[chrispedersen]

Fundamentally, it loses due to cost/return.

It costs too many actions to assassinate.
To concquer an indy you will have to assassinate 3 commanders.

To conquer an opponent you will have to stealth assassins. Which will take one or more turns, usually and runs a risk of detection. Assassinations also frequently fail.

Assassins pay a 'premium' usually for the stealth ability, and roughly speaking are inferior to equivalent thugs without.

So the extra turns - stealthy, or assassinating are the costs.

The return problem is this: The average mage, thug or SC has the opportunity (and will usually succeed if winning the fight) of killing *multiple* enemy troops and/or mages/SCs.

The 'return' on the action is therefore much higher than an assassinations possible death of an opponent.

Toss in the fact that the chances to score loot are lower too.

I'm *not* saying a well timed assassination, or surprise stealth of a key retreat province can't be an incredibly viable tool.

But merely that generally speaking much less so than other options.