Tien Chi and conscription

[JimMorrison]

I'm confused by the suggestions I see here, regarding capital recruitment.

TC appears to have 2 capital only mages, and I see people saying "no reason to recruit anything but Celestial Masters", but what about the Imperial Alchemist? The Imperial Alchemist is your only access to Fire. They are also going to have forging combinations that Celestial Masters will never gain access to. To top it off, they are less likely to be old age. Now due to cost, and sacred status, I would agree that Celestial Masters should get more use, but the Imperial Alchemist is a very valuable mage as well.