POLL: Scales, Magic Paths, and Dominion

[Maraxus]

Well, if I should look at this as a test, I sored good. Almost only hit the top scores.

Interesting:

Which magic path is the least useful for a Pretender to take in general, under all circumstances, on average?

I don't think blood should be that high, because of the "on average" part.
Sure, you never need blood, if you are not going to do bloody thinks. However, if you are going to do into blood, thins skill imediately becomes top importance unless you want to spend hundrets of blood slaves into empowering one of your national casters.
I've choosen fire, because fire is what you either won't invest much into anyway, or what your national caster will be able to handle okay, allready.
In 7 out of 8 cases, fire will still be more useful for the pretender, but in the 8th case, blood will be more useful, ten times as strong.

[thejeff]

But blood is easy to empower in, since blood slaves are easy to get if you have good hunters. If you don't who needs blood on the pretender anyway. Now I might take blood if I was playing a blood nation that didn't get a particular combination on it's nationals. A water/blood pretender for Abyssia to summon Ice Devils for example. Of course, you could just take the water and empower in blood and use boosters your nationals can make.

You take fire on a pretender for the bless, not the magic. If I have national fire mages, but no death, I'll sometimes take a fire/death pretender for flaming skulls.

[Humakty]

A blood bless can be nice for the strength bonus, that some sacreds can put to good use.
Reading the results, I see my favored built seem nonsense to most people.
Two options for me :
-Consider all those people to be nuts.
-Change my building choice.
I wonder which one is the less painful.

[sum1lost]

I'm surprised that earth didn't get more votes as a strong blessing. Then again, I tend to use sacred caster/thugs.