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Isabella, the Queen of Spain was historically categorized as an expansionist, powerful leader, and functions as such inCivilization 7. If you’re diving into Civ 7 for the first time, and wondering which leader to begin your first campaign with, Isabella is a great choice for newcomers and veterans of the series alike.
But, before diving in, there are some key things to understand about her playstyle. Which Civs does Isabella work best with? What Victories should you try to achieve with Isabella at the helm? This guide has everything you need to know to play Isabella and lead your empire to greatness.
Isabella Leader Overview
In history, Isabella was considered quite clever and ruthless, with an expansionist mindset.Her abilities and unique attributes lend themselves well to an expansionist and economic playstyle, though she can be used for other playstyles as well.
Natural Wonder Gold
Gain 300 Gold every time you discover a Natural Wonder.
This is doubled if you discover the Natural Wonderin Distant Lands.
-1 Gold maintenance for Naval Units.
How Do Isabella’s Attributes Work?
Isabella plays fantastically during the Exploration Age, thanks to her ability to purchase and maintain Naval Units far easier than her counterparts, and the discovery of Natural Wonders is always a boon for her.
Overall, with these attributes in mind, you’ll want tokeep a few things in mind as you play her.
What Civilizations Work Best For Isabella?
Isabella is relatively versatile, so there are many Civ options to choose from that’ll work best for her.Let’s break down which ones are best to begin within the Antiquity Age.
Egypt
Extra Production
Egypt is a great choice for Isabella due toproduction buffs toward constructing Wonderslike the Pyramids.
Egypt also grants unique quarters and buildingslike the Necropolis and Mastaba,which can increase gold and cultural output. This synergizes well with Isabella’s attributes.
Greece
Extra Gold and Culture
Greece features the Hoplite, which is a helpful military unityou can develop early on for conquests.
The Acropolis construction also grants extra goldon the Parthenon building when you become a Suzerain of a City-State, which helps for Economic Victories.
Rome
Military and Economic Buffs
Though not as effective, Rome is a helpful starting Civ as yougain access to the Roman Unique Infantry Unit known as the Legion, which is quite powerful.
You can alsoconstruct the Basilica, which grants +4 Gold and +1 Influence adjacency for cultural buildings and Wonders, helpful for Cultural or Economic Victory Paths.
Which Civs Should You Pick For The Exploration And Modern Ages?
Beyond the Antiquity Age, you’ll have a decent number of options to choose from in the Exploration and Modern ages.Here’s which Civs you should pick based on your Antiquity Age selection, though other options will work decently as well.
France or Mexico
Spain or the Normans
Russia or Mexico
America, Prussia, or France
What Is The Best Strategy For Playing Isabella?
Isabella is relatively well-roundedas a leader. There are no hard and fast rules for which victories you should attempt to pursue when playing her.
However, for a slightly easier climb,you should attempt to pursue one of the following three victories:
Science, Domination, and Points victories are, of course, always viable, but given Isabella’s starting buffs and the way she synergizes with certain Civ picks, these three will be the easiest.
How To Get A Military Victory
When you begin playing as Isabella in the Antiquity Age, you’ll want toprioritize unit production above all else, starting with the following:
In the Antiquity Age, your goal is to have 12 settlements to earn a Golden Age.
Prioritize developing scouts earlyso that you can befriend Independent Powers, stake out land for future settlements, and discover your enemies' locations quicker.
Even though you’re not going for a Scientific Victory, you’ll want tokeep your scientific output relatively high, as this helps develop stronger units.
From there, you’ll also want todevelop Army Commanders as soon as you can and study the Discipline Civic.
Once you’ve achieved these steps,your overall strategy should look like this throughout the ages:
Follow these steps throughout the ages as Isabella, all the while looking for Natural Wonders and taking advantage of your naval boons,and you’ll be in good shape.
How To Get An Economic Victory
An Economic Victory is also a good choice for Isabella, though slightly more difficult in some ways.
In the Antiquity Age, your goal is to earn 20 resourcesfor your empire. The best way to do this is towork toward developing two types of units:
By sending scouts ahead of time, you’ll discover more Independent Powers and Civs firstand set yourself up well for the Exploration Age.
For all of Isabella’sVictory Conditions, you’ll want to be preparing to build a strong naval force no matter what, so verify you study tech like Shipbuilding when it becomes available to you.
From here,the Economic Victory in the Exploration Age is all about expansionandcollecting Treasure Fleets. You’ll want touse your strong naval force to explore the worldand bring these Treasure Fleets back to your homelands.
In the Modern Age, you should be able touse your large treasury to help construct Rail Stationsand study Industrialization.
Find Natural Wonders, and use Isabella’s Civ’s attributes to help bolster your fundsso that you may quickly expand towns and become a Railroad Tycoon.
How To Get A Cultural Victory
Last but not least,Isabella is also good for achieving a Cultural Victory, though this path is certainly the hardest, particularly in the Antiquity Age.
Most of Isabella’s buffs don’t directly impact cultural output,soconstructing Wondersmay prove difficult during this period.
However,Isabella really shines in the Exploration and Modern Ages, where your primary goal is spreading religion and creating a Geographic Society.
In the Antiquity Age, focus on developing Scouts and Settlersso that you’ll be prepared for the subsequent two ages.
Once you’ve reached the Exploration Age, you’ll want to focus on a few things, using Isabella’s attributes and her civ buffs.
Because Antiquity Age Civs like Egypt or Rome can help boost your cultural output, you should be well-poised to claim a Golden Age during the Exploration phase of the game.
Plus,in the Modern Age, your Scouts will have hopefully set you up well to discover many different continents, thus allowing you toexcavate many different artifactsand house them in your empire.
