...Seriously? Culture is considered to be pathetically weak. Its supposed to be stronger than any other faction, but its easily countered until they start shooting Deliverance engines at you.

But the culture itself is usually so harmless what does it matter? Its a useless bonus, because you'll never win a game with culture against any non-brain dead opponent who has played the game before.

It can be extremely annoying if you use a hit squad to bypass a heavily defended choke point and knock out enemy culture centers. They usually rush to build defenses or a small counter fleet. I wouldn't use it more than once in a match but it can be good to start an offensive push when your culture moves in. *cough* 25% damage 10% range.