[Aleph]

I do think E9W9 Lanka is pretty forgiving... research to construction 4 for skull mentors and then up to Blood 6 while mashing faces with your excellent sacred heavy infantry. The Dakini can Cloud Trapeze, are fantastic thugs with snake bladder sticks and vine shields and a few air buffs, and aren't pricey for the damage they cause.

Probably one of the best-rounded nations in the game is MA Ermor. You can learn so much about the game... the power and weaknesses of huge hordes of undead, the strength of communions with lots of holy spells from slaves, and how to move steadily up the Death magic ladder. They also bless nicely with S9... as cap-only troops Shadow Vestals are probably not a good choice for a heavy bless, but Ethereal + Twist Fate will really help your starting expansion, without the need for an SC pretender which can be nerve-wracking for newer players (and me, whenever said pretender is not immortal).