Toa (Civ6)

The Toa is a unique melee unit of the Māori civilization in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It replaces the Swordsman and is unlocked with Construction. 
* Common abilities:
** +5 Combat Strength vs. anti-cavalry units.
* Special abilities:
** 
** 
** 
** 
* Special traits:
** 
** 
** 
** 
== Strategy ==
The Toa is almost identical to the Indians' Varu in terms of statistics: it has the same and and costs, requires no resources to train and has an ability to lower adjacent enemies' strength. It has slightly lower Combat Strength and is unlocked slightly later than the Varu, but comes with an edge in the form of the Pā. This tile improvement works identically to an early Fort, except for the extra ability to heal the unit ending its turn on this tile. In combination with the innate Haka War Dance ability, this makes the Toa almost impossible to kill when it is on defense, making invasion against the Māori during this time period a tall order. Although not as effective on offense, the Toa is still a force to be reckoned with, as its only downside is shared by every other melee unit (and of course, their unofficial "twin," the Varu): slow . If you plan a conquest with the Toa, remember one Toa unit can only build the Pā once, so the location of placement is vital to maximize the improvement's defensive capability on top of the Toa's combat prowess.
Just like other units with build charges, Toa can repair and remove improvements (for free), clear nuclear contamination or features (which costs 1 build charge). Just like the Roman Legion, a common strategy with the Toa is to use one Toa to chop Woods to instantly train another Toa, which can be kept going until you deplete the source of Woods around you. Just keep in mind that clearing features will prevent the Toa from building a Pā, and the Māori gain huge bonuses from keeping Woods and Rainforests around.
Similar to the Varu, the Toa's Combat Strength penalty to nearby units applies to both land and naval units, even when the Toa is embarking. However, it will not reduce the Combat Strength of a nearby embarked unit below the embarkation Combat Strength threshold. However, unlike India, the Māori has strong incentives to try to wrest control of the oceans to provide safety to their units when exploring, but they have no edge in naval warfare whatsoever. You can create an advantage for yourself by keeping a few Toa units around without upgrading them, then put them in formation with your naval units. The Combat Strength penalty aura will then be carried by these ships, making the Toa relevant to the very end of the game.
With the introduction of the Man-At-Arms in the April 2021 Update, the domination prowess of the Toa is significantly reduced. Since the Man-At-Arms is unlocked almost very closely after Iron Working, and is very easy to beeline, the Swordsman and its replacements seem a little bit pointless. The Toa gets hit the hardest among the 5 unique Swordsmen, since it is the only unique unit in the game that is unlocked later than the standard unit, making the already narrow window of opportunity even narrower. It is also the most expensive unique Swordsman, which clearly makes the matter even worse. With the ability to construct Pā in neutral and friendly territory, the Toa's defensive capability stays the same, but the ability to have a timing rush with this unit is now almost non-existent, especially on high difficulty levels.
== Civilopedia entry ==
== Gallery ==
File:Civ6 Toa Concept Art.jpg|Toa concept art/render
File:Civ6 Toa In-Game.jpg|Toa in game
File:Historic Moment Toa (Civ6).png|Historic Moment for building the Toa
== Related achievements ==
ru:Тоа (Civ6)
Category:Māori