Plz convince me that I should get Poison Cloud and Gizmo

[trentjaspar]

Hi, all. I'm at Level 16 Paladin on Normal, have unlocked all four spirits, and have had the opportunity to obtain all Spirit skills, but I'm just not convinced that I should take Poison Cloud or Gizmo. I sense that it's just a matter of play-style, so I'd like to hear the proponents of these skills to "convince" me I should invest in it.

The main reason I don't like these skills is that I like to control and predict the battle as much as I can. Random = bad (obviously it can't be avoided, like damage ranges and %crit, etc.) But why add more randomness?

Specifically, sometimes I use a weak enemy to "block" a more powerful unit. I'd be dismayed to see Gizmo "help" me by killing him. Also, especially at the end of battles, I may try to keep a weak unit around so that I have time to rez troops and regain mana and rage. Again, I don't want Gizmo or Poison Cloud killing him off before I'm ready. I also don't want to have to avoid the Poison Cloud with my own troops for fear of taking losses-- thus my playing field is limited. I'm not playing a no losses campaign by the strictest definition, but I seek to avoid all losses and have only taken 1-2 since Darion, and maybe 10 total (including the tutorial).

Another 'benefit' of not getting them is that it limits the options for upgrades at level so I have a higher chance of getting the upgrade I seek.

Obviously, there would be times that these skills, particularly Gizmo, may provide a great boon at the perfect time. And I can see how mana spring on summoned thorns sitting under the poison cloud would be a great way to regain mana. But the unpredictability of these skills overall makes me want to avoid them.

But I'm open to hearing about why I might want to reconsider.