That's great! I just learned a lot from that post since I'm
new. Seeing how you used items to boost your magic path
skills in the late game is something I haven't been doing but
now I know I totally need to do that.
Yes, item boosting is crucial. Please, please, please don't just use your pretender for enchantments. I had three other commanders fairly high in magic paths with boosters, just didn't have enough enchantment researched.