[Baalz]

Yes, I did exactly this strategy to good effect using, as suggested, indie scouts. This is almost as effective as a side strategy and then you can use your pretender for whatever else you want (best if you've got a little blood magic on your pretender, but for boosters, not blood hunting).

1) Start very early and aim for 2-3 provinces with 8-10 scouts/commanders blood hunting.
2) Won't take too long to get 50 slaves, empower smith #1.
3) Smith #1 forges a sanguine rod and starts blood hunting
4) You pretty quickly are able to empower smith #2 who blood hunts (with a sanguine rod) until he can empower 3 more times (1-2 times if your pretender can forge a blood booster for him)
5) smith #2 cranks out blood stones
6) As your nation expands, set up another province or two for scout blood hunting
7) New blood stone forgers are now cheaper because you only need to empower them once, smith #2 can forge cheap boosters for the rest of the way
8)Site search everything for earth using gnome lore.
9) By year three you've had 2-3 guys churning out blood stones every turn for awhile and an absurd earth income
9) Stop forging blood stones for a few turns, stockpile all your earth and blood income - have your forgers bloodhunt
10) Use your big pile of earth gems to put up the forge of the ancients while the same turn you empower as many smiths to level one blood as you can
11) Distribute the blood boosters that your original blood stone forgers were using to your new blood guys, you only need B2 to forge blood stones and now you've got 5-6 guys cranking out blood stones.

Now, if you planned ahead and have the right path boosters ready, and one of the smiths you empowered in blood had an air random, turn one of having the forge up you can forge:
a robe of the magi
rings of sorcery (several, depending on how many boosters/astral random smiths you've got)
5-6 blood stones
one lightless lantern for each fire gem you have (each smith can forge them for 1 gem without a dwarven hammer)
All the other junk you want to forge that requires level 2 in paths smiths get randoms in - starshine caps, chainmail of displacement, crystal coin, etc.

The beauty of this is that your forge has paid for itself even if it's dispelled after one turn...and you can easily put it back up in 5 or 6 turns after you've saved up enough gems/slaves for another mass forging.