Civ 7 Tier List 2026: Best Leaders and Civs After Update 1.5

More than a year after its February 2025 launch, Civilization VII has refined its meta. The first tier lists were shaky — too many variables, too small a sample. Today, with tens of thousands of community playtime hours cumulated, some leaders clearly dominate. Here’s our 2026 tier list based on CivFanatics, Pocket Tactics, Game8 analyses, and our own experience.

TL;DR:

• S Tier (5 leaders): Confucius, Catherine the Great, Augustus, Ashoka, Himiko
• A Tier (4-5 leaders): Xerxes, Amina, Napoleon, Harriet Tubman, Benjamin Franklin
• B Tier: the rest, solid but situational
• C Tier: objectively weak leaders, to avoid
• Caveat: Civ VII tier lists are more volatile than Civ V/VI — civs change per age, leader stays
• Since June (updates 1.4.1 to 1.5.0): no leader moves; the new leaders are not ranked yet

What changed since the June update

Three updates have shipped since our June revision: 1.4.1 (June 23), 1.4.2 (July 28) and 1.5.0 (September 15). No leader moves up or down: the changes are systemic (governments, diplomacy, a new map), and none of them states a leader-specific figure we could rank on. Our Civilization 7 hub lists every article on the game.

• Governments reworked (1.4.1). Each government now has a passive, two reworked Celebrations and two exclusive Traditions, Traditions carry over between Ages, local happiness has five stages, and Celebrations drop from 10 to 6 turns on Standard speed (government guide). Your government choice weighs more than before, so the leader-government pairing is worth testing: the Classical Republic pays +4 Culture in Joyous Cities and Despotism gives +2 Science per conquered Settlement, which makes a culture-first leader like Catherine the Great or a conqueror like Ashoka the obvious candidates. We have not measured those pairings, so the tiers stay as they are.
• Diplomacy (1.4.2 and 1.5.0). Peace deals can now include gold and influence, Reconciliation opens as soon as a leader turns unfriendly, and individual victory conditions can be switched off again (1.4.2 article). Version 1.5.0 lets you pay influence to stay neutral when an ally goes to war (1.5.0 article). In principle this helps diplomatic profiles such as Himiko or Amina, but the amounts are fixed per Age and may prove modest, so we do not move them.
• True Start Location Earth map (1.5.0). It is Huge-size only and starts in Antiquity, and your civilization’s position is fixed by geography (1.5.0 article). It is a special mode: this ranking still describes standard maps, where Antiquity civilization choice does not tie you to a place.

New leaders: too early to rank

Four leaders arrived since June. We have not played enough of them to justify a tier, and the sources we used describe their abilities without measuring them.

• Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Brush & Blade part 1, with Heian and Sengoku Japan): see the 1.4.1 article.
• Yi Sun-sin (Brush & Blade part 2, with Goryeo and Joseon): a naval leader whose value depends on whether the sea becomes a real front. See the part 2 preview and the 1.4.2 article.
• Elizabeth I (Hall of History): a Cultural and Economic leader whose Royal Monopoly removes the range limit on Trade Routes, at the cost of land combat strength that falls with each Age (Hall of History article).
• George Washington (Hall of History): a Diplomatic and Expansionist leader who gains a Migrant in his Capital at each Celebration (Hall of History article).

Hall of History also adds Babylon, the Gauls and England as civilizations, covered in the same article.

Table of contents

• What changed since the June update
• How to read this tier list
• S Tier: the dominant leaders
• A Tier: strong but situational
• B Tier: solid without being top
• C Tier: avoid in competitive
• Leader × civilization combinations

How to read this tier list

Civilization VII has a structural quirk: you play 3 different civilizations within the same game, one per age (Antiquity, Exploration, Modern). Your leader stays the same throughout. Consequence: the leader has more long-term impact than the chosen civ.

Our ranking is based on:

• Leader bonuses stable over 500 turns
• Adaptability to multiple victory types
• Synergy with multiple civs per age
• Community feedback 2025-2026 (Reddit r/civ, CivFanatics, Pocket Tactics forums)

S Tier: the dominant leaders

Confucius ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Considered near broken. Massive science bonus coupled with huge civ-choice versatility. Giant cities pumping science every turn. Crowned “reference leader” by most guides.

• Preferred victory: Science
• Ideal civ per age: Han (Antiquity), Abbasid (Exploration), Modern wild card

Catherine the Great ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rare excellence: cultural victory without sacrificing tech. Science bonus via her cultural output — she unlocks techs and civics in parallel. Flexible, strong from turn 30 to turn 500.

• Preferred victory: Cultural
• Ideal civ: Normans, French (depending on age)

Augustus ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ +2 production in the capital per town built, +50% gold for urban purchases. Rapid expansion, map covered with towns feeding the capital. Versatile across all victories.

• Preferred victory: Production (domination OR wonders)
• Ideal civ: Romans (Antiquity), Normans, Mongols

Ashoka (World Conqueror) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The military leader who isn’t militarily obligated. Very solid conquest bonuses but his stats also enable peaceful victories. S-tier thanks to his double profile.

• Preferred victory: Domination
• Ideal civ: Mauryan (Antiquity), then Mongol/Aksumite

Himiko (Queen of Wa) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Queen of Wa — pure versatility. Few massive bonuses but exceptional adaptability between culture and diplomacy. Beloved by players who change plans mid-game.

• Preferred victory: Diplomatic / Cultural
• Ideal civ: Meiji Japan (Modern)

A Tier: strong but situational

Xerxes (King of Kings) — A+ Excellent late-game science bonus, better in Modern Age than Antiquity.

Amina — A Strong in trade/diplomacy, perfect if your strategy revolves around city-states.

Napoleon Bonaparte — A Classic military bonuses, effective but less versatile than Ashoka.

Benjamin Franklin — A Science and wonder focus, but less “open” than Confucius who plays with any civ.

Harriet Tubman — A Exploration + late-game science, excellent on Tide of Empires maps.

B Tier: solid without being top

• José Rizal — good scientist, defensive gaps
• Machiavelli — diplomatic but sometimes frustrating against aggressive AI
• Isabella — powerful religious but religion meta weakened in 2026
• Tecumseh — territorial defense, good vs AI but limited competitively
• Frederick the Great — classic military, eclipsed by Napoleon

C Tier: avoid in competitive

These leaders suffer from miscalibrated or overly situational bonuses after 2025-2026 patches:

• Charlemagne — too religion-dependent (weakened meta)
• Pachacuti — mountain-specific bonuses that block expansion
• Trung Trac — military but without the solid bonuses of Ashoka or Napoleon

Important note: “C” leaders aren’t unplayable, just suboptimal on Hard/Deity. On easier modes, any leader can win.

Leader × civilization combinations

Some community-validated meta combos:

Experiment — Civ VII’s charm lies precisely in the variety of transitions between civs.

This tier list will evolve with upcoming patches — we update it every 6 months.

See also

• All our Civilization 7 articles
• Civilization VII 1.4.1: the government rework
• Civilization VII 1.5.0: the True Start Location Earth map
• Civilization VII Hall of History: Washington, Elizabeth I and Babylon

Sources

• Official Steam page for Civilization 7
• Official Civilization 7 website