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Carthage is a powerful civilization introduced toCiv 7with the first DLC for the game, Crossroads Of The World. Carthage specializes in trade and expansion, restricted to only asingle cityduring the Antiquity Age. While this isn’t truly aone-city challenge, because you can - and should - build as many towns as you possibly can, Carthage gives you the best chance at succeeding with one large capital and no other cities.
Carthage have a bunch of unique civics, an excellent unique quarter, and much more that makes them a very tempting pick for an Antiquity Age civilization.
Carthage Overview
Carthage’s unique ability as a civilization is Phoenician Heritage.you may only have one City and you can’t convert Towns to cities. When you create a Merchant or Colonist Unit, you get an extra unit.
Doubling your Colonist with the first you produce will help you expand with new Townsveryquickly.
Unique Buildings
Carthage’s unique buildings are as follows:
ThePunic Portis an incredibly powerful Unique Quarter for achieving theEconomic Victoryin theAntiquity Ageas it allows for extra resource slots very quickly without relying on wonders orLighthouses.
The extra production you can get early from theCothonis fantastic at the start of the game - get it as quickly as you can!
Unique Units
Carthage has two unique units, theColonistand theNumidian Cavalry.
Because the Colonist has betterEmbarked Movementspeed, we love to play Carthage on aFractalorArchipelagomap, where you might be settling on multiple islands during the early game.
Carthage Civic Tree
Much like the other civs in Civilization 7, the best attributes of Carthage are hidden in the civic tree.
You should grabShipshedspretty quickly at the start of the game because theCothonprovides such excellent early production.
Tradition policy cards are availablein every Age.This makes Carthage anexcellentcivilization for progression into the Exploration Age, where the main focus is on constructing naval units, establishing trade with the Distant Lands, and quickly settling new towns.
Carthage Strategy
Carthage is a fun civilization to play, with the main goals being an Economic Victory or a military sweep with powerful cavalry units and an impressive navy. Your main strategy is toexpand quicklyandestablish trade as soon as possibleto increase your gold income to the point that you canpurchaseyourUnique Quarter(Punic Port) in every settlement.
Best Leader
The best leader for Carthage in the Antiquity Age isAugustus.There are too many crossovers for the bonuses to Towns to ignore this combo.
Augustus is all aboutexpanding quicklyand developing an empire with multiple towns. The combination of Augustus' production boost with theCothonunique building means you’ll have capital city with extremely high production within the first50 turns.
Combine this with being able to build monuments in towns and you’ll be able to unlockand constructmany of the buildings from the civic tree before your opponents.
Xerses, The Achaemenid Leader Guide
Best Mementos
So we’re playing Carthage as Augustus. For Mementos, there are plenty of options, althoughGroma,the base +1 Expansionist Attribute Point, andCorona Civica,Augustus' unique Memento which provides+1 Settlement Limitbut a -50 percent penalty to converting Towns to Cities, are great choices.
Other Mementos that might work are:
Starting The Game - Settling
Carthagemustbe on the coast. If you are unfortunate enough to start in a location with no coast, you might as well pack it in. Thankfully, the civ does have a starting bias forCoastal tiles.
For whatever reason, we’ve had adisproportionatenumber of ourCarthagegames start onTundratiles. We’re not sure if this is a bug or intentional. It is odd considering historically Carthage was located on the north-easterly tip of Africa, in what is now modern day Tunisia.
This starting location is one we’d consider pretty below average. No direct resources or hills, withtwo Saltresources and aJadenearby. We are, at least, on the Coast.Jadewill be useful later for boosting Gold in the capital.
Scouting
We often buildthree Scoutsright at the start of the game. You want to start exploring as soon as possible to claim as manyDiscoveriesfrom the map as possible, and you’re in a race against the AI.
You can check which direction is optimal for sending your Scout bypanning the map north and south. If you see the ice border to your south, send your scout north. If you see the ice border to the north, send your scout south.The Discoveries that are between you and the edge of the map are less likely to be grabbed by the AI.
You want to grab earlyScienceandCulture.Science will allow you to finish your early important techs quickly, and Culture will help you rush an early Pantheon viaMysticismor an Army Commander viaDiscipline.
Gold is also great on Carthage because you can quickly start storing it up to improve Townsquicklyor use it to either a) purchase your firstColonistand expand immediately after your first district construction, or b) use it build aSaw PitorBrickyard.
Early Tech And Civics
These are decisions you’ll have to make on the fly in Civ 7, but there are some rough guidelines around which are the best technologies and civics to research first.
In the case of this start, we will grabAnimal Husbandryfirst, as there are someWoodcuttertiles adjacent to our Capital, and we want that extra production.
You want to grabAnimal HusbandryforWoodcuttertiles.
Pottery is better forClay PitsandMines.
There is an argument to goSailingfirst as Carthage because of your Coastal bonuses, but we still think the early production from Animal Husbandry and Pottery are more worthwhile at the start of the game.
Ideally, you’ll grab both Animal Husbandry and Pottery before any other tech, then go intoMasonryfor earlyMonumentsandextra production from Masonry II.
Then you have the option ofMysticismorDisplicineas your first civic choice. We usually go forMysticismbecause an early Pantheon can be so strong.
Then you want to make a beeline forCode Of Lawsbecause this will unlock your firstMerchants.Merchants are a crucial part of the Carthage game plan - and remember,you get an extra Merchant whenever you produce one.
Best Pantheon
The best Pantheon for Carthage really relies on your starting terrain. We’re a big fan of thebest Pantheons in the game, likeCity Patron Godessfor extra Influence on the Altar, orFertility Ritesfor an extra +10 percent growth rates in cities.
Depending your start, you could also go forGod Of The Seafor extra production on Fishing Boats,Stone Circlesfor extra production on Clay Pits, Mines, Quarries, etc, or evenSacred Waters, which provides +1 Happiness adjacency on the Altar for all adjacent Coast, Lakes, and Navigable River tiles.
Best Government
Much like the other choices in Civ 7, you should adjust your choice of Government based on your desired Legacy Path victory.
For trade and expansion, go for the extra +20 percent food bonus fromOligarchy.
If you prefer a militaristic playstyle, go forDespotismand its bonus unit production and science. For culture, go forClassical Republic.
You could be building a lot of Wonders as Carthage, so the extra production towards them is useful.
Expansion - Your First Towns
Carthage has an extreme advantage when it comes to early expansion, as youreceive an extra Settler each time you produce one.
You should settleall your Towns on the coastif possible to make use of theCarthagian Unique Quarter,the Punic Port.
Also keep an eye out foruseful resources, particularlyGold, Silver, and Camels.
Gold will allow you to purchase buildingseven more cheaplyin your Towns,Silverwill let you purchaseNumidian Cavalry at a cheaper cost, andCamelswill further increase the resource capacity of yourCapital City.
You should also consider settling close to your opponents - while this might annoy the AI on harder difficulties, it will make trade much easier in the Antiquity Agedue to the low range of Trade Routes without upgrades.
You will replenish relationships quickly by establishing plenty of trade routes, and you’re able to use your extraInfluencefrom all theMonumentsin your Roman-Carthage towns to start plenty of Endeavors to keep your neighbors happy.
Use theImprove Trade RelationsEndeavor to increase the number of trade routes you may send to the AI.
Expansion - Specialists
Carthage has the opportunity to access Specialists quickly because of theincreased growth in your capital, supported by many connected coastal towns.
You should definitely slot some Specialists into yourPunic PortUnique Quarter tile, as this will provide extra Gold, Science, and Culture.
Here’s a guide on how toimprove the yields of the tiles in your cities, and a guide onhow to use adjacency.
Expansion - Warfare
While Carthage does prefer a peaceful playstyle to focus on trade and Gold, you can also use your extra settlement limit and forward-settling to quickly attack your neighboring AI.
TheNumidian Cavalryunit is a very strong Antiquity Age unit, especially once you’ve filled your capital with plenty of Unique Resources.
Here’s a guide onhow to use Army Commandersto make the most out of your military.
Best Wonders
There are a whole host of beneficial Wonders for Carthage, including theirassociated Wonder, the Byrsa,which you receive a production discount for.
The main aim of the Wonders is toincrease your resource capacity, as you’ll likely have plenty of excess resources if you establish a successful trade network.
You should constructCoastal wondersaround yourUnique Quarter, the Punic Port, as this will provideWonder adjacencyand make the tile even better.
Best Legacy Path
Carthage is naturally inclined towards theEconomic Legacy Pathin theAntiquity Age, but has a completely flexible style of play where you’re able to also aim for aCultural, Scientific, and Military Legacy Pathvictory.
Because of the huge Gold income youshouldget as Carthage, you should be able to max out your capital city’s main buildings, grab any wonders you like, and manage to make your way quite far along the Culture and Tech trees.
