[CUnknown]

I agree with you both. Totally, AoE, bloodstones rock! It's not a bad call to make your pretender based on that, it could pay off as you say.

But, at the same time, I would probably just use scouts as Micah suggests. If you have enough scouts (~20), it is actually a reliable source of blood slaves. then you use your first 50 to empower a smith, then he can make a divining rod and search for his own.

Of course this method gets the bloodstones going a lot later than your method does. For Micah and I, it is only a side-strategy.