[Sombre]

I don't believe I said the tactic wasn't counterable. All the counters you list are considerably more expensive than the tactic itself and involve equal if not more micro. So if you are forced into making these counters, the tactic has already been wildly successful.

But this is besides the point. Everyone can do it, so it simply isn't a balance concern. It's more that it's something that feels buggy and counter intuitive which causes large amounts of micro, but using it will definitely net an advantage if your opponent doesn't. Hence if people are trying their very best to win, they'll both end up using it. That's cool if you don't feel it detracts from the game and if everyone in the game is happy to accept that every turn you have to fiddle with your swarms of commanders and chaff troops and micro based counters all along your hostile borders. In fact it's an advantage to use it pretty much everywhere, even peaceful borders.

But to me when a single indy commander with 3 militia troops stops a large attack force in their tracks by appearing briefly then running away, that messes up my immersion and feels flat out buggy. I also feel, like I said, that it wasn't intended to work that way. It's not a tactic I'm willing to use and hopefully I won't have it used against me in games, because I generally don't play with people who would do so. If I do, guess I'm SoL and have to accept a disadvantage and the imposition of a crappy game mechanic. I certainly wouldn't cry cheat.

Re: the idea of modding in a global assassin spell, I think that's a crazy solution with big micro implications. A way simpler one would be to tell people not to do it. Sure a rules lawyer could try and weasel past the rule or try to use it against its spirit, but let's face it, when someone's doing it it's pretty obvious.