Can we please just end the "sage is broken" debate once and for all

Everyday, somebody makes a post about how the Sage is broken, how they can't beat it, how it needs a nerf, how "this is the best rework," yada yada yada. When you type "sage merge tactics" up on google, the first link is to a reddit post calling in unbalanced. I saw a recent post going on this weird rant about how it doesn't fit the "style of the game"

My fellow mergers, this card is not broken, you are just not playing against it properly. I've been floating around the top 500 all season, and once you get into the top 0.1%, you see the ruler maybe 5% of the time. Why is that? Well, it's because the ruler just isn't viable. Not to come off as a broken record, but it clearly bears repeating: it does not generate elixir...

[aside]

but neither does the battle machine, so why is that being used in higher elos? I'm a SE player, so I don't understand the facets of what allows good players to be so dominant with
it. But having played against it quite a few times, it seems to have the same benefits as Loong does in that it can knock out the SE early round. Its buildings also benefit a bit from many of the modifiers this season.

[aside over]

But if that theory doesn't work for you, I'll offer some others:

1. It gets flicked off the map with many comps in the meta: the three dominant metas all contain ways to counter the sage. Superstars: the archer queen can snipe the sage if it isn't moved quickly enough; the goblin machine can get off some quick recasts and destroy it in seconds; in many variations of this comp, people use the monk, which just puts an end to the sage. Tanks: also has the monk; the musketeer will stun it, and if that doesn't work, will shoot it into oblivion since it does a million damage. Undead: sometimes the undead trait will half its health, allowing the baby dragon and wizard to put an end to it real quick; make sure that giant skelly actually pops, because that works too.
2. Builder: the buildings make it difficult for the sage to target individual troops. It will hit buildings, then recharge, allowing either other buildings or troops to put it down. Also, mortars and xbows have plenty of time to take care of it
3. It's kind of hard to play (seriously): as I previously mentioned, a sage player needs to place the sage strategically or it will be hit by well-placed archer queens, goblin machines, or other cards (and now that the princess is coming back, it'll have to worry about that too).
4. It isn't the spirit empress: my primary assertion with this whole post is to implore people who are so hellbent on trying to come up with ways to nerf the sage to direct their anger at the SE. This card has been dominating the leaderboards since its release. For heaven’s sake, it can generate unlimited elixir. (I saw one person say there should be a limit to how many times she generates 2+ elixir per merge, and I actually kind of like that idea).

It's called the "Megaknight of Merge" because that's exactly what it is. It's seldom seen in top metas because it annoys players who don't have it or who can't deal with it, and rewards those of us who work around it. Except the difference is, most people have a SE. SO USE IT!