Civilization 6: Nzinga Mbande Leader Guide

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The Great Negotiators Pack was the first DLC to arrive in the Leader Pass for Civilization 6, adding two brand-new Leaders as well as an alternate Persona for Arabia's Saladin. Alongside Sultan Saladin and Abraham Lincoln, the Civilization 6 DLC Pack also launched with the versatile Kongolese Leader Nzinga Mbande.

Nzinga Mbande ruled the dual kingdoms of Ndongo and Mtamba for a large part of the 17th century, establishing a reputation as a brilliant politician, diplomat, and military leader. This versatility is represented in-game by a focus on building a compact nation on the player's starting continent, with bonuses to all of Civilization 6's resources.

Nzinga Mbande's Features and Abilities

Civilization 6 Nzinga Mbande Loading Screen

Nzinga Mbande uses the same Civilization Ability, Unique Unit, and Unique District as her fellow Kongolese Leader Mvemba a Nzinga. However, her Queen of Ndongo and Mtamba Leader Ability switches the focus of Kongo away from gathering foreign Religions and towards building a compact and prosperous nation.

	Name	How It Works
Leader Ability	Queen of Ndongo and Mtamba	Cities on the same continent as the Capital (including the Capital) receive +10% to all yields Cities on different continents from the Capital receive -15% to all yields
Civilization Ability	Nkisi	Relics, Artifacts, and Sculptures grant +2 Food, +2 Production, +1 Faith, and +4 Gold The Palace has four extra slots for Great Works +50% Great Artist, Great Musician, and Great Merchants points gained from all sources
Unique Unit	Ngao Mbeba	Unique Kongolese Classical Era Melee unit Unlocked by the Iron Working Technology Replaces the Swordsman - Higher strength and defensive bonuses, but more expensive 2 Movement, 2 Sight (Does not suffer movement or sight penalties in Woods or Rainforest) +10 Combat strength when defending against ranged attacks 38 Melee strength 2 Gold maintenance
Unique District	Mbanza	Unique Kongolese District Unlocked by the Guilds Civic Replaces the Neighborhood - Cheaper, guaranteed Housing, and bonus Food and Gold +5 Housing, unaffected by the Tile's Appeal +2 Food +4 Gold 27 Production cost

How to Play as Nzinga Mbande

Nzinga Mbande's Leader Ability may not seem particularly exciting, but it can be extremely powerful under the correct circumstances. To get the most out of Queen of Ndongo and Mtamba, players must have adequate room to expand on their own continent, and few pressures to build Cities anywhere else. This means that Nzinga Mbande is at her best on a Civilization 6 map type that will support large contiguous continents, and at her worst wherever she's liable to run out of space at home.

The universal bonus to yields from Queen of Ndongo and Mtamba means that Nzinga Mbande players can pursue any Civilization 6 victory they like. However, the other Kongolese bonuses will still incentivize them to focus on Population, Relics, Artifacts, and Sculptures above all. Combining the Food bonuses from Nkisi with the early Neighborhood-replacement Mbanza can allow players to swell their Cities and max out their Population in the mid-game. This will create a strong core nation, which players can then use to double-down on Tourism using their Great Works, or to pursue another Victory by building Campuses or Holy Sites.

Civilization 6 is available for iOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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