[BewareTheBarnacleGoose]

I think growth 1 is a bad idea. Because population growth is exponential, the best choices are either growth 0 or 3. G3 also enables overtaxing (which MA TC is good at), of which Im a huge fan. Production 0-1 is also probably sufficient for cranking out troops.

As for misfortune vs. cold, I'd take misfortune. Cold 2 is a 10% hit to income (for 3/4 of the year, anyway), and adds encumbrance is battle, which your mages dont need.

You might also be better off saving points on magic paths. You will reliably get water 2-3 from your mages, which is all you need, so no need to take it on your god. +2 defense on sacred summons is not as good as more money to buy forts and mages. Air 4 is sufficient if you just want the boosters- again, good scales will benefit you more than +10% air shield. Also, Im not sure how much you "need" the air boosters, unless you want to cast big air rituals, since you have access to communions for air battle magic. And even then, you probably dont need them early. Personally, I'd rather use the air gems to summon more celestial hounds/ soldiers. Even forging a staff of storms is probably more useful. For astral, though, you're fine- S5 is a must, and the magic resistance from S6 is a good deal.

Lastly, I personally would want to use my god for death access, though it's not essential. A weak death bless is also good for mages.