Probably not even a worthwhile question, as they aren't even that cheap. But has anyone tried the CI knockoffs?
I have. IIRC they were the Cohiba knockoffs. They were smokable. Didn't taste like Cohibas to me, but did their own thing reasonably. I think there are better options to be had if you're willing to work at it. But for $2/stick they're tolerable.
I was considering the Montes. Something mild-med. I think I saw them around 2 bucks in the last day or so.
Different flavor, but if we can scrounge things like Vs for 3.40 there must be decent mild stuff to be had in the 2-3$ range, like you said, if I work at it. 
Exactly. Perhaps my biggest cigar order was the Omar Ortez Originals crate (60) and the Nica Rusticas crate (50). With a free shipping special and a 10% off coupon and the sale prices on the cigars, it came out to an unweighted per stick price of $2.86, IIRC. End of November there was a deal on the Daruma Gold Roxxos for like $60 a box. But I had gotten some coupon for $50, and there was a promo code that got a discount, and I ended up getting two boxes for the price of one. Just have to be prepared to jump on things as soon as someone here - usually Tex, Fish, or Travelin Dave - mentions something. And you have to remember what coupon codes you have. And it sometimes means you end up spending $550 in a month because you have to buy when the deals are there. Those are the tradeoffs.