That’s a difficult question, but let me try hard to think like a Poor...
Personally, I’d probably look at the NOD as the centerpiece of any system. I’d blow my wad on the centerpiece and add extras as I could afford.
I know a handful of guys who, oddly enough, prefer monos over binos. I think that’s weird, but Oldtimer “MurderMan” over on ARF was one such dude whom I had great respect for (he’s been dormant for years now, I believe).
I’d *likely* go with duals, assuming we’re talking those XLSH deals going around. Those tubes are solid, and I’d rather sacrifice some tube performance — to a point — for duals. The difference between good/solid performance and EPIC performance tends to evaporate under normal use while the reward of dual tubes keeps on chugging.
But... if I were bent on getting a 14, it would be the L3. Failing that, I’d get a 14 with a spectacular tube sheet from a known quality builder — TNVC, HEAT, Sure Shot, etc. Guys who know how to build stuff and don’t farm it out to Chester Cheeto in his mom’s basement.