I was leaning heavily towards doing an LA based stroker motor too. Originally planned a 318 based, then a 360 based after the 318 took a dump and was replaced.

But when the chance to swap to a 5.9 mag stroker came up I jumped on it for several reasons. The ability to go roller and not have to worry about wiped lobes was a major factor. Also the advantage of all around better mag heads, better combustion chambers, easier to build for quench, higher comp ratio, flows better... And I really wanted to go with a sepentine belt and the much better magnum alternator. I figured if im going to spend money, why not spend it on the best smallblock combo for me. My cost was only increased by the price of the core. And I didnt want to swap to a BB.