Re: MA Ermor advice please
 

Well, maybe I could have been clearer, but I meant that W4 gives you +2 defense. W9 gives you +3 defense and half-quickness. So the net difference between W4 and W9, for 280 pretender points, is +1 defense and water bless...

Re: MA Ermor advice please
 

I think W9 is pretty well mandatory for these guys. you could just try an f4w4?4 bless, take production, and have them backed by a bunch of principe/hastatii/alae, but I think you will find that your expansion is significantly curtailed.

Re: MA Ermor advice please
 

Crazy Vestal hordes is fun. With a big water bless, they can attack rear faster to get rid of pesky archers and dangerous mages (and when they get there, they kill them 50% faster too!)
Edit: Please note I'm not saying just take a W9 bless .. I think protection-zero ethereal Vestals are the optimal nation for S9W9, so take both blesses.

If you are building vestal hordes, you don't need Prod-3. Sloth-3 does the job just fine. You don't need growth because your only old age unit has death magic.

Re: MA Ermor advice please
 

The most standard MA Ermor opening is to use a S9 oracle with good scales. Get animators + nether darts and just expand like crazy since you have both principes + animators and vestals to allow you to take over indies with easy.

Re: MA Ermor advice please
 

W4 is +2 Defense, W9 is +4 Defense, that's a difference of 2 Defense. (And of course the quickness)