There are certain grand campaign factions that I believe they should be played offensively right from the start such as the Romans, the Lusitani, the Arevaci, Colchis, Ardieii, Odrysian Kingdom, Getae, Suebi, The Nervii. Reasons?
- In order to try to rush hostile neighbour factions before they get bigger and stronger
- Because your budget must be tight in the early turns to maintain even just one full stack army. And one of the fastest ways to increase income is by taking more cities.
If i played as one of the factions I mention, I'd try to recruit for the most part cheap units plus some decent mercenary units in the early turns ( I think before you fight your first battle you don't need a full stack. Maybe 13-15 units could be enough for your first few battles. In this case I wouldn't care about losing some units in battles because those units can serve as cannon fodders.
Do you agree you should go on the offensive with any of those factions?