focused research? or jack-of-all-schools?

[Squirrelloid]

I'm not sure I agree with your list because its level 9 focused.

Quibbles:

Constr 9 is really over-rated. Constr 6 or 8 are logical cut-off points. You won't be throwing up FotA unless you're already winning anyway, and otherwise 9 doesn't have enough to make it a priority. Constr 8 gives you artifacts, so if you can get there first, its definitely worthwhile. However, the good stuff is going to go fast, so if you can't get there first then 6 is probably good enough. (Not being able to get the Chalice, Scepter, or Hammer of the Forge Lord is enough to make Constr 8 go from amazing to nice. And the longer it takes you to get there after someone else snags it, the worse its going to be).

Evo 9 is pretty useless. Evo 7 is enough for most purposes. I'd rate Ench 9 over Evo 9.

For that matter, I'm not sure I'd rate Thau 9 over Ench 9. Astral travel is nice, but you're not going to be making extensive use of it at its price point unless you're playing with gem gens (*shudder*) or have Ench 9's AN already. And the other Thau 9 spells are rather situational (and in the case of master enslave, often hard to use well). Ench 9 offers AN and Army of Dead. Army of the Dead is great for raiding or bolstering your armies, although possibly a little pricey at 10d.

With Army of Lead/Gold, i would definitely rate Alt 2nd, and possibly 1st depending on nation and timing.