Newbie in distress: Who are the top tier leaders/civs?

[is lyfe]

I'm new to the civ franchise and I love Civ4:bts. I'm so addicting to the game even though I lose the majority of my games (on noble). I've read many many guides and threads, and the term top tier (traits,leaders,civs) come up a lot. I'm just curious to know who are they, because maybe they can give give me an extra edge that I need so i can hone my skills.

I've won was Monte/Aztec Time victory on cheiftan and SHaka/zulu culture victory on warlord ..pretty sad. They only other Times I've won games were on tiny maps with HC, MM, and Genghis on noble all conquest. Honestly I'm a cheesy player and I load my auto saves when I F*** up. Most of the time I go pretty far in to a game I get either out teched, weak economy or weak military.

So any and all advice is welcome

 

[JujuLautre]

Well, at first, you should realize that you're in the wrong forum

After this, there is no best or worse leader. There are some leaders that lots of player recognize a strong leader, but that's all. But with a few exceptions, this is mostly a matter of personnal opinions and feelings.

 

[MrCynical]

While there is no single leader that is obviously best (or worst) there are a few which are obviously top tier, and a few clear bottom tier ones as well.

For a peaceful game, any of the Financial leaders (but in particular Hannibal, Elizabeth and Willem van Oranje) are strong. For a more warfare oriented game either of the Roman leaders, Ragnar or Boudica might be better choices.