[sector24]

I think choosing a pretender is entirely dependent upon the nation. You want to design your pretender to fill out the weaknesses in your nation or to exploit its strengths. Basically there are 3 pretender types:

Bless

For nations that have powerful sacred troops (Niefelheim, Lanka) you want to choose a pretender that starts with the two paths that you want to boost in order to get the bless. The higher the pretender's starting path, the fewer points you pay in the long run. For instance, if you want an Earth/Nature bless, consider the Cyclops (E3) vs the Earth Mother (E1N1). To get E10 and N10 on the Cyclops, you need 706 design points. The Earth Mother needs 720 points. Even though the Cyclops is more expensive and you have to pay the 50 points to open up the nature path, it's cheaper because you get a head start on the Earth path.

The pretender's stats are really secondary considering it will probably be asleep or imprisoned to afford the bless. The bulk of the legwork will be done with your sacred troops. You just have to choose the most economical pretender that the nation allows.

SC

If you have weak national troops or are slow out of the gate, you want a combat pretender. Arguably the best pretenders are the Wyrm, Prince of Death, Gorgon, Ancient Kraken, and Dragons. The pretender doesn't even necessarily need any magic paths (especially the Wyrm).

Titans and other middle range pretenders have high hit points, but are expensive and don't have the abilities that you want for a pretender which are generally Fear, Regeneration/Recuperation, Flying, and high stats (Protection/Defense/MR)

Rainbow

The rainbow pretender is designed to open up paths that your nation doesn't have natural access to. They can assist with site searching for early gem income, and possibly forge important items or cast important global enchantments. These pretenders are the most dependent on the nation, but generally if your nation has no Earth magic you want E2, and since the end game is dominated by Astral, Death, and Blood, if your nation has none of those you will want a pretender that can compensate.

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I would definitely not start with the Late Age due to Ermor and Rl'yeh being unconventional and quite powerful. My favorite is EA, but MA is fine too. There is more magic in EA so if you want to learn proper spellcasting you may as well start there.