>I'm taking IF for a different reason...because the first time I took it...I did very, very poorly. And I want to redeem myself.
Perfectly good reason.
>I do have one question regarding your setup: Why take growth? For the gold bonus?
Absolutely. Ulm needs every ounce it can get. It doesn't win with it's magic.
>I know the great mother is a good pretender. I just can't get past the way she looks, though. Hehe.
As an easy alternate you could go with a Dragon (take fire-9 or nature-9) with just one less dominion strength.