[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by apoger:
I am not a fan of the Goetic Masters.

Marignon [Diabolic Faith] requires Heat +1 and Turmoil +1, which is a mighty heavy economic hit.

Oh so it's not really Gothic Masters you dislike, but the Diabolical Faith theme.

I fully agree with you on the econ concerns but it's completely besides the point. The theme exists and can be played and should be played. And if you don't use Goetic Masters when you play Diabolical Faith I'd say you're looking for trouble.

The Goetic Masters require those Winged Shoes to fly, and that means they aren't nearly as available as a fast response to whatever you may need responding to.

If by fast you mean 'reaction time', you just have to have a pair of boots ready, and the problem disappears. If you mean 'early in the game', even Abysia will have to struggle to summon 35 Devils before turn 20 so the limited undead leadership isn't really a concern. And Marignon can push for Construction 4 for the boots while summoning Harlequins (no Blood research needed). So the need for a Constr-4 item is far from enough to invalidate the Devil-o-Rama strategy for Marignon/DF. And it still can be used reasonably fast using Harlequins. 10 Harlequins won't achieve anything by themselves, but once you reach Blood 3 you have amassed a small force that can be added to your newly summoned Devils, while Abysia will have to spent 35 mage-turns after completing Blood 3.

Also the Goetic Masters can only command 10 Devils, while the Demonbred can command 35. This makes a huge difference.

Not in my book. When 10 Devils is enough, then 10 Devils is enough. When it's not, Goetic Masters that come with a random in Blood or Death can lead 15 or 30 Devils, and that should be enough. Other Goethic Masters can lead Devils and Wyverns if your air pretender was lucky finding sites. Or you can find Harab Seraphs or death independent mages to lead your Devils. The possibilities are numerous.

If I was playing Marignon [Diabolic Faith] I would probably stick with using Hordes from Hell and skip on devils.

Even if you notice an Harab Seraph province close to your capital? What's changed then? You've got the Devils (and Harlequins if you want your strike force faster), the flying death mage to lead them, and the cheap blood harvesters. If it works for Abysia, it has to work for Marignon.