I had to restart several times with my Macedon Legendary campaign. The early game is a challenge now, it's not a steamroll at all. And your diplomatic decisions influence the actual war on the map. If I ignore the east, Athens and Sparta crush Epirus and stay friends. If I make peace with Tylis (which gives me negative rep) then I have to attack Epirus first whcih gives me more negative rep. But Epirus has Larissa and Apolonia and both are essential for trade because of their resources.

Sparta turned on Athens and churned out huge stacks. I crushed one army with merks and made the bad decision to leave 1 general alone. That general recruited EVEN MORE MERCS and took Sparta back. Overall, those Veteran Hoplites and Thureus Spears that you can hire in Hellas are stronger than early game armies. I'm still to gauge how to have a flawless start. But I love how my troops say "For Makedon" and are generally custom voiced, instead of the bland "YARRRRRRRRRR" all the barbarians have.

Macedon is quickly going up the rankings for me as one of my top 3 factions.