[tinkthank]

Yes, you put your finger on some sore points.
What I try to do to counter this is:
Get a low-cost pretender and spend points on Scales. Get Order 3 as a must-have.
Search. Find gems. You need em. Alchemize your fire early on for gold to buy troops. Be aggressive.
Not finding sages sucks. There is no real solution to this. Thus: be aggressive, expand, and hope to find sages.
I still like Abysia's national troops, they are just not particularly flexible. Gateway is a must-have spell for me since it's easy to cast for us and I want Thaumaturgy anyhow.
Well maybe that helps?