The unexpected rollout of a new season pass for Civilization VI continues this month. For December 2022, three more leaders are added to the 4X strategy game with the Great Commanders Pack.
The leaders are Tokugawa (Japan), Nader Shah (Persia) and Suleiman the Magnificent (Ottoman Empire).
This is one of the packs where you need a previous DLC or expansion to make use of all the new leaders. Persia is available in the Persia & Macedon Scenario Pack DLC, while the Ottomans are from the Gathering Storm expansion. Only Japan is included in the base game.
For Japan, the new leader added is Tokugawa Ieyasu. His Leader Ability Bakuhan will nudge you to play as an isolationist that focuses on city-building due to the bonuses on internal trade routes and for having speciality districts. Japan under Tokugawa can also be a culture powerhouse in the late game.
If you don’t have the Rise & Fall expansion, the 100% city loyalty bonus is replaced with +4 Amenities- the slight change still reinforces that closed-off, turtling playstyle.
Persia’s new leader is Nader Shah. This one is for the warmongers and expansionists (via war). The Sword Of Persia ability see units at full health fight with +5 Combat Strength- so you might want quantity over quality for your army. And cities not founded by Nader Shah have more bonuses, incentivising you to conquer other cities rather than building your own.
Finally, the Ottomans get Suleiman the Magnificent. The Magificent ability makes a Golden Age more potent, with a boost of 15% in Science and Culture, as well as a +4 Combat Strength on units when fighting a Civ, not in a Golden Age.
A new system in Civilization VI was the ability to have a different leader for select Civs. The base game, expansions, and DLC added a few new leaders but only a small number of the 50 playable civs get that option.
The new Leader Pass focus solely on bringing new Leader options, some may be the same leader but with a different look and ability. Though each new leader brings a different playstyle for the existing civs.
The Great Commanders Pack DLC, part of the Leader Pass for Civilization VI, is out now on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store).