I might say that it depends on what kinda terrain is on the map. For example, if there are a lot of plains around the map, maybe it would be good to let your opponent go first and go out into the open, and then pick them off when they leave cover. However, if both players spend the first turn positioning units to get better line-of-sight angles, then initiative doesn’t matter there.
And so you guys know, Set 3 is pretty fargin’ sweet! I picked up (gulp) 20 boosters today, and I think the new units are nice. The US got a new sniper, everybody gets an AA capable unit, and the US also gets some nice new tanks. I hope the rest of you are pleased too. The only thing I’m sorry about is that I didn’t get the Mustang or the Sturmovik. The ONLY air units I got were Axis. Oh, well - two Stukas sits well with me! :-)