[chrispedersen]

Expanding on the last comment:
Certainly skrattis can be equipped for anti-raiding duty. And they are generrally pretty good at it. But the fact remains that niefle's PD is porous, and subject to easy raiding.

Niefle makes the same numbers of commanders as other nations - which can be split among raid(antiraid), research, gem hunting, and forging, etc.

Equipping thugs (forging equipment) and then sending them out
on anti raid - are thugs that aren't being used to invade ME. And mages that aren't being used to research, or blood hunt.
And I'd much raither fight niefle on 'his' territory - than on mine.

IE., niefles armies are absolutely brutal - whether jarls, or popsicles. Dealing with one or two skrattis is a lot easier than dealing with 10 popsicles.. or 3-4 jarls.