Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword Tier List: Current Rankings

Q: Do I need the base game and Warlords to play Beyond the Sword?

You need Civilization IV. Beyond the Sword is the second expansion, released in July 2007 after Warlords, and it is the version most veteran players still run because it contains corporations, the espionage economy and the Apostolic Palace.

Q: Which corporations are worth founding?

It depends on what your empire already owns. Mining Inc. turns Coal, Iron, Copper, Gold or Silver into production, Cereal Mills turns Corn, Rice or Wheat into food, and Standard Ethanol produces Oil from Corn, Sugar or Rice. Each of the seven can be founded only once in a game, and each needs a specific Great Person.

Q: What civilisations were added?

Ten: Babylonia, the Byzantine Empire, the Ethiopian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Khmer Empire, the Mayans, the Native Americans, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sumer. Six leaders joined existing civilisations, including Abraham Lincoln, Charles de Gaulle, Boudica, Darius I, Suleiman the Magnificent and Pericles.

Q: How does the Apostolic Palace win work?

The Palace is tied to the state religion of whoever builds it, and civilisations influenced by that religion receive votes. Resolutions cover holy wars, embargoes and forced peace, and a supermajority can award a diplomatic victory long before Mass Media unlocks the United Nations.

Q: How is this different from the newer Civilization games?

Beyond the Sword is a 2007 expansion for a 2005 game, built on stacked units and a commerce slider rather than the district and one unit per tile systems of the later entries. Corporations, the espionage slider and Apostolic Palace voting are specific to this expansion and have no direct equivalent in the modern games.

Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword tier list ranking every build and equipment option. Updated rankings with detailed reasoning.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

This Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword tier list ranks every major option by overall effectiveness. Rankings factor in damage output, survivability, versatility, gear requirements, and how well each option scales.

Tier definitions: S = best in class, always a strong pick. A = strong and competitive, minor weaknesses. B = solid but clearly outperformed in most situations. C = viable only for players who enjoy the playstyle.

Builds Rankings

Tier	Build	Rating	Playstyle
A	Babylon under Hammurabi	8.5/10	Sit safe behind Bowmen through the ancient era, expand steadily, and convert your protected core into a corporate economy after Corporation.
S	Byzantium under Justinian I	9.5/10	Take your neighbour's cities during the Cataphract window rather than teching past it, then settle into the captured land.
A	Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne	8.5/10	Expand wider than the maintenance curve normally allows, and let the Rathaus pay for the cities everyone else would have skipped.
B	Khmer under Suryavarman II	7.5/10	Grow tall cities on Barays, then use Ballista Elephants against the packed defensive stacks the AI likes to build.
A	Netherlands under Willem van Oranje	8.5/10	Play wide on the coast, run trade routes rather than wars, and found a corporation in your best commerce city.

Detailed Builds Analysis

Babylon under Hammurabi (A-Tier)

Babylon arrives with Beyond the Sword and leans on early defensive strength through the Bowman, an archer replacement that holds a hill city against far larger armies. It is the safest of the new civilisations to learn on because the early game is forgiving.

Best with: Bowman garrisons, the Garden unique building, early Great Merchant for a corporation headquarters later. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Early defence first, then commerce, then production

Byzantium under Justinian I (S-Tier)

The Cataphract is a Knight replacement strong enough to build a whole medieval war plan around, which makes Byzantium the most direct of the new civilisations. Justinian rewards players who want to solve problems with cavalry before corporations even exist.

Best with: Cataphracts en masse, Horse and Iron secured early, stables in your production cities. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Production first, then military technology, then commerce

Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne (A-Tier)

Charlemagne pairs the Landsknecht, which punishes enemy mounted units, with the Rathaus, which cuts city maintenance. That combination suits a wide empire that would otherwise choke on upkeep.

Best with: Rathaus in every distant city, Landsknecht stacks against cavalry civilisations. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Expansion first, then maintenance reduction, then military

Khmer under Suryavarman II (B-Tier)

The Ballista Elephant is a War Elephant replacement that hits stacks rather than single units, which changes how medieval battles resolve. The Baray unique building supports the food heavy cities that make the elephants affordable.

Best with: Ivory secured early for elephants, Baray in your food cities. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Food first, then production, then military technology

Netherlands under Willem van Oranje (A-Tier)

The Netherlands is the trading civilisation of the expansion, with the East Indiaman for naval commerce and the Dike for coastal production. It fits the corporate economy that Beyond the Sword adds better than any other new civilisation.

Best with: Dikes on coastal cities, East Indiaman fleets, a Great Merchant saved for a corporation headquarters. See our builds guide for full setup. Stat focus: Commerce first, then coastal production, then military

Equipment Rankings

Equipment	Best With	Notes
Spy	Players who want to keep pace in technology without out-researching a runaway AI.	The espionage workhorse, moving into rival territory to infiltrate cities and spend accumulated espionage points on missions.
Executive	Expanding a founded corporation into cities that actually have the input resources nearby.	The corporate equivalent of a Missionary, spreading your corporation into a city so it starts consuming resources and producing its bonus there.
Cataphract	A medieval war of conquest launched before crossbows and pikemen become common.	The Byzantine Knight replacement and one of the strongest medieval units in the expansion.
Ballista Elephant	Breaking large defensive stacks before you commit your main melee units.	The Khmer War Elephant replacement, which damages an entire enemy stack rather than only the defender.
East Indiaman	Coastal Dutch empires playing for economy instead of early conquest.	The Dutch naval trade unit, tuned for commerce rather than for winning sea battles.

Check our weapons guide for in-depth stats and comparisons.

Equipment Analysis

Spy: The espionage workhorse, moving into rival territory to infiltrate cities and spend accumulated espionage points on missions. Missions range from stealing a technology to poisoning a water supply, and a caught spy can start a war you were not ready for.

Executive: The corporate equivalent of a Missionary, spreading your corporation into a city so it starts consuming resources and producing its bonus there. Corporations cost gold per city they operate in, so spreading everywhere is not automatically correct.

Cataphract: The Byzantine Knight replacement and one of the strongest medieval units in the expansion. It is powerful enough that Justinian games often revolve around whether you used its window or wasted it.

Ballista Elephant: The Khmer War Elephant replacement, which damages an entire enemy stack rather than only the defender. Against the AI habit of piling units onto one tile, that is a very efficient answer.

East Indiaman: The Dutch naval trade unit, tuned for commerce rather than for winning sea battles. It fits a Netherlands game that funds itself through trade routes and later through a corporation.

Meta Analysis

The current meta in Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword centers on Corporations and Espionage points and the espionage slider. Builds that leverage both systems outperform those that focus on only one. Our combat guide explains these interactions in depth.

What's strong right now:

Babylon under Hammurabi with Spy is the benchmark. Everything else is measured against it.
The Apostolic Palace builds are gaining ground as players find new combinations.
Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne remains essential for learning hard content. See the boss guide.

What's underrated:

Byzantium under Justinian I is consistently overlooked despite being the most flexible option.
Cataphract offers excellent performance for its investment level.

What's overhyped:

Pure Netherlands under Willem van Oranje builds. High ceiling but the consistency isn't there for most players.

Quick Picks by Situation

Situation	Best Build	Best Gear	Why
Overall best	Babylon under Hammurabi	Spy	Highest consistent performance
New player	Byzantium under Justinian I	Executive	Most forgiving, teaches mechanics
Hard content	Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne	Cataphract	Survivability when you need it
Group play	Khmer under Suryavarman II	Ballista Elephant	Utility and team support
Experienced player	Netherlands under Willem van Oranje	East Indiaman	Unique challenge and high ceiling

More Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword Guides

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