Are there any good Mari Players out there?

[Norfleet]

Well, the second thing that caught my attention is that you took productivity, despite the fact that you intend to produce nothing but low-resource flagellants. Why? Is the production of capitol-only Chalice Knights really worth it? Take sloth instead.

Now we move back to the first thing that caught my attention: Your failure to take Order-3. Where did you plan to get your money? Order-3 is practically a must, for without it, unless your nation receives oodles of free troops or is dead, you are broke! Flagellants may be cheap, but Grand Masters aren't, and you may need them as your only source of randoms unless you find indies.

Luck-1 is Meh. Take Misfortune-2 instead, especially since you basically must take order unless you enjoy being broke. That ought to give you plenty of points to pay for order, and you can probably even remove the heat after switching Productivity for Sloth and Luck for Misfortune. Feel free to blow the rest on Magic for the research boost.

Given the fact that your pretender doesn't offer you any magic that your nationals don't, the best way for you to break into alternative magics will probably be Acashic Record cast off your Grand Masters. All of them are at least S2, and can manage the task with self-forged Starshines. You might also get a lucky S3 one that can do this out of the box. However you do it, the Grand Masters are going to be important for branching out your magics. Rings of Sorcery and Wizardly, forgeable by an S3 Starshined Master, are going to be your friends, especially if you don't find any indies. Jade Amazons are particularly tasty for Marignon.