Early game equipment for Niefel Jarls?

[HoneyBadger]

Water Bless is pretty meaningless for Niefelheim. It adds absolutely nothing to their spell range, and the +2 defense does little to protect them. Even Water 9 or 10 isn't all that great for Niefelheim. Fire and Death make the Niefel troops themselves better hitters, and add to their ability to cause afflictions. Not absolutely necessary ofcourse, but nice to have, and a lot cheaper than Fire 9. Of the Blesses I mentioned, Air is the most expendable for the Niefels themselves, but it's invaluable in that it gives me a Pretender with Air 3/Earth 1, so I can create Watchers. Watchers are key to good PD for Niefelheim.

You could drop the Air, Fire, and Death (or just Fire and Death) if you want to conserve points, but I certainly would never replace it with even a high level Water Bless.