Macedon
Alexander
Uniques and adjacency effects read from the game data.
Victory focusDominationScience
Kit at a glance
Alexander never tires: Macedon suffers zero war weariness, cities with wonders heal his army on capture, and hetairoi and hypaspists make his classical push nearly unstoppable. Taking cities with encampments and campuses pays eurekas — conquest literally teaches him.
Opening: the first 60 turns
Alexander opens for war and nothing else. Build Scout, Warrior, Warrior, Settler, and let the second city sit on horses or iron so the Hetairoi and Hypaspist both become available. Research Animal Husbandry, Bronze Working and Horseback Riding first; Bronze Working also unlocks the Basilikoi Paides, the Barracks replacement that pays science for every non-civilian unit the city trains, so the capital wants an Encampment before a Campus. Civics run Craftsmanship for Agoge, then Military Tradition for the flanking and support bonuses and Early Empire only when the second Settler is out. Declare the first war around turn forty with four Hetairoi and two Hypaspists and take the closest capital, ideally one already holding a Campus or a wonder, before it has walls.
Unique to this civilization
Unit
Hypaspist
Replaces Swordsman
Technology: Iron Working
Building
Basilikoi Paides
Replaces Barracks
Technology: Bronze Working
Adjacency effects
No adjacency bonus — standard district rules apply.
How to play it
Start the world tour in the classical era and simply don't stop — wonder captures heal the army and captured districts educate it for the next one. Prioritize enemy cities with districts for the boosts. Your only real enemy is distance; plan the route like a campaign map.
Victory paths
Domination is the only plan the kit supports directly, and the timing is unusually early: the Classical push with Hetairoi and Hypaspists should net two capitals before Medieval walls appear, and the army then keeps rolling because no war weariness ever accumulates and every capture of a city with a wonder heals the whole force. Science is the side product rather than a rival path, since Basilikoi Paides science and the eurekas earned by conquering cities with districts push Macedon up the tree without building Campuses. If a continent is cleared and the rest of the world is across an ocean, convert the captured infrastructure into a science finish rather than shipping Renaissance armies overseas; the naval transition is where most Alexander games die.
Synergies: city-states, wonders, policies
Great Generals are the multiplier: Hetairoi hit harder beside one and generate points toward the next on kills, so Victor's early promotions and the Encampment's Basilikoi Paides are worth more than any wonder in the opening. Amani sent to a military city-state such as Kabul or Valletta feeds the war with experience or cheap walls in captured cities. God of the Forge is the pantheon to take if any faith is generated; Discipline early, then Conscription keeps the treasury alive while the army is large and Limitanei holds loyalty in garrisoned cities. Terracotta Army and Statue of Zeus are the two wonders that fit the timeline, and the Colosseum solves amenities across a bloc of conquered cities. Chivalry, then Professional Army for upgrades, are the policy cards to reach on schedule.
Weaknesses and counters
The kit is front-loaded and stops giving after the Classical era: no unique units past the Hypaspist, no economic ability, and an empire of captured cities that produces little culture, so Alexander often sits on twenty cities with a governance and amenity crisis by the Renaissance. Being immune to war weariness does not help against loyalty, and captured cities far from the capital flip unless governors and Entertainment Complexes follow the army. Water is the other hard stop; the unit set is built for land. Opponents beat Alexander by walling the nearest capital before turn forty, by keeping Spearmen or Pikemen in front of Hetairoi, or by making sure the cities he can reach hold neither wonders nor districts, denying both the heal and the eureka.
Similar civilizations
Related guides
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- Which Civilization Should You Play? Picks by Victory TypeThree to four leader picks for each victory type — science, culture, domination, religion, and diplomacy — with the reason each one teaches that victory well, plus flexible all-rounders and a guide to matching a civilization to how you actually like to play.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
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- City-States and Envoys: Where Your Influence Should GoWhere envoys come from, how to spend the first handful, which city-state types match each victory plan, how to win and keep suzerainty against the AI, and when conquering a city-state is the right call.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
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