[Baalz]

Well, the problem (in my mind) is that in EA there are several things you need to worry about towards the end of year one. Double/triple blessed - jaguar warriors, palashankas, niefels, helherdlings, vans, etc, and you better believe that any of these guys sitting on a strong bless and seeing Marverni on their border is coming for blood. In this time frame (end of year one) you're gonna have a very hard time putting up 3 fortress, labs, temples, and affording the very expensive druids while also funding troops for indie expansion, which is when it really helps to have a powerful "free" mage to complement the paths of the few mages you do afford.

To be sure, you won't be rushed most of the time and in a worst case scenario you're pretty much screwed anyway, but I don't think its generally a good idea to not expect trouble until you've comfortably lined up enough guys to spam blade wind.