How is LA R'yleh overpowered?

[Kuritza]

1) 280 gold, sacred? I've seen more expensive mages. Especially with a nation that doesnt have to recruit anything but mages most of the time.
2) Send them to die, then. Free chaff that kills enemy and dies costs gold to your enemy, not to you.
3) Well, no one is perfect.
4) Nothing is an overstatement. I have been rushed by hordes of Rlyeh chaff recently; all I can say is 'HURTS LIKE HELL'. Tramplers, void spawns, paralyzing illithyds... my quickened SC God couldnt kill all the spawn due to turn limit and had to flee, again and again. Twice, he failed MR roll with magic resistance of around 30 and racked some afflictments as well. I was able to hold Rlyeh long enough, with my God and tons of archers, so he lost that game eventually (not before I did, though). But it was a nightmare.
I dont believe he used any spells in that game. Maybe some unscripted casters to lead the troops, but thats all.
5) Who doesnt? Mictlan maybe?
6) Who needs legs anyway. Communion ftw.
7) Yea, and LA Ermor on top of it. Zeldor... seriously... I think I know at least one game where 'nation that has to be ganged' concept didnt work. 'Both Mictlan and Atlantis rush you' is a very unlikely condition.
6)

[Illuminated One]

1) They are not sacred. 280 gold is not much, but you will have to get them with 1/10 of the others income (after upkeep), so you are always outnumbered magewise. You can take very good scales to offset your domkill to a point but I get the feeling these are wasted points.
6) Same thing - besides your communion slaves go insane.
4) Yeah, but it illustrates the weakness of the chaff quite well. They can't kill anything with a good prot - even if it's are paralyzed. So they are really just there to die in droves while someone else does the job, and it's almost a weakness that they turn up (since if they didn't you had the gold to recruit better stuff). Sending them to die is a chore, 1 province water movement, lack of sane commanders, etc.