[Ironhawk]

Yikes, dont complicate the situation with mods if its the guy's first time.

I think its fair to say at this point that Ulm and Man are probably the most recognizable and straightforward nations. Thier units all perform obvious functions and their magic is quite limited in diversity.

Next step up would be nations like Abysia and Marignon - again they have straightforward units. But in those cases, you should focus solely on Fire magic (dont worry about astral and blood for the moment), because fire magic has the most traditionally recognizable spells like Fireball and whatnot.

Once you have some base dominion knowledge then you can wander off and try all the crazy diversity of nations that exist...