Yeah, the biggest drawback with ASICs is that it unintentionally punishes hobbyists that cannot afford the costs of these machines. However, I think as we continue to drive on this crypto-currency scene we'll continue to see blockchains that rely on different parameters that will allow hobbyists to continue to participate.
Hobbyists are precisely the ones less affected by large-scale scrypt ASICs. These are the ones that look and quickly react to the next Max, Vert, Drk or HVC. They are the ones that didn't bet the farm and in the worst case, can see it effectively as an hobby .
Then, I'm tempted to get just one or 2 of those Gridseed units, the small 350 Kh/s without controller since I've read one can plug them directly to PC usb, or wait for faster cheaper ones. I intend to use at least one for occasional direct Bitcoin mining.