[Hiro_Antagonist]

Okay, it's time to come to the defense of the Skeleton and the Cutpurse, I guess. =)

There's really not too much to say about the Skeleton, other than the fact that its low cost *is* its special ability, and it's a darn good one! More than any other unit, you can build one at each city each turn while still saving up money for more powerful units. The Undead have their own playing style, and overwhelming your enemies with hordes of cheap skeletons is part of their strength. But I guess if you're just trying to find the unit with the lowest stats, then yup, the Skeleton is it. But I don't think it's the worst unit!

The Cutpurse is a bit more complicated though. Yes, it's $200 more for basically the same stats, but it has 2 abilities that help make up for the difference: Nimble and Mug.

The way I see it, Mug will usually recover most of the money difference with one attack, and if you can get two attacks with it, it becomes cheaper than a Skeleton! And I think Nimble is one of the most underrated abilities in the game. At worst, if your enemy is totally on the ball, they'll have to drastically adjust their screening/blocking tactics to account for Nimble. At best, your opponent will forget your Cutpurses can pass through their units and you can deal a costly deathblow to an expensive unit or move onto a city that they didn't expect. Both of those things can really turn the tide of a game.

Another point with the Cutpurse -- although many people think they're lucky to get one hit in, I've found otherwise. If you use Cutpurses with more powerful units, the enemy usually focuses their attention on the more expensive units (Wolf Riders, Legendmakers, etc.). That means the Cutpurses are generally ignored, which lets them earn a surprising amount of money in the long run. I've played several games with Cutpurses that have turned a profit after paying for themselves, and dealing a ton of damage in the meantime!

So yeah, in a 1-on-1 fight, a Cutpurse isn't that good. But they really start to shine when they are present in a much larger battle where screening/blocking comes into play and where there are bigger fish for your opponent to fry first.

Of course, if you still think those units aren't very good, I'd love to hear why. Talking about balance/strategy stuff like this is a lot of fun to me. =)

-Hiro_Antagonist