How to Win a Religious Victory with Mali

The Approach

Settle City Centers adjacent to Desert and Desert Hills tiles deliberately — each one adds Faith directly to that city, and the ability to purchase Commercial Hub buildings with Faith means your religious and economic games can share the same resource instead of competing for it. This lets Mali found a religion earlier than the map's terrain would otherwise suggest.

Key Steps

• Scout for desert-adjacent city sites specifically — this is the entire premise of Mali's religious game, so it's worth deviating from a "normal" settling pattern to find them.
• Use spare Faith to purchase Commercial Hub buildings once your religious infrastructure is solid — it frees up Production for military or Wonder-building instead.
• Mandekalu Cavalry gives Mali a genuine military option if you need to defend a religious core empire built on otherwise-undervalued desert terrain.

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