You can use the "HasWages" to enable or disable wages on Knights of Asok ( <HasWages>0</HasWages> makes a unit have no wages, while <HasWages>1</HasWages> allows the unit to collect wages, assuming I've understood the XML correctly).

Alternatively, you can use <WageOverride>X</WageOverride> to set unit upkeep to X (again, I think - I'm not positive since I don't usually do this kind of thing).

I'm not positive that what I said is right, but I think it is.  Someone like Heavenfall could probably correct me if I'm wrong.

What's awesome is when you upgrade one of their resources next to your city only to realize they suck, eat gold like candy, and you have no way to stop them from spawning anymore.

@joeball123, yep thanks the <HasWages>0</HasWages> works a treat, I didn't notice that on the Ogres.

Seems like the best way to "fix" them given they auto build whether you like it or not.

Thanks.

Something I did in stormworld to balance a lower wage cost for my new recruitables was make them 1 per world resource, not 3. So you only get 1 unit and if it dies you need to wait 10 turns before you get another.

The reason I like a small wage cost on the units is because of the path you use to get to them - civilization. What I want is that the player should be able to focus his strategy not on magic, not on warfare, but on civilization. This, as all games, is dependant on his starting location. Magic uses shards and crystal, warfare uses metal, civilization uses gold, influence and recruitment centers. So, if there is no gold cost associated with the upkeep of the units, the player that focuses civilization will have a large income of gold that is not used for these monsters. That's an unbalancing factor that I don't particularly like, because gold is so versatile - you can buy gear for your champions or even rush buildings/units with what you get.

Even without the base game lairs that was already possible and not at all difficult. A town heavy strategy allows the player to buy the metal and crystal they need to build real units. They don't need the lairs, but by putting wages on the units that locks them to this strategy that can already do everything else. The civilization "link" to the lairs should stop at the upfront influence cost and tech requirement. You don't need a large number of conclaves to build units with magical equipment (or get crystal), you don't need a large number of fortresses to build strong units with metal equipment (or get metal), you do need a large number of towns to use lair units (with wages) in any meaningful way.