What do you think of Hound armor? When is it the right choice?

One of the techs that got a slight buff was Hound armor, from 400 credits to 350 credits. I thought and still think that's an absurdly expensive tech and then I tried it out in a couple of games (~1300 MMR). The problem is that I'm not sure when armor ever outshines range. Hounds don't have the HP, even with the 20% buff, to tank any kind of damage. While they might perform better vs mustangs, they are so low on the food chain that everything else still destroys it.

The only time I saw it shine is when I picked it super late and had multiple level 3+ hound packs. At that point I felt like I was in a winning situation anyway so I can't really attribute that specific tech to my victory.

Is it useful as like a flank cheese? Worthwhile for certain specs like Elite Spec? Just curious as to when y'all think it's worth teching :)