What's your favorite nation and why?

[Aleph]

EA Mictlan - I love their awe-inspiring return per gold with Mictlan Priests and Jaguar Warriors. I play Imprisoned F9E4S4B4D2 Growth 2 Luck/Turmoil/Sloth 3 Heat 1 Dom 6 Smoking Mirror. I do think that Lanka is actually a stronger nation overall, but I resent that someone is outblooding Mictlan (who should, by definition, blow everyone else out of the water in the blood game) so I don't play them.

Honorable mention to EA pangea with a sleeping E4D4N4(SorA)4 Gorgon - very effective with minimal Alteration and Conjuration investment, unlocks LA Pangea undead summons. A nation with reanimation, blood, freespawn (I play turmoil/sloth/growth/luck 3), great archers, and powerful stealth preaching/unrest engines. Lots to like here, I just can't quite put my finger on the missing element that catalyzes the synergy between all these elements.

2nd honorable mention to EA Abyssia for pure joy of no friendly fire battle magics.

MA Ermor - Usually a fountain, either F9orD9 S9 depending on whether I want early or late game power, sometimes with E4 snuck in to help out communions. Shadow Vestals give you ridiculous early game expansion, which you follow up with the best gold-recruitable reanimators in the game from your capital and excellent communion power (easiest way to H4 in the game for a nation who really benefits from it). Solid regular troops give you an option against an enemy who has invested too heavily in priests.

Honorable mention to MA Abyssia for reasons mentioned by others in this thread - probably my favorite MA blood magic nation, and no slouch across the board magically.

LA Ermor - a thematic nation executed to a T; the reason I bought the game in the first place. Much too strong against the AI. Some micro-management HA, but nothing compared to R'yleh's issues due to insanity.

LA Ulm for it's wonderful spies, rangers, counts, mix of death/blood/freespawns, and slow rise to magical dominance. Somewhat clunky gear-shifts in this nation make it a definite second best to Ermor, but this makes it somewhat more interesting to play against the computer.