[JimMorrison]

My point about the logistical difficulty with the massed slingers is just that, logistics. While every turn your enemy is probably putting out a death squad of 5 Helherdings with a blesser, a single turn worth of slingers in one province isn't going to do much, and is going to require a lot more leadership. If he has 20 sacreds in one force, the amount of slingers needed becomes very cumbersome to wield in the early game. Also if he were to go for W9/E9, you might find that the slings just don't accomplish much. And in the case of Marverni, if you are trying to combat melee troops, those shields may be more of a liability, by increasing cost, or reducing training rate.