[Uh-Nu-Buh]

Epaminondas, I think you make some good points. However, mid game, you might have a handful of great mages; late game, a double handful. Instead of that you could have 10 times that number of weak mages and/or well-equipped commanders acting as artillery. The massed mages strategy is awesome, but upkeep is a big drawback--100 mages at 150gp each means ~1,500gp/turn in upkeep. 100 massed commanders would cost 150gp/turn. Massed mages would cost initially 15,000gp. 100 well-equipped massed Commanders would cost 1,000gp plus 15gemsX100=1,500gems.

The loss of a mighty mage can be devastating. To protect itself, the mage has to expend the first 2-3 rounds of combat doing defensive spells. Then he can attack maybe 1-2 times before he has to rest, then he can attack maybe a third time before combat is over.

Compare this to 10 weak mages, spread out to avoid being shotgunned, spamming attack spells. 5-6 attack spells times 10 mages=a LOT of damage.

Compare this to 10 well-equipped commanders doing 5 attack spells of corrosion or numbness or fireball. The commanders are better armored, have more hitpoints, and can dish out the damage....

Of course, if you combine a great mage with great equipment, you have an even more powerful mage. Chainmail of displacement, Amulet of Reinvigoration, Luck Pendant; s/he can concentrate on attack, and get off a lot of powerful spells before s/he fatigues. Expensive though. And you are puttting all your eggs in one basket. (Caveat, this is what I usually do, just playing devil's advocate.)

There's plusses and minuses to each strategy.