Elite Guards Upkeep: $500 Attack: 2 Defense: 18 Not purchasable, sells for half value

This little guy can be yours by earning $20,000 in chips in the poker palace. You can find a link to the poker palace app by visiting the heroes quest page and finding the Play Games of Skill quest. Click the Do Quest button and you will be prompted with a button to install.

The Trick:
Though this may seem daunting to some of you non-poker players (such as myself) it is actually quite easy. You see, you are awarded 2,000 in chips each day you login to the poker palace app. Also, you earn chips by sending out invites to the poker palace app, something like 200 chips / invite, with a 20 friend invite cap per day. That’s $6,000 chips in a day possible and you don’t even have to play poker.

While the stats may not be that impressive, the defense is better than the Angel, and they are cheaper from an upkeep perspective.

Counts as a Merc?
I have seen some debate over the Elite Guard acting as a mercenary, like the mercs you can purchase from the genie. Although I have not tested this myself, a few people have and report that after you receive the merc they noticed an increase in the number of people used in their attacks. This would also mean that you would need to purchase one more of each of your top armies, as you essentially have an extra guild member.
UPDATE: In doing my own research, it does not appear that this unit counts as an additional guild member. If you have proof stating otherwise, comment below and let us all know.