In my personal opinion, I think normals are good for determining new morphs. Otherwise I do not plan on keeping any normals. There are lots of snakes in the hobby so why not produce something of more value and interest. I'd rather spend more on my base of females and get a good group of genes to play with than get normal females and one fancy male. A normal brings nothing to the table gene wise, but takes the same amount of time, tub space, and food that a genetically greater female could have. Especially with single gene male x normal female crosses the best outcome is that one gene. Mojaves, pastels, lessers, cinnamons, etc don't cost all that much to help you get a base of females to pair with a male.