You're correct. It is a waste, but the reason is due to it's mechanism of action, not because it's not "strong enough".
You see, chemicals such as Clom/Enclom/Nolva work by stimulating the hypothalamus to release LH and FSH from the pituitary. These hormones then travel to the testes, where they directly stimulate testosterone and sperm production.
Steroids/SARMs suppress androgen/sperm production where the feedback loop begins; the hypothalamus. Therefore, the on-cycle use of enclom is useless. Suppression will occur regardless. This is why we wait until the steroid(s)/SARM(s) have left our system before commencing with S.E.R.M-based PCT.
On the other hand, HCG does work to prevent testosterone production from being suppressed while on-cycle, as it bypasses the hypothalamus. HCG is recognized by the testes themselves as LH, so when you inject HCG, it travels directly to the testes and stimulates testosterone production, just like LH would. Since steroids/SARMs don't stop HCG from binding to receptors in the testes, it will still work to prevent on-cycle suppression, but ONLY at the level of the testes. The hypothalamus/pituitary will still be suppressed (i.e., no endogenous LH or FSH production), regardless.
This is why HCG (or HMG) has traditionally been employed for on-cycle testosterone maintenance, followed by a S.E.R.M (such as clom/enclom/nolva) for restoration of the full feedback loop (the HPTA) during PCT.
