Sid Meier's Civilization is a series that’s as long-running as it is fun to play. A game of Civilization 6 might take hours, or even days to complete, but there’s always a massive sense of accomplishment that follows victory. While it’s easy to get lost in a Civilization hole and play the game over and over again, sometimes the same exact game gets old after a while.

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That’s where the beautiful modding community comes in, and Civilization modders are a talented bunch. Paying for DLC with extra leaders and Civs is always an option, but you’ll eventually run out of those too. Spice up your leader pool and get creative with the best Leader mods for Civilization 6 on Steam Workshop and Nexus Mods.

Updated November 25, 2023 by Quinton O'Connor: We've added some extra information for most of these mods, and throned a new best pick! Well... picks. Err, you'll see.

10 The Witcher: Lyria And Rivia

the witcher queen meve

It’s surprising that the Witcher series doesn’t have its own management sim yet, but you can just move everything around in Civilization and make your own instead. The Lyria and Rivia Witcher mod by iPlayGamesITA on Steam Workshop is a great classic start to building the Witcher world.

Queen Meve is a strong leader who comes in as a Great Person herself at the start of every era. This mod also adds three City-States from the world of The Witcher to your Civilization 6 game.

The Witcher: City-States

  • Angren (Scientific) Suzerain status grants +1 Science, +1 Production and +2 Gold to Marsh and unimproved Floodplains tiles.
  • Brugge (Trade) Suzerain status grants Trading Posts in foreign cities +5 Gold.
  • Verden (Militaristic) Suzerain status grants all levied units gain +7 Combat Strength. Uh, wow.

9 Rise And Fall Of Usurper

civilization 6 leader mod rhaegar

Game of Thrones is gone, but not forgotten, especially with new spin-offs coming out and bringing people back to the fandom. This mod from furion1986 is all you need to bring A Song Of Ice And Fire into your Civ game, allowing you to take over like you’ve always dreamed of doing.

Rise and Fall of Usurper adds nine leaders from the George R.R. Martin universe, all with unique features. The mod's author also gets more specific in other Game of Thrones-themed mods available on Steam Workshop.

Throne-Gamers

  • Rhaegar Targaryan of the Crownlands
  • Eddard Stark of the North
  • Tywin Lannister of the Westerlands
  • Robert Baratheon of the Stormlands
  • Mace Tyrell of the Reach
  • Jon Arryn of The Vale
  • Hoster Tully of the Riverlands
  • Doran Martell of Dorne
  • Balon Greyjoy of the Iron Islands

8 Arturia Pendragon

civilization 6 arturia pendragon modded leader

If you’re a fan of the Fate anime series, then this mod from Kcucumber on Steam Workshop is for you. Specifically, it adds Sabre Arturia Pendragon. Of course, her strong suits are battle and unit training, and churning out a ton of knights. While there’s no holy grail to shoot for, that’s probably for the best in this situation.

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A historically accurate King Arthur mod would be cool too, but adding an anime flair and sticking a Fate character in Civilization makes it much more fun.

Uniques of Arturia

  • Unique Ability: Garden of Avalon
  • Unique Building: Arthurian Castle
  • Unique Unit: Round Table
  • Leader Ability: Excalibur
  • Agenda: Honor of the High King

7 Chancellor Palpatine

civilization 6 chancellor Palpatine mod leader intro

Have you ever wondered what Civilization 6 would be like if the Galactic Republic made its way into the fold? Wonder no more with the Chancellor Palpatine leader mod from Anargo19, Praxedes, and Mewstang on Steam Workshop. The sinister Chancellor’s agenda and traits are very in-character for Palpatine, and it’s terribly fun to run the Empire on Planet Earth.

Bring your immersion to the next level by going straight for a Space victory and sending the Empire to the stars. You could also give Palpatine a Good Guy Redemption if you’re feeling adventurous.

The Galactic Uniques

  • Unique Unit: Clonetrooper
  • Unique Trait: Galactic Constitution
  • Leader Trait: Order 66
  • Agenda: I Am The Senate

6 Mario Bros.

civilization 6 3d mario leader card

If you’re the kind of gamer that likes to stick Mario characters in games they don’t belong in, this mod on Flactine’s Steam Workshop is right up your alley. Mario, Luigi, Peach, and, for some reason, Toad and Toadette, are available as Civilization leaders with this mod, in terrifyingly high-definition.

A great amount of care and attention to detail has gone into creating each leader and their traits, and it makes for an impressive crossover. No one’s asking why this mod happened, but someone probably should be.

Super Traits

  • Mario: Jumpman
  • Luigi: Ghost Research
  • Toad: Castle Builder
  • Toadette: Foreman Toadette
  • Princess Peach: Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom

5 Joan Of Arc

civilization 6 joan of arc leader mod portrait

Gedemo’s Joan of Arc mod on the Steam Workshop is an alternate leader, replacing Catherine de Medici as leader of the French Civilization. The battle-worn historical legend Joan of Arc was around for Civilization 3 and then never showed up as a leader again, so it’s nice to see her back in modded form.

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If you want to play as France, but aren’t a fan of going for a straight Culture win, the Joan of Arc leader mod gives you a better battle advantage than having Catherine de Medici as a leader.

4 Republic Of Pirates

civilization 6 blackbeard mod portrait

Nexus Mods has surprisingly few mods for Civilization 6, and even fewer that add new leaders. There are a few worth talking about, though, and Republic of Pirates by Kingchris20 is one of them. Black Bart and Blackbeard are the leaders this mod adds, and as a bonus, you’re treated to the Flying Dutchman unit.

Playing Civilization as the Republic of Pirates seems contrary to the idea of the game, but that’s what being a pirate is all about. Rules were meant to be broken.

Here There Be Uniques

  • Unique Ability: Scourge of All Nations
  • Unique District: Pirate Safe Haven
  • Unique Unit: Pirate Flotilla
  • Black Bart Leader Ability: Pirate Code
  • Blackbeard Leader Ability: Reign of Terror

3 The Golden State

civilization 6 modded governor arnold

The Governator may be retired from politics, but that won’t stop you from playing as the former Terminator star in this mod from Strudeler on Nexus Mods. California is its own Civilization in this mod, and if that wasn’t enough for you, the leader of the republic is none other than Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Despite this mod being on the joking side, the leader stats for Arnold are well-hashed-out and make for an interesting few games. Unfortunately, there aren’t any Terminator units, just normal Californian stuff.

2 North Pole

north pole civilization 6mod santa claus

If Santa Claus is in charge at the North Pole, does that make him the mayor? Some kind of monarch, maybe? The North Pole mod by Keniisu might raise a few more questions about the lore of Christmas than it answers, but it’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit any time of year.

Rule the North Pole with an iron sleigh as the patron of Christmas himself, Santa Claus. The units that come with this mod are as delightfully festive as Old Saint Nick himself.

1 Everything Sukritact Has Made

Sukritact's Zara Yaqob in Civilization 6

At the top of our list is the modder Sukritact themselves. Seriously, we can't choose just one of their fantastic creations. While every modder's work on this list is outstanding, Sukritact has created several leaders, each of them well-designed, well-implemented, and fun as heck to add to your game.

We've got a few of them in our own Civilization 6 rotation right now, and there's really no playing favorites. Instead, here's a list within a list:

Sukritact's Leaders

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