Need help with obelisk reward choice

[ganjatron]

So, I'm torn between choosing the 30 runes (10 of each might, magic, and mind) or the Mithril Shield (+8 defense, -20% leadership for dwarves.) What did/would you guys pick, and why?

Who cares about mind runes, but with 10 extra might and magic runes, I can pretty much max out every ability I want at level 22. However, over the course of the last 2 or 3 level ups, I have accumulated about the same amount of runes... so these may come naturally.

8 Defense is godly though... but is it worth it for a mage? I dont have any dwarves in my army and have no interest in obtaining them so I dont care about that additional stat ...but 8 defense is a crazy stat! Equivalent to 8 levels (if you pick +1 defense each time... if you're even given the opportunity.) The best shield I've run across so far only has +3 defense by comparison.