Anima Magic Advantage Tier List

Mandatory: If you intend to cast spells, you need to choose one of these two;

The Gift: The standard and the go-to. For 2 CP you unlock an entirely different build path from non-magical characters.

Incomplete Gift: Even if go all-in on Power, you won't be able to cast powerful spells reliably for a while. If you intend to only spam lower-level spells however this can be nearly a straight upgrade over the Gift. Just remember that a 1 is actually a -2 to your Power.

A:
Born Wizard: You don't want to take it, and if your GM isn't a sadist this does nothing. But if your GM does use the optional Learning rules in a campaign that isn't constantly time-skipping, this is borderline mandatory in order to be able to actually use your powers.

Improved Innate Magic: Only go for this if you're planning on playing an Innate Magic build that spams low-level spells, but if you do then it's probably the cornerstone of your build.

Natural Power: A game-changer that enables the playstyle who only knows a few spells, but can cast them with immense force. Goes hand-in-hand with an Innate Magic build.

Sheele Essence: If you plan to bond a Sheele, this is a very potent upgrade for her, and Sheeles can be quite good.

B:
Elemental Compatibility: If you intend to play a character focusing on a single Tree, this is a big boost to your accumulation. Just keep in mind it applies after MA multipliers.

Half-Attuned To The Tree: Elemental Compatibility, but for half of the magic paths. Worth it if you plan to play a generalist.
Aptitude for Magic Development: Sometimes you know all the spells you want but can't cast them at the level you need, particularly for permanent or maintained spells. This advantage can enable incredibly powerful spellcasting, but does nothing else.

Mass Summoner: A very powerful option given how the action economy works, but keep in mind that the other players will want to throttle you if you make them sit through six creatures' worth of turns.

Superior Magic Recovery: If you plan to maintain multiple spells or need to be ready to fight every day, this can be very useful. It's also decent for Summoners, who tend to dump truckloads of Zeon into their summonings but don't have the best accumulation.

C:
Contested Spell Mastery: While cool, beam wars rarely actually happen. If you're playing a wizard-hunting wizard, this can be a huge bonus to those fights however.

Familiar: Point out to your GM that the example characters provided in the GM booklet didn't need this advantage to have familiars. Still if they insist and your party lacks a summoner, you'll have to take this if you want one.

Gestureless Casting: If you need to cast in a hurry, you're often past the point of people looking at your funny arm movements.

Magic Nature: This is only 10 DP per CP per level, making it one of the most DP-negative advantages out there at level 1, and if you play a Warlock or Wizard Mentalist you don't actually care about losing out on some of your primary magical abilities for more Zeon. Only consider this if you see yourself needing to cast gigantic spells or performing big summons in rapid succession at higher levels without any other means of increasing your Zeon reservoir.

Natural Knowledge of a Path: Not a bad boon for a specialist, allowing them to save some of their knowledge for Metamagic or even other paths. Do keep in mind that 40 Magic Levels is worth a bit less than +1 in Intelligence past 12, so only take this if your Intelligence is already capped or you don't intend to increase it further at any point.

Opposite Magic: You rarely actually care about having opposite paths unless you're going for flavor or a necromancer.

Unspoken Casting: If you need to cast in a hurry, you're often past the point of people listening in to your chants.

Versatile Metamagic: The different branches of the metamagic tree will usually let you pick what you want as you go along without worrying too much about needing to start elsewhere. Only take this if you have a very clear plan on how to progress along the tree.

D:
Magical Diction: If you're taking the time to read while casting, you can usually afford to take a bit more time to do it. Unless you play in a campaign where you're inundated with magical texts, this will usually only come up once or twice.
Gradual Magic Lessons: For 2 CP, you get +5 Magic Level per Level. This takes 8 levels to catch up to Natural Knowledge of a Path which costs 1 CP, and 15(!) to catch up to increasing your Intelligence from 11 to 13. This is possibly the single worst advantage in the game.