Here is an example of how the Skratti werewolf thug is far form extinct despite not having weapon or helmet slots.
I'm sure you all know how to do this. All you need is enough vaetti hags (which you'll want anyway for cheap researchers) to score one or two with astral. Then You need to rush Alteration 4 for Quicken Self, Body Ethereal and Luck. Since the Hag fits in the same square as the giant werewolf after two rounds of buffing your totally unequipped early game überthug looks like this:
(in the picture 2 of them are tearing apart experienced heavy cavalry).
In the other picture you see the rest of the indie lvl 9 defenders. As can be expected in the battle nobody lands a single hit on the werewolves.
