A few thoughts on MA Arcoscephale

[Edi]

Spectral mages are stealthy. They also can't be seen by scrying, I think. But it may be they need to be hiding for that.

[Baalz]

FWIW, I find Mystics to be quite underrated. They're recruitable anywhere and communions of them can rain down falling frost/fire, gifts from heaven, magma eruption, blade wind, astral fires, enslave mind, and cleansing water depending on what the situation merits plus most any buff (legions of steel/strength of giants/weapons of sharpness turn their quite respectable heavy infantry into a major threat). You can also use them to forge slave matrixes for thugs, then buff them with every earth/fire/water/astral buff through a communion (invulnerability, fire shield & breath of winter turns most anybody into a thug, toss in quicken self, personal luck, and ). They make an awesome defensive force while you're building up your research base and a damn effective offensive force when you collect critical mass.