[Scott Hebert]

Regarding the Sanguine Acolyte of Abysia, he's nice... but the small Mictlan priest is almost exactly the same for 20g less...

As for the Daughter of Avalon, I think something that a lot of people are overlooking is the fact that she's sacred. Meaning, upkeep halved. When you consider that a Seithkona is 90g+6g each additional turn, while the Daughter of Avalon is 80g+just under 3g per turn... the differences between the prices just keep getting higher. Another use for the Daughter is casting Haruspex, which most cheap mages can't do (use their searching spell). The Seithkona can, for Death and Astral, but I find that an aberration of Astral and Death magic, more than a point in favor of the Seithkona. (IOW, I see no reason why Death and Astral should get their site-searching spell for only D or S.)

Further on the economic front, the 'normal' national troops for the Seithkona cost more than the equivalent for the Daughter, which means the long-range concerns about the upkeep of your mages is more important.

Scott