Hunahpu & Xbalanque are a Hero in Civilization VI. They are exclusive to the Heroes & Legends game mode, introduced in the Babylon Pack.
- Attributes:
- Counts as a melee unit.
- Cannot earn experience or
Promotions.
- Abilities:
- Agile: Ignores Movement penalties in Woods and Rainforest terrain.
- The Twins' Resurrection: Any ordinary land unit killed by Hunahpu & Xbalanque is resurrected under your control with full HP and movement.
- Agile: Ignores
Strategy[]
Hunahpu & Xbalanque are a strange duo melee unit with the passive ability to resurrect fallen enemy land units in combat and bring them immediately under your control, especially the unique units of another civilization! This is very useful, but niche, in a situation where an opposing civilization that is in battle with you has a much larger army than yours. Every unit you kill with Hunahpu & Xbalanque becomes much-needed military pressure against your enemy the moment their passive ability kicks in. Because of this, they can easily turn the tide of battle from a lose-lose situation to one in which your opponent is seriously outnumbered!
Despite their game-changing passive ability, Hunahpu & Xbalanque can only use it while battling other opposing land units. Additionally, they boast a 
Combat Strength that is only slightly better than most other unique melee units of their respective eras. Because of this, both their HP and lifespans are determining factors of whether they can be effective at reanimating hordes of enemy land units or not. They can even become easy pickings by other civilizations that execute a well-planned ambush against the duo. Therefore, it is advised to fight sparingly with Hunahpu & Xbalanque and pull them back when they are low on health and they have a good chunk of lifespan remaining to recoup so as to maximize their ability usage.
Finally, if Hunahpu & Xbalanque is used to kill Barbarian land units, they will initially resurrect and regain movement under your control, but they will be unable to regain HP by resting, akin to hiring temporary mercenaries.
Like all Hero units, Hunahpu & Xbalanque's Strength increases with the progression of the eras, as shown in the table below.
| Era | Combat Strength
|
|---|---|
| Classical | 42 |
| Medieval | 54 |
| Renaissance | 64 |
| Industrial | 76 |
| Modern | 88 |
| Atomic | 96 |
| Information | 106 |
| Future | 116 |
Civilopedia entry[]
Many indigenous American mythologies have a story of a magical pair of twins. In the K’iche’ Mayan Popol Vuh, these "Hero Twins" were Hunahpú and his brother Xbalanqué. Their story is a story about how the horrific gods of the underworld Xibalba lost their power. It begins with another set of brothers: the father and uncle of the Twins, who were betrayed by the gods of the underworld. They were invited to play the Mesoamerican ballgame in Xibalba, but the game was rigged and the losers were sacrificed.
Years later, Hunahpú and Xbalanqué found their father’s old ballgame equipment, figured out the story, and began to practice for their own match. Seeing this, the dark lords invited the twins to play a match. The Hero Twins knew it was a trap, but they went anyway. The games were nightmarish – a ball with hidden blades, athlete housing filled with flying razors, and, finally, a night in the lair of Camazotz, the monstrous bat god, which cost Hunahpú his head (temporarily).
Though the Twins won each game, at the moment of victory, they appeared to fall victim to one last trap, walking into an oven that incinerated them both. Little did the lords of Xibalba know that the Hero Twins had mastered the art of resurrection. Despite being burnt into ash, they were reborn in Xibalba, and lived amongst the dwellers there, hidden in plain sight. They pretended to be magicians who could bring back the dead and offered to show their trick to the dark lords by killing them, then bringing them back. But this was another trick – when the Hero Twins killed the highest gods of the underworld they revealed their identities and gleefully declined to resurrect the murderers of their father.
Like the ballgame, the Hero Twin stories traveled far. They can be found in mythologies ranging from Maya to Navajo, Mississippian to the Ho-Chunk.
Trivia[]
- If Heroes & Legends mode is off, Hunahpu is a potential name for volcanoes discovered by the Maya.
- Hunahpu & Xbalanque's icon is the macuahuitl, a type of war club commonly used by a lot of Mesoamerican civilizations. The same weapon is also wielded by the Aztecs' Eagle Warrior.
See also[]
- Hunahpu in other games
| Civilization VI Heroes1 [edit] |
|---|
| Anansi • Arthur • Beowulf • Hercules • Himiko • Hippolyta • Hunahpu & Xbalanque • Maui • Mulan • Oya • Sinbad • Sun Wukong |
| 1 Requires DLC |