Re: Summons
 

You get a non-unique Devil commander out of Horde from Hell. It's pretty pricey at 44 slaves, but his stats aren't totally terrible.

Succubi are non-unique, but lack a body slot. Not that they don't have a body, it's just well, wearing armor would be such a waste, right? At 66 slaves, no magic paths, and pretty weak combat stats, it's something you're unlikely to summon for anything except seduction/assassination.

Outside blood, one guy that hasn't been mentioned yet is the lowly Black Servant. At 5D in CBM, he's got 0-enc and is ethereal and stealthy. So you can slap some cheap armor on him and a snake bladder stick or frost brand or a horror helm, and he's a pretty good raider against many nations.

Re: Summons
 

I like Ice devils, really nasty bastards in cold dominion, way better than arch devils!
As for national thugs/SC, Mictlans chivateto ( or something like that) is the best.

Re: Summons
 

Black servant is also good without a weapon because his natural attack is life drain. Black servant with a vine shield works well.

Re: Summons
 

No head slot - no head that could be hit (at least for some monsters).
Start a game as EA Agartha, and give a black steel plate to a Trog Lord. Total protection will be the same as body prot regardless of the lack of helmet.

Re: Summons
 

Has CBM made certain summons a lot better now? I can think of drakes/wyverns + master. Perhaps that upgraded treelord as well?

Re: Summons
 

Ice devils suck. I won't use one again.

Re: Summons
 

in what sense?

Re: Summons
 

Mostly just being close in price and research to the much-superior arch devils. Suck is a bit strong, but they're certainly fairly lackluster.

Re: Summons
 

I like leviathans a lot, and CBM behemoths.

Re: Summons
 

I don't think I saw anyone mention Gargoyles. They have some weaknesses for sure (MR), but being high protection, mindless flyers they can be one of the best PD raiders in the game just with minimal equipment - try dual wielding a frost brand and snake bladder stick. There is something brutally elegant about how they can fly up and beat the crap out of almost anything that sits there buffing itself. No micro - just set orders to Attack Rear. In CB they are only level 5 enchantment and 10 earth gems - I tend to have plenty of E in the late game. You do need to GoR them which is where the cost effectiveness breaks down a bit but against a non-astral nations they can be fun and powerful. Vs. astral, be careful since their base MR is too low and needs lots of boosters just to have a chance.