From one newb to another, welcome to the game.
I've played Mictlan, and surprisingly, I like it. Here's one little trick I figured out. If you take a high Death magic on your Pretender (not a bad move since one of the few magics your priests don't cover is Death, oddly), you can recruit Eagle Warriors, bless them, have them hit the rear, and they'll each have their own Fear effect to rout the enemy faster. Don't know how viable it is on Ind 9, but something you may want to consider.
Bayushi Tasogare