Summoning vs Forging

[TwoBits]

A month or so back, I asked folks' opinions on whether they'd rather use their gems to summon more immediate combat support, or call down nasty ritual spells upon their enemies, and I learned quite a bit. Thanks again to all who shared their thoughts there!

Well, since I'm in a strategy-comparison mood, I thought I'd bring up another topic for debate. Again, let me preface, I'm mostly interested in MP play (but I wont freak if you make SP relevant comments).

So, basically, I'm wondering if, for example, you summon up yourself something like a Wraith Lord (or perhaps you have your own bad *** national recruits - I dunno, something like a Yomi Dai-Oni perhaps), and you've just blown 40 gems. Are you better off blowing another 40 or so gems to kit him out, or are you better off just getting another of the same?

I mean, to fit out a proper SC/Thug, it seems like it costs many extra gems, and a lot of extra mage time in forging.

I mean, wouldn't you be better off using those extra gems to summon more units (or to cast nasty rituals upon your foes)? Or to use that mage time for research, or to send those would-be forgers off to war instead?

Making a proper SC/Thug just seems to be a lot more hassle than its worth. Or is making SCs/Thugs just something not generally done by the more experienced MP players?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!