Well maybe this is a good subject for another attempted list.
Thematic pretenders that have more up front niche use - and some thematic special abilities for different pretender chassis that would provide different strategic possibilities. Are those moddable? Like the Gorgon's petrification (not saying more pretenders need that, just an example), can that be added to a custom modded pretender chassis?
It seems to me that more nation specific pretenders should be based around minor paths available to that nation, rather than based around their major path. Not that it's wrong to do Water magic pretenders for aquatic races, or Nature magic pretenders for Pangaea et al, but in some cases a people who are strong in one thing, and weak in another, could come across an ancient (or not so ancient) being who was vastly powerful in that weaker path, and become fascinated by it, because it can command powers that they barely comprehend.
Yes, there are usually options for whatever you think works, and you can justify any pretender choice through RP reasoning, but I am talking nation specific things that are out of the ordinary.
Here's my first good example, I won't do numbers, just lay out the basic idea - for Caelum, amidst ALL of their Air based pretender choices - the Glacial Prince, a huge self aware water elemental who was discovered in the high mountains. Heck, this guy could actually be considered Mindless like the Colossal Fetish, and ultimately he serves the Seraphs, but they worship him and believe him to be autonomous.
