[Endoperez]

Early game, Ulm would benefit much more from recruitable shortbows and recruitable arbalests, and it can easily take turn or two to get both 20 archers and a commander for them in the early game even if you get lucky. You could have second expansion army starting turn 3 instead of turn 5, and your initial army would have taken fewer losses, if Ulm could recruit cheap archers.

Having access to arbalestS is nice if you have to counter something that has high protection and no shield, but other nations can do the same easier with their battle mages. There aren't that many nations that are going to send something like that against you - in MA, only Ulm and Abysia come immediately to mind, and Abysia has tower-shielded units to put to the frontline to draw the worst fire.