The Aztec civilization is one of the many playable factions that gamers can choose within Civilization 5, lead by Montezuma. Like all other factions in the game, the Aztecs benefit from unique structures and units, such as the Jaguar and the Floating Gardens while also benefiting from a special ability, in this case Sacrificial Captives. This guide will cover the exact bonuses and strengths these unique aspects bring while giving a brief overview of each.
Civilization Leader: Montezuma I
Historically, Montezuma was the fifth emperor of the Aztec civilization, reigning from 1440 to 1469. Known for his pension for being an excellent warrior and leader, along with being rather ruthless, the Aztec empire was expanded considerably. It should be noted that confusion should be avoided with Montezuma II, the ninth Aztec emperor and grandson of this leader, who was unfortunate in witnessing his empire’s collapse at the hand of Spanish conquistadors. In recognition of his notoriety as a conqueror, expect an AI Montezuma to be quite aggressive, often attempting for a domination type victory through warfare, while potentially falling back on a cultural type of victory.
Special Ability: Sacrificial Captives
The Sacrificial Captives special ability of the Aztecs grants a culture bonus, roughly equal to the strength of any unit which you outright kill. This ability directly benefits the domination oriented prowess of this empire, allowing them to get an alternative flow of culture and boosting the secondary goal for the cultural victory type as can be seen from the AI’s tendencies. Note: Units killed from your city’s bombard attacks do not count towards this boost and it also does not stack with Honor Policy.
Special Unit: Jaguar
The Aztec civilizations special unit, the Jaguar is one of the earliest available unique units for any of the civilizations, being a replacement for the ancient era Warrior combat unit, meaning you will have this right at the beginning of the game. The base stats of the Jaguar, including its cost are exactly the same as the Warrior, with the difference coming in the form of two special bonuses. First is a 50 percent combat bonus when fighting in Jungle types of terrain, which can be useful, depending on the surrounding area where your civilization is situated, or alternatively, your enemy’s. Second and far more useful, is the Jaguar’s ability to heal 2 hp every time it kills a unit, allowing you to keep up the pace and continue carving a path through the enemy.
Special Building: Floating Gardens
The Floating Gardens is an ancient era unique building for the Aztec empire, replacing the Watermill with a vastly improved version. Interestingly, the Floating Gardens costs less, taking the same amount of production to create, but costing only one gold for maintenance as opposed to the Water Mill’s 2. In addition to the same benefits a Water Mill grants, the Floating Gardens adds the ability to build near a lake or river, as opposed to only a river and doubles up by giving an extra +15 percent food and +2 food for lake tiles. With his benefit, it makes it incredibly worthwhile to build most of your cities near lakes or rivers for the significant boost in growth you will receive.