On the matter of scales: Order 3/Sloth 3/Death 3/Misfortune 2/Magic 2 (or 3) is the common combination in a standard game, but it may change depending on the specifics of the game. Games that promote a permanent state of war will see more Productivity for example, as casualties are expected to be high in such games.
But even when planning to fight major wars, poor scales can make sense: in Entwined Destiny (6 teams of 2), Mictlan went with quasi Ermorian scales, and recruited massed Jaguar Warriors. They had a triple blessing of Fire 9, Astral 9 and Water 9, making them fearsome indeed. Mictlan did very well, won the game with their Ulmian ally, and I would think they were most powerful nation at the end of the game. A shame you cannot have four level 9 blessings though.
