Montezuma in Civilization 6 is the leader of the Aztecs, as he was in real-world history. He was a leader (or king) of Tenochtitlan who greatly expanded the Aztec Empire in modern-day Mexico with wars of conquest. This makes Montezuma’s Aztecs an expansionist civilization in Civ 6 that thrives on luxury resource accumulation. Montezuma in Civilization 6 primarily offers military, amenity, and district production advantages for players, making him more of a warmongering leader to play with.
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Montezuma’s Bonuses: Gifts for the Tlatoani and Legend of the Five Suns
Gifts for the Tlatoani is Montezuma’s primary leader bonus that makes the Aztecs one of the stronger military civilizations in Civ 6. This bonus gives all your units a +1-melee combat bonus for every different luxury resource you have access to. For example, that bonus will increase your units’ melee attacks by +5 if your civilization has five different resources within its territory. Luxury resources also provide an amenity to two additional cities, which can help reduce war weariness.
A +12 per luxury attack bonus for a Jet Bomber
Legends of the Five Suns enables Aztec builders to increase the production of districts by 20 percent with a builder charge. This can be a good bonus for all victory conditions because it enables you to speed up the building of Theater Square, Spaceport, Campus, Holy Site, Encampment, and Commercial Hub districts, among others.
The Montezuma leader summary
Montezuma’s Unique Unit: Eagle Warrior
Montezuma in Civilization 6 has a unique Eagle Warrior, which is among the best early-game units. This unique unit replaces the Warrior and is immediately available from the beginning. With a melee attack of 28 plus a +5 bonus against anti-cavalry units, Eagle Warrior outclasses most Ancient Era units.
Eagle Warrior can also capture enemy units, converting them into builders. This enables However, Eagle Warriors cannot capture barbarian enemies. Furthermore, it is a random ability that more regularly converts weaker enemy units into builders.
The Eagle Warrior unit
Montezuma’s Unique Infrastructure: Tlachtli
Tlachtli is a unique Entertainment Complex building only Montezuma in Civilization 6 can build. This building replaces the standard Arena and provides +2 faith and +1 culture bonuses, along with the usual +2 amenities. It’s not an especially great unique building with only modest faith and culture output bonuses.
A Tlachtli building summary
How to Win With Montezuma in Civilization 6
Expansion is the name of the game for Montezuma in Civilization 6 because the Aztecs thrive on luxury resources. The more different luxury resources your civilization has, the higher the Gifts for the Tlatoani melee attack bonus will be for your military units. This makes the Aztecs among the better civilizations with which to win a military Domination Victory.
Focus on recruiting settlers and Eagle Warriors during the early game. You can utilize Montezuma’s Eagle Warriors to win a war against a nearby civilization during the early game period. However, you don’t necessarily have to fight many wars to expand early on. There’s usually a reasonable amount of open territory to establish new settlements in the early game, thereby gaining access to more luxury resources without fighting many wars.
Builders are always important, but even more so for Montezuma in Civilization 6 because of the Legend of the Five Suns leader bonus. Utilize builders to help you win a Domination Victory by speeding up the construction of military Encampments and Aerodrome districts. Plus, improve all luxury resources tiles within your Aztec civilization ASAP. I recommend selecting the Public Works policy that gives your builders two extra actions and reduces that unit’s production cost when playing with Montezuma.
The Add Production option for an Aztec builder
Montezuma is stronger in the late game than in the first 150 turns. Your military will likely benefit from a bigger Gifts for the Tlatoani bonus in the late game when your civilization is larger and has more luxury resources. Gifts for the Tlatoani can potentially give your units a +10-melee attack bonus or higher for wars in the late game. So, the 20th-21st century can be the best time to bonk some heads with Montezuma in Civilization 6 to secure a Domination Victory, even though the Aztecs don’t have a unique late-game unit.
The Gifts for the Tlatoani bonus also increases the strength of religious units by +1 for every different luxury resource your civilization has. This means that the bonus strengthens the Aztecs for theological combat. You can increase your civilization’s faith output by constructing unique Tlatoani buildings. Thus, Montezuma in Civilization 6 offers some notable advantages for pursuing a Religious Victory.
So, Montezuma in Civilization 6 is among the chief warmongers for winning games through military conquest more than anything else. His Gifts for the Tlatoani leader bonus is one of the best for strengthening your civilization’s military throughout a game. You can also have fun smashing enemies with his Eagle Warriors to capture a few capitals early on.
