[Ink]

gem income is, far and away, the strongest indicator of late game performance.

by late game, single certain spells make even the largest armies of regular troops impotent.

additionally, in late game mobility and reaction become far more important. your opponent may have from 3-10 raider-thug/SCs plus Ghost Riders etc, all capable of capturing your provinces while avoiding your armies if need be. If you don't have the gem income to summon and equip your own thugs in equal numbers then you are really at a disadvantage.

scratch that. you are really going to lose is what I meant to say. you can't compete. it is a winning strategy. you have to have a way to counter it and thugs/Scs, by definition, are not stopped by normal armies.