique Unit: Maryannu Chariot Archer
Maryannu Chariot Archer is the unique unit for Egypt in Civilization 6. This is a ranged cavalry unit from the Ancient Era with a melee attack of 25. Its 35-ranged strength rating is strong for an early-game unit. Maryannu Chariot Archer is also a fast unit with a +4-movement range on flat, open terrain, which makes it a good one for early game map exploration and combatting barbarians. However, its 120-production cost is high for an early game unit in comparison to the War-Cart.
A Maryannu Chariot Archer unit
Cleopatra VII’s Unique Infrastructure: Sphinx
The Sphinx is a unique Egyptian infrastructure with which you can improve tiles when playing with Egypt in Civilization 6. Improving tiles with the Sphinx builder option adds a base +1 culture and +1 faith yield to a tile. However, the culture yield from Sphinx tiles increases to +2 when you’ve unlocked the Natural History civic. Sphinx tiles also generate tourism and each one can attract up to two visitors to your civilization.
Egypt’s unique Sphinx architecture
How to Win with Cleopatra VII of Egypt in Civilization 6
The first thing you should do when playing with Cleopatra VII of Egypt in Civilization 6 is establish settlements next to or near rivers. This will enable you to benefit from the Iteru productivity bonus. You can then build districts more quickly when placing them beside rivers. However, that’s not a game-changing bonus, and it’s probably not worth missing out on district adjacency bonuses for the sake of slightly quicker river production placement.
Although the Maryannu Chariot Archer isn’t among the very best unique units in Civilization 6, it’s still useful for the early game. Its fast movement speed makes it good for exploring the map during the early game. Plus, you can blast away barbarians with its strong ranged attack. So, consider recruiting a couple of those units for map exploration and clearing barbarian encampments.
Egypt in Civilization 6 is a good one with which to go for a Culture Victory thanks to its unique Sphinx infrastructure. You can improve almost all passable land tiles with this unique infrastructure, which can considerably increase your civilization’s cultural output when you build many of them. For example, 30 Sphinx tile improvements will generate +60 culture with Natural History unlocked. In addition, the same number of Sphinx tile improvements can also attract up to 60 more visitors to your civilization. So, build plenty of Sphinxes with Builders to boost cultural output and attract more visitors to your Egyptian civilization.
The Tourism lense option
Trade should also be at the heart of your strategy when playing with Cleopatra VII of Egypt in Civilization 6. The +4-gold boost for international trade the Mediterranean’s Bride leader bonus gives you is quite substantial. So, build more Commercial Hub and Harbor districts to expand your trading capacity and establish more routes to reap lucrative Egyptian trade. Your Egyptian economy will flourish with its bigger gold yields from trade.
All the extra gold generated from trade when playing with Egypt in Civilization 6 will help obtain any victory condition. To fulfil a Cultural Victory, purchase Monuments, Archaeologists, and other cultural buildings with all your extra gold. Purchase more Builders with which to improve tiles with Sphinxes.
So, you can have a great cultural game by building a rich trading empire choc-a-bloc with Sphinxes and Theater Districts when playing with Cleopatra VII of Egypt in Civilization 6. Trade, trade, and trade again to establish a super-rich Egyptian empire. You can then invest your gold to give you the edge in pursuit of a Culture Victory condition or any other in Civilization 6.
