[MaxWilson]

Paths mess up the correlation because they ALSO affect cost, just like sacredness and stats. Compare Mounted Hirdmen to Helhirdings, though, or EA Sauromancers to LA Sauromancers. And I'm not at all sure that KO applies the rules across-the-board. I do note that the Bakemono Sorceror is probably cheap partly because it has lots of oldage (although IIRC good hitpoints), and the Celestial Master is cap-only (as you noted), and the the High Seraph has Flying. So while I agree with Sombre's and Micah's gist, that sacreds are more expensive, I also think it's easiest to put the "advantage" of profaneness in concrete terms of power-per-gold.

I think anyone would agree that if it were a choice between 150 gold sacreds and 150 gold non-sacreds with identical stats, the sacreds would be better except in really weird situations (i.e. facing lots of MA Ermorian Heresy spam or MA Ulmish Guardians). You don't ever have that choice, though.

-Max