Kublai Khan is the new dual-civ leader coming to Civilization VI, as part of the Vietnam and Kublai Khan Pack DLC for the New Frontier Pass.
The grandson of Genghis Khan can either lead the existing China or Mongolia civ. Mongolia is part of the Rise And Fall expansion.
Kublai Khan’s ability is called “Gerege”, which adds one extra economic policy slot (why have to choose between God King or Urban Planning when you can get both in the early game?). It also grants a random Eureka or Inspiration (tech and culture research boost) once a Trading Post is established with another civ for the first time.
It sounds rather dull on their own, but does come to life when you factor in what kind of civ China and Mongolia is.
As China, having Kublai Khan means you trade off the boosted abilities of the Builder units for more chances of getting Eurekas and Inspirations. And China has a boost to Eurekas and Inspirations where they produce more Science and Culture than any civ.
Essentially, you can get more opportunities to be on top of the Science and Culture progress with Kublai Khan leading China.
As Mongolia, Kublai Khan can trigger random Eurekas and Inspirations immediately after setting up a trading route with a civ for the first time, thanks to Mongolia’s ability to set up a Trading Post immediately instead of after the trade ends.
Mongolia also gains more Diplomatic Visibility (so you can see what other civs are up to) and they gain a Combat Strength bonus against the civs with a Mongolian Trading Post. Which makes Mongolia perfect to rush on enemies as soon as they first met. With Kublai Khan, your war efforts when utilizing Mongolia’s unique ability also boosts the civ’s science and culture output. And have enough money to support a big army from the extra economic policy slot.
The extra economic policy is strong, but the Trading Post bonus of Gerege is situational. If you play in a map with less civs, it’s less powerful.
Kublai Khan will come to shine if you double down on China and Mongolia’s unique advantages. And it’s interesting that it fits the warmongering and peaceful playstyles. Though it’s mostly geared to boost your early game.
Kublai Khan, the new Vietnam civ, and a new game mode called Monopolies and Corporations are part of the Vietnam And Kublai Khan Pack DLC. It will be out on January 29 on PS4, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store) Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The DLC can be purchased ala carte for RM38, or as part of the New Frontier Pass for RM129.
This is the second-last of the paid DLCs, with the last pack coming later in March.