High Bless rush strategy :(

Isn't 9F,9W hideously expensive anyway? There's no God chasis with both water & fire, so your eco will most likely take a hit. IMO in Dom3 you cannot afford to sacrifice the economy as in Dom2, in this the new version plays pretty much like Dom:PPP did.

How about this to counter the 9F,9W vans:
-Abysia with a 9F bless: you are inmune to their fire attacks, but they are not to yours.
-Any SC god with high protection and some fire magic: take the field, cast fire resist, fire shield and either evocations or attack.
-Niefelheim with a Dom8 10e,4n,2f cyclops (dormant): 6ap can barely touch 25 prot, even with the fire vulnerability on the Jarls. Once the god awakens: forge fire resistance gear and stomp the little vanir.
-Any water nation: just stay in the water until ready, negating the rusher's advantage.
-Anybody else: go for direct damage spells (evocations) or mr based spells (tahumaturgy), alternatively field tramplers: trampling always deals 1 point of damage on Dom3 and cancels the mirror image, and it's not like elephants are that more expensive than vanir anyway. If possible, buf the tramplers with stuff like berserk or luck (body ethereal useless vs the magic attacks).