Once, I played against myself (some might find this strange, but it's true) when I first bought the game, in an 8-player game, to test all the factions. I somehow managed to get all 4 magic skills for the Mages purely by chance. They often appear. So, suppressing magic skills is still a good strategy; sometimes it's useful to take them. I develop Blood Rage as quickly as possible. I also take Logistics, Leadership, and Machines; if Summoning appears, I might take that too.