[Jazzepi]

I wouldn't take growth as Abysia. Someone did an interesting study with lots of mages who had old age over 100 turns. The difference between G3 and D3 wasn't HUGE but it was significant. The difference between G1 and G0 was very small.

Since you don't get any income bonus for having the growth scale, the only thing it gives you is longer living mages. I think in the long run, you'd be better off spending points somewhere else.

I'd focus on production, order, and maybe an awake pretender. Cyclops seems like a good choice. You could give him a bit of earth, and then some air to give him mistform. I've found A2E3 awake cyclopes to be extremely inexpensive for what you're getting. Though, at the end of the day, I'd rather have an A4E5-6 if you can afford it. The extra protection, and the ability to sitesearch for level 4 sites, makes a big difference.

Jazzepi