Best M2TW MOD to try first?

[Quixote]

I have gone through the game a few times

Tried Turks first time playing, was not prepared for the Mongols.
Played as Poland, strong faction.
Played H/H as Spain, pretty easy.
Currently playing Scots H/H, thought it would be harder

What are the best MODS to level the game out and add something new?

[Baby Boomer]

I don't usually play M2TW a lot but these are mods I've heard of:

Broken Crescent
Deus lo Vult
Stainless Steel

There are several very good mods in production but they're just that; in production.

[Quixote]

What about Vanilla?

I read through a bit of the threads for it and it seems to keep the game closest to the shipped version...

[Monsieur Alphonse]

What about Vanilla?

I read through a bit of the threads for it and it seems to keep the game closest to the shipped version...

Vanilla is the shipped version, the original grand campaign.

[Quixote]

Vanilla is the shipped version, the original grand campaign.

So the VanillaMOD in the hosted mod thread is no change?

[Baby Boomer]

Vanilla is the original.

VanillaMod is a mod FactionHeir has created andcontains many fixes, balances and more.