dragons are famous gold-hoarding - make the upkeep costs for units and commanders 10x normal.
and yes, quality over quantity is a big effect in this game, but if you balance the costs and don't make the units *too* absurd you should be fine. I mean, Niefelheim can produce a jarl every second turn at the beginning, and it doesn't take long to get the income going to produce one every turn.
you could also force the pretender to be one of the dragons, which have insanely expensive magic paths. You'd also have to be awake. This would mitigate the strength of your pretender or starting scales some, since you'd obviously be able to go 3 sloth.
there's a fix for every balance issue
