[Endoperez]

Water 9 Earth 4 would give the mages Blessing of Quickness, which works with the spell of the same name and helps the void monsters (often slow-ish), while Earth gives reinvigoration for your mages. And you are able to churn out lots of Claymen with the pretender.

I don't think any Earth-based underwater pretenders exist, so this would be cheaper, too. Of course, claymen don't compare to the statues, but I have grown fond of them.