[TheDemon]

There is another side to the argument as well: most awake SC pretenders aren't strong enough to handle a very early (turn 5/6) rush. A F9 W9 mictlan will tear apart a PoD or a Wyrm and will give a Cyclops trouble. A bless niefel rush will also kill most SCs, the high str and decent atk does them in even if you give them a cold immune ring. If you take a lesser SC like a Dragon they hardly scratch elite troops. The immortal SCs (Risen Oracle, Phoenix, Vamp Queen, Lich) can attrit the enemy early, but they are much weaker in combat than the non-immortals. And dare I mention a Sphinx with high dom patrolling in the cap.

Anyway my point is a SC won't stop a real rush, it'll be a speedbump on the turn it dies and no more. I think squirrel is right in that a rush is beat by hitting clear defensive research goals early. Awake SC as a rusher's tool on the other hand is very useful since they are great at raiding.