Yet another new person with a question...

[fantasma]

Gandalf, plain and simple the nation that most appeals to the player. Because he will stick to the game long enough to learn because he enjoys. Some like stomping around as a giant, others to swarm with little buggers. As long as you understand that you cannot survive with your capital alone it does not matter which nation to pick up the mechanics with.

[sector24]

I just want to reiterate that there is no need for multiple installs, I installed the game on a USB drive and can play it anywhere.

In my opinion the best starting nation is EA Niefelheim. The reason is that there are two main components to the game. The "civ" part of the game which is about empire management, recruiting troops and managing gold etc. Then there's the "magic" part of the game which is all about understanding spell paths, combat magic, forging boosters, path diversification, etc. The magic part is much more powerful but much more difficult to learn.

Your first nation should be able to stand tall based purely on the "civ" part of the game because the magic part is the most confusing. EA Niefelheim is perfect for that. EA Lanka, Hinnom, and Ashdod are also great for this. Once you understand how to search for magic sites, build forts, do basic army placement, etc. you can move on to a more magical nation.