What's a good starting nation for newbies?

[Twan]

Yes EA Ermor is very good for learning I think. You can start with pure military power (some of the best armored troops for the early era + a cheap sacred unit), then learn more magic oriented strategies during the game.

Take an imprisoned pretender with good order and production scales and 1 in growth (to avoid too bad effects from aging), and give him some magic paths at 4 to make blessed cavalry a little better (F4/W4 ie). You have very good soldiers and priests, so you don't need a battle pretender nor to use a lot of magic support for early expansion (but you will have a very good one with level 3 alteration and evocation spells).

Then search as many death sites as you can and learn enchantment/conjuration to add undeads minions to your arsenal, or continue to developp evocation to use the very powerful death/astral and death/fire combos.

Another good option is to take the forge lord as pretender and give priority to construction once you have some schools at 3, the sole weakness of Ermor EA being the forging area as your national mages can't have earth magic. Give him earth 4 or 6, if this earth bless is not very useful for your cavalry it's a big boost for your flamen and pontifex, as well as your other mages if you give them a shroud of the battle saint (easy and cheap to forge).