[Kel]

Originally posted by Boron:
the pythium theurgs can be produced everywhere , are sacred + cost 150 gems . so they cost only about 45% upkeep of the arco mystics + can be massproduced .

Mystics can be produced anywhere, as well. Astrologers are capitol only.

but if you really need them early on you can at least mind burn with them and you can empower them quite cheap to astral 3 via forging

Paralyze is a really good 2s alternative if you have troops to accompany them. In fact, I tend to use paralyze more than soul slay in small/mid sized battles since you get better penetration and it costs less fatigue, due to the lower path requirement. In small/mid sized battles, enemies will usually die before paralyze wears off.

pythium has a superior gem income to arco

Only in the very early game. Don't forget that the 3 random elemental picks on the mystics will give you the ability to site search extensively.

or they cast via communion empowered air spells

Communion can be a bit fragile and laborious but one of the nice things is that, with random picks, it can give you access to a huge variety of buffs, making them very powerful and flexible. Mystics, of course, excel at this with 3 random picks, but even the one random of the arch can be used for a variety of battle effects (elemental resistances, flame arrow, wind guide, legions of steel, weapons of sharpness, strength of giants, etc.).

Theurgs do have some advantages. They are sacred, as you pointed out, and thus not only cheaper but also able to gain bless effects (like quickness from a W9 blessing, for example). You just might want to avoid giving them a berserker blessing

They also have a built in W for quickness (where as mystics will often have one but not always).

Plus, being a priest has some advantages in the field, flexibility wise. You can use them to preach and build temples which can be handy. Of course they also site search worse than mystics but you can't have everything.

- Kel