I think you only lose 3 turns or so going around the long way in Chapter 10 on Eirika Route.
If everyone wants to start now that's fine. I'm only around for about another 45 minutes though.
Welp. I don't think I have much chance of winning now.
I'm busy for the rest of the day, so tomorrow or Thursday would be preferable for me.
What route though? How much people want Cormag or Duessel is kind of route dependent.
I was under the assumption that it was just standard draft rules. Seth is banned; the lords, Tethys, and Myhrr are free for everyone, snake style drafting (12344321), etc.
Playing through Hard Mode without characters who have hard mode bonuses has given a greater appreciation for Dieck and his access to 1-2 range over Rutger. I still think Rutger is better for killing bosses though.
Gonzales' promotion item is also competing with Fir an extra pair of boots.
And Chapter 16 or 17 is kind of late to be promoting. Although, I promote as early as possible in this game, so if you're waiting until reaching level 20 to promote then promoting that late might make more sense.