Lvl 5 Death could be alot less costly. I know you can get free Lightning Scrolls from the sea creatures, but then you'd spend a lot of time farming them as well.
I use Lvl 5 Death when there's a big party of Statues, but when there's only 2 I use gold needles. MP can be regenerated in the nearby inn & gold needles are cheap & sometimes dropped by the statues.