[PvK]

I think different people and nations have different tastes. When I'm Ulm, I tend to make a lot of toys and field a lot of thug fighters with them. They aren't SC's, but thugs which help turn the tide of early and mid-game battles.

I look at Wraith Swords and the like as weapons for SC's to use against living hordes. They are not so good against unliving targets, other very skilled/equipped fighters, nor for use by non-SC's, because they tend not to be as good at anything but providing a way to drain life force. So yeah, I have used other weapons much more often than I have used life drain weapons.

PvK