Mercs come in sod and they absolutely demolish content until the 60s and only fall behind players in the 70s, so miragul was hardly a tss playthrough. Further, sof is significantly superior leveling content, so not only are you breezing to there with mercs, but probably going to the farm or whatever instead of frostcrypt or ashengate in the 70s.
I do think a tss start will be relatively unpopular and need some other gimmick(s) to make it good, but I'd go for anything over classic leveling. I did the grimling path on selo, on a future advanced start server I'd love to do some kunark dungeon path (kaesora, dalnir, droga etc) if im grouped or outdoor velious like the gd bears if im boxing, or loy if available. Nobody likes oot goblins, not even the autisticest of the autist rerollers.