Rulers are great for making some really cool designs, but like with anything, they take work and being shown how to get the most out of them. I'm currently taking the Westalee ruler class that makes the sampler quilt and it has really opened my eyes as to what you can do with the different shapes.
I must confess though that I do sometimes get the itch to just do it freehand...some of it would be faster that way! (Shhh...don't tell my instructor that my homework isn't strictly done with the rulers.)
Watson