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Here is one of the more interesting choices as multiple leader civs go. India benefits from what most expert players consider to be one of the best UUs. Moreover, India is one of those lucky civs to start off with mysticism making an early religion-centric strategy a definite possibility. So India is definitely a powerhouse, and your choice of leaders can have significant ramifications in marshalling the full power of this top-tier Civ.
Gandhi is one of the most popular leaders in the game, if you fire up a multiplayer session, odds are you will see Gandhi in 90% or more of your games. Asoka is a bit more underrated, but in my opinion, far superior to the Mahatma.
Both civs start with spiritual, which is in my opinion the most powerful trait in Civ IV, even more powerful than financial. So it comes down to organized vs industrious. For me, this is no contest, as I consider industrious to be the weakest trait. What really puts Asoka over the top though is the incredible synergy between his two traits. Spiritual of course gives you the ability to switch between the various civics at no penalty. Organized allows you to run the civics of your choice cheaply. So running the expensive organized religion when you on a peaceful footing, and switching to expensive civics like police state or vassalage when you're gearing up for war can be done without fear of prohibitive cost. This is very powerful, and combined with the infastructure that the fast worker provides, you can become an unstoppable juggernaut. If I had to choose the single most powerful leader in Civ IV, it may well be Asoka. He would certainly be in my top 5 along with other top-tier leaders like Mansa Musa and Catherine.
To Gandhi's credit, he's probably the most powerful industrious leader in the game. He of course is blessed with the powerful spiritual trait, and starting with mysticism puts him in a very strong position to claim one or more of the key early wonders.
Gandhi is one of the most popular leaders in the game, if you fire up a multiplayer session, odds are you will see Gandhi in 90% or more of your games. Asoka is a bit more underrated, but in my opinion, far superior to the Mahatma.
Both civs start with spiritual, which is in my opinion the most powerful trait in Civ IV, even more powerful than financial. So it comes down to organized vs industrious. For me, this is no contest, as I consider industrious to be the weakest trait. What really puts Asoka over the top though is the incredible synergy between his two traits. Spiritual of course gives you the ability to switch between the various civics at no penalty. Organized allows you to run the civics of your choice cheaply. So running the expensive organized religion when you on a peaceful footing, and switching to expensive civics like police state or vassalage when you're gearing up for war can be done without fear of prohibitive cost. This is very powerful, and combined with the infastructure that the fast worker provides, you can become an unstoppable juggernaut. If I had to choose the single most powerful leader in Civ IV, it may well be Asoka. He would certainly be in my top 5 along with other top-tier leaders like Mansa Musa and Catherine.
To Gandhi's credit, he's probably the most powerful industrious leader in the game. He of course is blessed with the powerful spiritual trait, and starting with mysticism puts him in a very strong position to claim one or more of the key early wonders.