Nations that seem strong/weak

[NickW]

Graeme Dice said:
A 10 blood slave cost for every single mage you recruit is not trivial. It's a massive cost that will become 30 or 40 slaves per turn at a minimum.

If you are buying mages in that much bulk you can afford to lose a few. Think of it as the expense for balancing out the free design point from a death-3 scale.