PDF,I remembered myself that Scorpion King cant wear boots,you answered too fast
Other than that,the little bit extra reinvogiration because of Earth 4 is also a thing to consider,indeed.
I know that Abysia could take a Death Scale...I would never do it though,If I plan to go heavy on Blood Magic and research.I want options,on how to play it.With a high Death Scale,you are forced to play Abysia very aggressive throughout the game and,more important,its difficult to get a very strong blood economy going because your neighbours now not only dislike your Heat Scale but also your Death Scale,making peace more difficult,resulting in wars all the time
On big maps,with lots of opponents,I dont recommend this.