A few questions

[Valerius]

Originally Posted by Legendary League

However, the F or D bless is strictly inferior to the effects of thug items, so even if it only fires on-hit, it's a downgrade in their power.

Yes, I agree. In that situation Rytek was playing Helheim and wanted a lich pretender with high D magic and also to make heavy use of valks so being able to get something out of brand use with thugs was a plus.

Assuming an F/D 9 bless is a good one for the nation's troops, I guess the decision comes down to whether the troops or the thugs are a more important aspect of the nation/gameplan.

[Legendary League]

Certainly.

In regards to Mictlan, the Jaguars and Eagles come first. In the case of, say, Eriu, you almost never want to jeopardize their frost brands.